Failure to Plan
Laws of Intestacy
Estate Shrinkag
Laws of Intestacy
If there is no Will, the Court will distribute your assets
according to the laws of intestacy. Under Wisconsin intestacy
laws, all property will pass to a surviving spouse if either
(1) you leave no children, or (2) all of your children are
also children of your spouse. If you leave children that
are not the children of your spouse, one-half (1/2) of your
individual property will go to those children. Also, a minor
child will take control of his/her share at age 18 regardless
of ability to manage funds.
Estate Shrinkag
Failure to properly plan can result in a substantial reduction
in the size of the estate passing to your beneficiaries.
The following estates could likely have saved significant
amounts with proper planning. (The figures below would be
different under current law.)
|
|
|
|
Estates of Famous Persons |
|
|
Name |
|
Gross Estate |
|
Total Settlement Costs |
|
Net Estate |
|
Percent Shrinkage |
| W.C. Fields |
884,680 |
329,793 |
554,887 |
37% |
| Dixie Crosby |
1,332,571 |
781,953 |
550,618 |
59% |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt |
1,940,999 |
574,867 |
1,366,132 |
30% |
| Humphrey Bogart |
910,146 |
274,234 |
635,912 |
30% |
| Clark Gable |
2,806,526 |
1,101,038 |
1,705,488 |
30% |
| Henry J. Kaiser,
Sr. |
5,597,772 |
2,488,364 |
3,109,408 |
44% |
| Al Jolson |
4,385,143 |
1,349,066 |
3,036,077 |
31% |
| Gary Cooper |
4,984,143 |
1,349,066 |
3,036,077 |
31% |
| Myford Irvine |
13,445,552 |
6,012,685 |
7,432,867 |
45% |
| Walt Disney |
23,004,851 |
6,811,943 |
16,192,908 |
30% |
| William E. Boeing |
22,386,158 |
10,589,748 |
11,796,410 |
47% |
| Hedda Hopper |
472,661 |
165,982 |
306,679 |
35% |
| Marilyn Monroe |
819,176 |
448,750 |
370,426 |
55% |
| Erle Stanley Gardner |
1,795,092 |
636,705 |
1,158,387 |
35% |
| Cecil B. DeMille |
4,043,607 |
1,396,064 |
2,647,543 |
35% |
| Elvis Presley |
10,165,434 |
7,374,635 |
2,790,799 |
73% |
| J.P. Morgan |
17,121,482 |
11,893,691 |
5,227,791 |
69% |
| John D. Rockefeller,
Sr. |
26,905,182 |
17,124,988 |
9,780,194 |
64% |
| Alwin C. Ernst,
CPA |
12,642,431 |
7,124,112 |
5,518,319 |
56% |
| Frederick Vanderbilt |
76,838,530 |
42,846,112 |
33,992,418 |
56% |
| Howard Gould |
67,535,386 |
52,549,682 |
14,985,704 |
78% |
|
|
