News outlets recently reported the tragic death of Shannen Doherty at the young age of 53. Ms. Doherty was best known for playing “Brenda Walsh” in the series “Beverly Hills, 90210.” She was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and bravely fought against the disease until her death. The actress was survived by her mother, brother and estranged third husband, as well as her dog. She did not have children. Knowing that she was terminally ill allowed her to make appropriate personal and legal plans.
It has been reported that Ms. Doherty made her funeral wishes and preference for the disposal of her remains known to those close to her. The actress handled these aspects properly. It is not preferable to request that your attorney include these preferences in a Will for the following reasons. The survivors are most likely to have the funeral conducted and the remains disposed of before locating a Will or other written directions from the deceased or her attorneys. Then, it may be discovered too late that these activities were conducted in a fashion contrary to the desires of the deceased.
Ms. Doherty had an extensive furniture collection and more personal belongings than she needed. She wanted to make things “easier for her Mom” by selling her belongings as she prepared to pass away. Also, if her personal property in effect was converted to cash through sale, arguments over who would receive her personal property could be avoided.
The actress was an animal lover and died with her dog by her side. Hopefully, she developed an estate plan for the care of her surviving dog.
Of particular note, Ms. Doherty was in the process of divorcing her third husband at the time of her death, due to his alleged infidelity. She accused him of prolonging the divorce proceedings so that she would die during before the case was finalized and he would not need to pay spousal support. Ms. Doherty died in California. Under New York law, her estranged husband would have rights in her estate until their divorce was finalized. If Ms. Doherty had no Will, New York’s intestacy statute would have provided that her estranged husband would have received her entire estate. If she did have a Will, she could not have disinherited her estranged husband without his execution of a waiver relinquishing his rights to her estate. In any case, Ms. Doherty seems to have passed away with few monetary assets due to her diminished employment opportunities during her illness.
An experienced attorney would suggest that Ms. Doherty consult with an attorney before the cancer became so advanced that it affected her brain. That way, an argument could be avoided alleging that she lacked testamentary capacity to make a Will and other estate documents. Also, creating a trust and transferring assets to the trust may also counteract a potential estate contest.
We hope that Ms. Doherty is finally at peace. Our firm remains available to discuss the issues raised by this post.