James Brown and Pavarotti...Estate Planning 101
Here's a wonderful video featuring James Brown and Pavarotti. Okay, whats this got to do with retirement? Well the "Godfather of Soul" and other celebrities are a reminder we all need to do some basic estate planning. Wills, trusts and even checking beneficiaries on our IRA and 401k plans should be a financial priority.
InvestmentNews.com looks at the James Brown estate.
The way his terrible estate plan is unraveling, if the late James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul,” could see from wherever he is, he wouldn’t be screaming his most-famous three words: “I feel good.”
Most likely he would be lamenting, “I’ve really messed things up, because papa had a great big bag, and no one can figure out who gets it.”
Obviously, Mr. Brown didn’t think about how much of his estate the Internal Revenue Service would confiscate — and at the top rate of 45%. Had he cared about the tax burden, he would have set up an irrevocable trust and funded it with ample life insurance, providing the cash to pay the taxes, leaving the assets intact.
Wise Owl