Lessons from Britney's Trust
In light of Britney Spears' recent problems, the court has declared she is not capable of handling her own affairs. As a result, her father was appointed to take care of Britney and some of her assets.
Britney also formed a trust according to this article. Like most trusts, Britney was named as the sole trustee. However, because she was judged incompetent to handle her own affairs, she can no longer manager her trust. Apparently, the trust did not provide for a successor trustee, because her brother and attorney are now acting as trustee. Or, court action was required to have them appointed.
Now that her brother has been appointed, he is trying to determine what the trust owns. Britney was not clear on "funding" the trust. She put some of her assets and companies in the trust but others were left out. So, he has petitioned the court to make a ruling to try to determine what is in the trust for him to manage.
The lesson is that maintenance of your estate plan and trust is important. While it is good that Britney formed the trust, it would have been better if she funded the trust. It would have been best if she kept a list of the assets in the trust for the benefit of the succeeding trustees.
Steve
Enjoyed your post and linked to it on our blog. Isn't it great to have Hollywood make estate planning sort of entertaining once in a while? Keep up the good work.