The Probate Lawyer Blog

Access Hollywood featured a segment about the Britney Spears Conservatorship. The show examined how the successful entertainer can headline a new multi-million dollar Las Vegas show and mentor young singers as an X Factor Judge, yet not be deemed competent enough to manage her basic life decisions like food, clothing and shelter.

Danielle and Andy Mayoras of Trial & Heirs served as experts for the segment. After watching the segment, what do you think?  Does Britney Spears still need the protection of a conservator — almost six years after the legal proceeding started — or is this all about the money? Watch Access Hollywood‘s segment on the Britney Spears Conservatorship:

By Danielle and Andrew Mayoras, co-authors of Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!  For the latest celebrity and high-profile cases, with tips to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your clients, click here to subscribe to The Trial & Heirs Update.  You can “like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and Google+.

For legal help in Michigan, visit Danielle and Andy's law firm.

Nelson Mandela left behind an unparalleled legacy of peace, dignity, and selflessness.  If early reports are accurate, some of  his children and grandchildren don't exactly subscribe to the same value system.   When you think of the man who spent 27 years in jail to bring down apartheid, do you think of clothing lines, reality TV shows, or a wine label?  Probably not.  But those are a few of the ways that Mandela's heirs have used his name to profit. 

So perhaps it was no surprise that his children and grandchildren began fighting, even before the South African champion of equal rights passed.  Mandela's eldest grandson, Mandla Mandela, was accused of shady maneuvering, hoping to make his gravesite into a profitable tourist attraction.  This summer, the New York Times reported that Mandla was sued by other Mandela family members because he felt, as the eldest grandchild, he should decide where Nelson Mandela should be laid to rest.

The problem?  Mandla's dream of a tourist site built around the body of his grandfather wasn't what Nelson Mandela wanted.  In 1996, Mandela created a hand-written will saying he wanted to be buried in his ancestral home, the remote village of Qunu.   Three of his children had died before him and were already buried there ... that is, they were until Mandla decided to uproot them and move them to another village, Mvezo, so he could create a Mandela family burial site. Other family members successfully sued Mandla, forcing the bodies to be returned to Qunu, so that Mandela's wishes could be fulfilled.