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<\/p>\nWhen many people think of estate and asset protection planning, they also think of Hollywood starlets and swimming pools. Because, they believe, this type of planning is for the rich and famous.<\/p>\n
Not so. But let’s take a quick look at a few Hollywood cases and see how they can apply to Joe Six Pack.<\/p>\n
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Do you remember the 1972 Miami Dolphins? I do. I was just a pip squeak but I have great memories of putting on my plastic NFL helmet, my football jersey and pants and playing with my buddies in the street in front of my house. I would pretend I was Larry Csonka running for a touchdown – past the parked cars and around the potholes. That was an epic season for the Dolphins, they went undefeated to the Super Bowl and won it all under head coach Don Shula.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins played in Joe Robbie Stadium. Joe Robbie amassed a fortune during his life and became a celebrity as owner of the Dolphins. That’s Joe below in good times.<\/p>\n
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But due to bad planning by the Robbie family, when Joe died the Dolphins had to be sold and the iconic Robbie name was stripped from the stadium forever. Bad planning led to family fighting and a big estate tax bill. Personal and business relationships were tarnished forever.<\/p>\n
Joe Robbie was a wealthy guy and we can all see how good planning helps the rich. Remember this entertainer and politician below?<\/p>\n
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That’s Sonny Bono. And to most people’s surprise, his estate was only worth $1 million dollars when he died from a skiing accident. Unfortunately, Sonny did not have a written will or really any estate plan. Sonny’s former singing partner Cher sued for unpaid alimony and a love-child showed up demanding his share of the assets. DNA testing got rid of the love-child scammer.<\/p>\n
Sonny’s surviving wife had to fight in court to be named executor and she spent years in court and a lot of money battling these lawsuits. Proper planning could have been a huge help, even for this $1 million dollar estate.<\/p>\n
The point I want to make is that most people need some level of planning. Certainly the rich and famous should have it. But even Joe Six Pack needs it. Sonny was worth $1 million and he needed it. And many of us have that much money alone in the form of equity in our house.<\/p>\n
Good planning is about organizing your “stuff” and the process of getting organized can actually be extremely satisfying. It’s like the feeling of making your bed first thing in the morning. Kind of feels satisfying to start the day with an accomplishment.<\/p>\n
If you would like to hear about our planning review process, then\u00a0Click\u00a0here\u00a0<\/a> to pick a time for me to call you.<\/p>\n And I always like to include our very cool 2 minute Youtube planning explainer video….<\/p>\n