The Probate Lawyer Blog

Whitney Houston’s funeral this weekend provided the first public glimpse of what may be trouble involving her estate.  Her ex-husband, Bobby Brown, was invited to the funeral, after reports surfaced that some family members didn’t want him there. He didn’t last long.  Brown’s entourage wasn’t allowed to sit with him at the funeral.  Brown wasn’t happy and left, visibly upset.   

Bobby Brown issued a statement after the funeral, saying he and his group were asked to relocate three times, and rather than making a scene, he chose to pay his respects quickly and leave.

TMZ reported the day before the funeral that Whitney’s mother, Cissy Houston, and other family members had been trying to keep Brown away from Bobbi Kristina, Whitney’s daughter with Brown.  They were said to be worried that Brown would try to use Bobbi Kristina to make a play for some of Whitney’s money.

Brown’s statement confirmed some of this.  He said that security prevented him from seeing his daughter at the funeral.  Is money the reason why? Brown tried to get some of Whitney’s money through a court proceeding in 2007, just after their divorce judgment was entered, but he failed.

John Goodman is the 48-year old multimillionaire from Palm Beach, Florida who recently made headlines when it was publicly revealed that he adopted his 42-year old girlfriend to help protect the family fortune.  

Goodman did this in the midst of criminal and civil legal proceedings pending against him.  They arose from the February, 2010 drunk driving incident during which Goodman reportedly ran a stop sign, killed a 23-year old man, and fled the scene.  When it was recently revealed that Goodman, in October of last year, had legally adopted his girlfriend, people across the country were outraged.

Goodman’s lawyer issued a statement defending the adoption.  He states that the adoption was done to protect Goodman’s children, not to shield assets from the family of the slain driver who is suing him.

While Goodman has been bashed across the country for his legal maneuver, it actually makes sense from a probate law perspective.  Years ago, Goodman placed $1.5 million into an irrevocable trust for his two children.  By investing that money into stock of the Goodman Manufacturing Co., which grew extraordinarily well under Goodman’s management, the $1.5 million trust fund blossomed to several hundred million dollars.