Putting off making end-of-life plans for your finances can lead to expensive legal battles, big tax bills and financial chaos for your family — even if you’re rich and famous.
While it can be easy to assume that celebrities would have airtight estate plans, time and time again, Hollywood stars have made costly decisions that could have been easily avoided.
The good news: Learning from these missteps can help you prevent catastrophes of your own, even if you don’t have $1 million in the bank. Here are three examples of what we can learn from celebrity estate plans.
Aaron Carter didn’t have a will
Singer Aaron Carter, who passed away unexpectedly in 2022, did not have a will in place at the time of his death. This left the fate of Carter’s assets to the courts. At the time of his death, Carter had an 11-month-old son, Prince, and was engaged to be married.
Under California law, if an unmarried person with a child dies without a will, the courts designate the child as the sole heir. Because Carter’s son was not old enough to take possession of his estate, however, things got a little tricky.
“Because [Aaron Carter] did not have a will or a trust in place, the court had to appoint a fiduciary to handle the estate,” says Zach Wiegand, an attorney at Gold Leaf Estate Planning in Burnsville, Minnesota. “That may not have been the person he wanted watching over the money for his child.”
How you can do better: Have a basic will in place, even if you don’t think you need one. “It’s a good idea as a young person to have a will,” Weigand says.
This is especially important if you own property, have a child or want specific people to inherit your assets, such as a partner you’re not legally married to or younger relatives who you would prefer not receive a large sum of money on the day they turn 18.
If you would like to go the extra mile, working with an attorney to set up a trust is the gold standard, Weigand says. Unlike a will, which still requires probate court involvement, a trust can help keep the transfer of your assets and money out of the court system upon your death.
“It just makes it a lot smoother,” Weigand says.
Kobe Bryant died without an updated estate plan
NBA star Kobe Bryant’s story illustrates why it’s important to keep your estate plans up-to-date, said Eido Walny, an estate attorney and founder of Walny Legal Group in Milwaukee, in a 2023 webinar for CPAacademy.org.
Bryant passed away in 2020, less than a year after the birth of his daughter, Capri. But because he did not update his estate planning documents, Capri was not initially included as a beneficiary of his estate. Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, had to petition the California Probate Court after his death to modify the trust so that Capri could be added.
“Kobe [Bryant] is a cautionary tale,” Walny said. “You need to make sure that as children are born, that they’re quickly included in your documents.”
How you can do better: If you’ve had a major life event, such as a divorce or the birth of a child, it’s important to update your documents accordingly, experts say. That means revising your will or trust and updating the beneficiaries on retirement accounts, investment accounts and life insurance policies.
Estate planning documents are not “set it and forget it,” Walny said. Documents need to be updated as circumstances, estate planning laws and financial fortunes change.
“You never know which direction life is going to take you,” Walny said. “You may not have the time that you think to make those updates.”
James Gandolfini’s estate was heavily taxed
Without considering tax consequences, a significant portion of the money you leave behind might become property of Uncle Sam soon after you pass away. The estate of “The Sopranos” actor James Gandolfini faced this issue.
For the 2025 tax year, the federal government allows individuals to pass on up to $13.99 million tax-free after death. Any amount above this may be taxed up to 40%.
While Gandolfini had a will drawn up for his estimated $70 million estate, he did not appear to take advantage of tax-saving estate planning tools. Gandolfini’s will left large portions of his estate to relatives and friends after his untimely death in 2013, which triggered an estimated $30 million in federal and state estate taxes because his plans lacked tax saving protections, Walny said.
This type of situation can force family members to sell assets to cover tax liabilities and avoid legal trouble when an inheritance is passed down to them. “We need to plan for taxes,” Walny said, because it is ultimately the beneficiaries of an estate who will be responsible for paying them after your death.
How you can do better: To minimize taxes, strategies such as setting up trusts, reviewing your estate plan with a tax professional and updating beneficiary designations on retirement and investment accounts can make a big difference.
However, most people don’t owe estate taxes thanks to the high limit imposed by the IRS, says Lawrence Pon, a certified public accountant, certified financial planner and founder of Pon & Associates in Redwood City, California. You don’t have to worry about taxes on an estate unless the amount you would like to transfer exceeds $13.99 million as of 2025.
“This is a non-issue for most people,” Pon says.
But that doesn’t mean average families are off the hook. Pon says the more common estate tax issues involve inherited retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs, which can create tax burdens for beneficiaries. Pon recommends reviewing estate plans with a tax professional to understand the tax consequences of inheritances.
“Many times, we [can] recommended changes that result in more money to beneficiaries and lower tax bills,” he says.
Above all, t’s important to remember that estate planning is not only for celebrities, Walny said. Regular people can benefit from having plans in place, too.
“Everybody always thinks [estate planning] is for someone else — someone with more money, or someone who is from a different demographic, or someone who is older,” Walny said. “And nothing could be further from the truth.”
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