61st Annual Estate Planning Seminar

Shortly after pop star Prince died in April, it became apparent that he had no will. The same was true for deceased singers Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Sonny Bono, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur, James Brown and Bob Marley, NFL quarterback Steve McNair and Martin Luther King Jr. Even President Abraham Lincoln died without a will!

This is not a good thing. And, unfortunately it’s not that uncommon. According to a 2015 Rocket Lawyer survey, 64 percent of Americans don’t have a will. When no will is in place, the laws of the land dictate how the deceased person’s assets will be divvied up. Estate planners will gather in Seattle to discuss the topic of famous people dying both with and without wills during the 61st annual Estate Planning Seminar. They will also dig into the wills of celebrities such as writer Tom Clancy, singers David Bowie and Whitney Houston, athlete Frank Gifford, coach Yogi Berra, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, comedian Joan Rivers and a few others to discuss what can be learned from their estate plans. Did the manner in which they structured their estates truly embody and achieve their objectives?

These estate planners will also discuss a multitude of other estate planning topics, including what to do with digital assets upon death, assuring that a deceased person’s wishes are fulfilled, new challenges to opening an estate bank account and updates on federal and state estate tax laws.

The seminar is hosted by the Estate Planning Council of Seattle and the University of Washington School of Law Graduate Program in Taxation. It takes place at the Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Place, Seattle. The seminar is one of the largest of its kind in the country and attracts top lawyers, accountants, insurance professionals, trust officers, financial planners, and planned giving/development officers for nonprofit organizations. See the full program here: https://depts.washington.edu/uwconf/wordpress/estateplanning/program/

Presented by Estate Planning Council of Seattle.