Some things are just nobody’s business, and Michael Jackson strived for that his entire life. Sometimes he was successful, sometimes he was not, and other times he was a master manipulator of the press by wanting media attention while making it look like he didn’t. With the King of Pop’s life cut tragically short and leaving three children behind, we are now starting to see how he planned for family privacy in death as much as he strived for privacy in life. Michael Jackson had a revocable living trust.
Whatever you may think of 24 hour news, their coverage of Michael Jackson’s death was nothing short of frenzied, looking for every angle and every morsel of private information to turn it over to the public. Now that the details of his death are largely reported, the cameras turned to Michael Jackson’s estate… and came against a brick wall. This is despite a website was formed within hours of his death to post his Last Will and Testament, and now the actual Will is public. (Click here for a copy of the Will.) But what was actually disclosed?
As it turns out, not much. Michael Jackson’s Last Will and Testament was filed with the probate court, and it disclosed the names of his executors, the names of his recommended guardians for his children, and the fact that anything that may end up in probate will go to his revocable living trust. Here is why such a huge media focus is being placed on who will care for the children:
- There is no information available on exactly who the ultimate beneficiaries of the trust are. Reporters are really speculating that his mother and children are the main beneficiaries along with a few charities.
- There is no information on when the children would be given full access to their inheritance and when the trusteeship would end, if indeed there are any restrictions at all.
- There is no information on who the trustees are. Despite the reports that executors John Braca, John McClain, and Barry Siegel are the trustees, they are only the executors of the Will. There is nothing public showing that these executors are also going to manage the trust.
- There is no information on what assets are in the trust, and it is likely we will never know.
Let’s contrast this with Anna Nicole Smith’s estate and all of the fiascos that ensued after her death in 2007. Lawsuits were filed all over the place because her entire estate was to be given to her son Daniel, who died before her. She wrote into her Will that this was to happen even if she had any children in the future, and she made no provisions after that. Everyone filed for custody of her daughter Danielynn because it would give them access to the money in the estate because there was no trust. Every single account she owned was open to scrutiny, every debt was publically listed, and everyone knew EXACTLY how much money she owned.
It took more than a year before the estate even declared that Danielynn was the heir. In the meantime, everything was in limbo. Very publicly and very expensively in limbo.
In contrast, Michael Jackson’s trust can take care of the beneficiaries right away, including the children. If they are beneficiaries. And it can take care of whomever the other beneficiaries are. By whomever the trustees are. Using whatever funds the trust may have. We don’t know. But that is the whole point of using a revocable living trust.
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