The Probate Lawyer Blog

When Luke Perry, whose full name was Coy Luther Perry III, died on March 4, 2019, he was surrounded by family and loved ones.  Tragically, the actor — who rose to fame playing a teenage heart-throb on Beverly Hills 90210 — died from a condition that almost everyone thinks of as one that only strikes “old” people.  Fortunately, Perry’s foresight to do the proper estate planning meant that the tragedy was not made worse for his family. 

Luke Perry Suffers Stroke

At the young age of 52, Perry suffered a serious stroke and was hospitalized under heavy sedation.  Five days later, his family made the decision to remove life support, after it was apparent that he would not recover, following a reported second stroke.  He was surrounded by his children, 21-year-old Jack and 18-year-old Sophie, along with his fiancé, ex-wife, mother, and siblings, among others.

At this year’s Oscars, Madonna publicly laid to rest her “feud” with Lady Gaga. While the former dispute between the two music superstars appeared to be little more than media chatter, Madonna has been through more than her fair share of true feuds, in court rooms spanning three continents.

And unlike Madonna’s disagreement with Lady Gaga, her other feuds involved real stakes — some with the lives of children on the line. Was Madonna also able to end those with a hug and a smile?

This is the fourth installment in our Fortune Fights series, based on the celebrity documentary television show, Fortune Fights, for which we serve as hosts, legal commentators and executive producers.  New episodes air on the REELZ network Thursday nights at 9 pm et/pt.  The next episode, Madonna: Fortune Fight, airs February 28th.

Why are Casey Kasem’s wife and daughter accusing each other of killing the iconic American Top 40 Countdown host?  Could either of them really have been responsible for his death?

And what did Casey Kasem’s doctors have to say about the controversy?

This is the second installment in our Fortune Fights series, based on the celebrity documentary television show, Fortune Fights, for which we serve as hosts, legal commentators and executive producers.  New episodes air on the REELZ network Thursday nights at 9 pm et/pt. 

Casey Kasem passed away in 2014 at age 82, with a host of medical problems including advanced Lewy Body dementia.  His death came amidst a tragic story of a family feud that grew worse as Casey Kasem aged and now continues years after he died.

While Johnny Depp is no stranger to the courtroom – having been involved in several different lawsuits in recent years – none have been as impactful or bitter as his ongoing feud with ex-wife Amber Heard.  Did Johnny Depp abuse Amber Heard, both physically and psychologically?  Or were the allegations faked by Heard, as Depp and his legal team still contend?

And can Depp recover from the blows to his career and his fortune from this and other lawsuits?

This is the first installment in our Fortune Fights series, based on the celebrity documentary television show, Fortune Fights, for which we serve as hosts, legal commentators and executive producers.  New episodes air on the REELZ network Thursday nights at 9 pm eastern, starting January 31st, with the premiere episode Johnny Depp: Fortune Fight.

After years of battling pancreatic cancer, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, died surrounded by family and friends on August 16, 2018.  Despite the shocking reality that she died without a will or a trust, her family has banded together to quickly protect her estate.  But there are unavoidable problems on the horizon because Aretha did not do the proper estate planning.

As the Detroit Free Press reported yesterday, Aretha Franklin died without a will or a trust.  Her longtime entertainment attorney in Los Angeles, Don Wilson, told the Free Press that he “was after her for a number of years to do a trust.”  Our review of the recent probate court filing confirms that Aretha died “intestate”, or without a will.

On August 21, 2018, one of Aretha’s four sons, Kecalf Franklin, along with a Detroit-area attorney who worked with Aretha for more than 40 years, filed the paperwork with the Oakland County Probate Court.  While Aretha was a lifelong resident of Detroit, her death certificate lists Bloomfield Hills, a northern suburb, as her domicile.  So her probate will be handled through Oakland County, not Wayne County, where Detroit is located.

Would comedian Richard Pryor be laughing or rolling over in his grave?  When Quincy Jones sat down for a recent interview with Vulture, he casually inferred that Marlon Brando slept with both Marvin Gaye and Richard Pryor.   

The comment quickly snowballed when Pryor's widow, Jennifer Lee-Pryor, took to social media to confirm the Richard Pryor tryst with Marlon Brando:

Hey girl: It was the 70's: enough cocaine and good music-one could f*** a radiator and send it flowers in the morning! # noshame https://t.co/Aea0lLDAhG

— Jennifer Lee Pryor (@JenniferLPryor) February 7, 2018

She commented that Pryor would have no shame about Quincy's comments and was open in his early comedy routines about his homosexual encounters.  Jennifer felt that Pryor would have enjoyed Quincy Jones' revelation.