Learn From the Expensive Mistakes & Smart Decisions Made By Actor James Gandolfini In Planning for His Estate
James Gandolfini, the actor best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos, died suddenly last month while on vacation in Italy. His will is already on the Internet, available for everyone to read – which is the first lesson we should all take away from what he did and did not do right in his estate plan: establishing a trust keeps your private financial matters private!
Estate planning attorney Julie Garber, who writes a column on Wills & Estate Planning on About.com, lists 5 other estate planning lessons learned from James Gandolfini:
Lifetime trusts are often better for beneficiaries. James Gandolfini’s 13-year-old son and infant daughter will inherit a large portion each of the actor’s estimated $70 million estate once they reach the age of 21. It may have been better to establish lifetime trusts for each of the children, then making them co-trustees at 25 or 30, then sole trustees at the more mature age of 35 or 40. This would have protected their inherited assets for life, from creditors, bankruptcy, lawsuits and divorce.
If you own foreign real estate, you need a foreign estate plan. James Gandolfini owned property in Italy, which his will specified should be turned over to his children. However, Italy has forced heirship laws that may trump the will. He should have consulted with an Italian attorney and had an Italian will drawn that passes the property in accordance with Italian law.
Update your will regularly. James Gandolfini had updated his will just six months prior to his death, and a few months following the birth of his daughter. By taking action to update his will following the new birth, he saved his heirs a lot of headaches and heartaches. But unfortunately, he missed a big one — he didn’t update for estate taxes.
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts are a smart move. James Gandolfini established an ILIT for his son Michael and funded it with a $7 million life insurance policy. By setting up an ILIT, the proceeds from the insurance policy flow directly to the trust, with no New York or federal estate taxes on the $7 million.
Multiple executors and trustees can provide necessary checks and balances. James Gandolfini had two children with two different wives. He named his sister, his current wife and one of his attorneys as co-executors of his will and co-trustees of the testamentary trusts set up in his will, which was a savvy move to prevent any one beneficiary from being favored.
The one thing that Gandolfini and his lawyers did not think about enough was his estate taxes. He’ll owe nearly $30,000,000 in estate taxes and much of it could have been avoided with good planning in advance.
A Note from the Attorney, Stan Pierchoski:
The practice of law is a second career for me. After obtaining Master of Science degrees in both Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering, I worked in the Nuclear Power Industry for 15 years. Always having an interest in law, I attended and graduated from law school and founded the Pierchoski Law Firm in 2002 in Pulaski, TN. For several years I practiced as a criminal defense, trial attorney. After my parents passed I became interested in Trust and Estate Law and felt a strong calling to change my practice to the Estate Planning area.
For years I have been exclusively doing trust writing and wealth planning and have become proficient at it. Over the last several years my practice has evolved to serve all age groups including elders and Medicaid Planning. I am always open to your questions and am more than happy to chat with you about your concerns so give me a call or stop by my office. You’ll be glad you did!