Brendan Sorsby has a gambling addiction. The 22-year-old was set to be the starting quarterback at Texas Tech University this year – until it was discovered that he placed thousands of sports bets totaling around $90,000 (including on his own college football team). First, he...
Rob Reiner’s son, Nick, has sued to obtain funds for his criminal defense for the murder of his parents. While this may sound outlandish on first blush as usually you should not benefit from killing someone under the Slayer Statute of most states, Nick could...
Country star, Jelly Roll (who is 41) and his wife 46-year-old former sex worker wife, Bunnie XO, are getting divorced after 10 years of marriage. Notwithstanding the same, Bunnie XO stated in her last Dumb Blonde podcast that the couple planned to continue their IVF...
Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn, has reached the age of majority, leaving her in full control of the money she inherited from her mother. It is often recommended by estate planning attorneys that inherited assets be held in trust (i.e., for education, maintenance or support)...
A Florida court has recently ruled a co-trustee’s legal fees of $2 million in suing the co-trustee could be paid from Jimmy Buffett’s trust notwithstanding the petition opposition of the other co-trustee (who is Jimmy Buffett’s widow). Buffett’s widow has appealed and legal fees continue...
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has a new reporting requirement for closing of some residential property on or after March 1, 2026 in an effort to prevent money laundering. The reporting requirement only is applicable if the following conditions are met: Residential property –(i.e. homes, townhomes,...
After Diane Keaton’s death in October 2025, it was reported that the famous actress left $5 million of her estimated $100 million estate in a pet trust for her furry friend, Reggie, a golden retriever. Since trusts are private (unlike wills and it’s likely Diane...
Nick Reiner, the son of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, has been charged with violently stabbing his parents to death. Is there any way Nick could benefit from killing his parents? Like most states, California (where the Reiners were murdered) has a slayer statute...
The impending release of the Epstein files, including his “Birthday Book” and the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance’s investigating the IRS failure to audit his tax planning on others, could have an impact on Jeffry Epstein’s estate. When Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019, his estate...
It is official! Lachlan Murdoch will be king over the media empire created by his iconic father, Rupert Murdoch, as a result of a multi-billion-dollar settlement agreement with his other children. Rupert, now 94, wanted to give Lachlan the keys to the kingdom since Lachlan...
The combination of a large estate, a dysfunctional family, and Florida’s laws giving a surviving spouse the right to elect a portion of the deceased spouse’s estate (even if not named as a beneficiary) could result in a battle over Hulk Hogan’s estate, estimated at...
Priscilla Presley has been accused of not honoring the living will of her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley – Elvis Presley’s only child, so that she could control Graceland which is owned by the family trust. Lisa Marie’s living will (directive) stated that she wanted her...
It is not unusual for many to merely focus on avoidance of probate – the process where the court decides whether the will is valid so that the executor can pay the bills and distribute the assets of the deceased. So many just name the...
Sharon Osbourne (wife of the late rock and roll singer, Ozzy Osbourne) once said, “I don’t want someone who has never met my husband owning his name and likeness and selling t-shirts everywhere. No, it stays in the Osbourne family.” However, did he have proper estate...
Jimmy Buffett’s widow and co-trustee of his trust, Jane Slagsvol, and his longtime financial advisor, accountant, and co-trustee of his trust, Richard Mozenter, have filed suits to remove each other as a trustee. The trust estate is worth an estimated $275 million dollars (which includes...
A California appeals court has ruled that neither Damian Hurley (whose mother is famous actress, Elizabeth Hurley) nor Kira Bonder, the illegitimate children of the late Stephen Bing, could receive hundreds of millions of trust funds from their paternal grandfather, Dr. Peter Bing, since they...
Oscar winning movie star, Gene Hackman, died on February 18, 2025, about a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa. The couple lived in New Mexico, a community property state. They wed in 1991. Hackman had a large estate estimated to be around eighty million dollar...
Antonia and Johanna Bennett have sued their brother, Danny, who has served as trustee of the Tony Bennett Family Trust, for mismanagement. Tony’s daughters claim Danny made “multiple gifts to himself totaling over $200,000 from the trust, $2.6 million in commissions for acting as Tony’s...
It is often the goal of many to simply avoid probate even though it is often best to have a Will or Trust to consider protection for the beneficiary. Financial accounts can be established with a beneficiary designation to avoid probate. Real estate can be...
As of January 1, 2025, you can give up to $19,000 per year, per person (other than gifts of future interests) without reporting to the IRS and without gift taxation. So, for example, if a married couple with three children wanted to give the maximum...
