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Katten

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Joshua Rubenstein Quoted by NBC News on Lessons from Celebrity Estate Disputes

In the NBC News article, "What the Chadwick Boseman and Malcolm-Jamal Warner estate disputes reveal about planning for death," Joshua S. Rubenstein, partner and global chair of the Private Wealth Department at Katten, commented on two high-profile celebrity estate battles that estate planners say reflect the most common mistakes fueling family conflict after death. The disputes, Chadwick Boseman's brothers seeking to remove his widow as estate administrator after he died without a will, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner's widow pursuing a $1.2 million claim over a decades-old, unupdated estate plan and prenuptial agreement, illustrate the risks of inadequate or outdated planning. Joshua, a longtime estate planning lawyer, noted that lengthy estate disputes have plagued a slew of famous actors and musicians through the decades, including Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Prince, James Dean and Aretha Franklin, and observed that many celebrities are not often advised to organize their estates and do not think to do so themselves. He warned that this, combined with statistical trends showing celebrities often die earlier than the general public, can lead to outsize risks.