Despite Willa Cather's Restrictive Will, her Personal Letters Will be Published

Since her death in 1947, author Willa Cather’s personal letters have been off limits per a provision in her Will which prohibited the publication of her personal letters. Her last individual executor died in 2011, which resulted in her copyrights passing to the Willa Cather Trust, the University of Nebraska Foundation and the Willa Cather Foundation, which quickly dropped the prohibition of Ms. Cather’s letters, as well as the restriction concerning the ban on film adaptions of Ms. Cather’s works. As a result, The Selected Letters of Willa Cather will be published this month and will contain 566 of the almost 3,000 letters which are known to have survived Ms. Cather. Go to the link for the New York Times article about this - O Revelations! Letters, Once Banned, Flesh Out Willa Cather

Pitfalls of “Do-It-Yourself” in Estate Planning

In tough economic times, many of us are trying to reduce expenses in any way we can. Fewer dinners out, "stay-cations" and clipping coupons may be part of a strategy to shrink a household budget. There are some who will attempt to create their own estate plans, or update their existing plans, in order to save money. Sometimes our "do-it-yourself" efforts can result in expensive, unintended consequences.

Adam "MCA" Yauch, a member of the musical group the Beastie Boys, died this spring in New York. His attorney-prepared Will contained a specific provision regarding the prohibition of using Mr. Yauch’s name or likeness in any advertising. But at some point after he executed his Will, Mr. Yauch, in his own handwriting, inserted in his Will the part of the following excerpt that appears in bold: "in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes." This handwritten addition may lead to controversy, as Mr. Yauch, while having every right to restrict his publicity rights, may have no right to restrict the use of the Beastie Boys catalogue, which is governed by the laws of copyright. Also, the New York court may hold that such handwritten addition does not satisfy the legal requirements for execution of a codicil (an amendment to a Will) and the addition may be removed.

Although Mr. Yauch’s intention in handling his own estate planning revision was probably not aimed at cost-savings, the failure to consult a professional to assist with this change may lead to litigation for his estate; an expensive result for any estate. And if the New York courts hold the provision invalid, Mr. Yauch’s intentions, to whatever extent he could legally proscribe them in his Will, are left unfulfilled.

Lesson learned? If a change you want to make to your estate plan is important to you, seek guidance from a professional to ensure it will be legally binding. Saving your family from uncertainty or, at worst, litigation, may be well worth the expense.

For more information, go to Adam Yauch.

Testamentary Provisions v. Public Policy

Many of us want to leave money to family members in a way that encourages our values in the next generation, such as receiving an education, becoming self-sufficient, or participating in a spiritual life. However, Colorado courts will not enforce a provision in a Will or Trust that is deemed to violate public policy, such as requiring a beneficiary to divorce their spouse if they wish to receive a bequest.

Frank Mandelbaum, founder of the ID-verification firm Intellicheck, recently died with a very large fortune. His son, Robert Mandelbaum, is a gay Manhattan Criminal Court Judge. In Frank’s Will, he creates a $180,000 trust for his grandchildren, but Robert's 16-month old son, Cooper, may be excluded from those benefits unless Robert marries Cooper's biological mother. Although Frank knew his son was gay, he included a provision excluding "an adopted child of Robert, if adopted while Robert is a single person, or a biological child of Robert, if Robert shall not be married to the child's mother within six months of the child's birth." The provision will exclude Cooper if Robert remains married to his partner. His attorney Anne Bederka wrote that the Will provision was "tantamount to expecting him either to live in celibacy, or to engage in extramarital activity with another man, and is therefore contrary to public policy."

Robert is challenging the will because in order to meet the conditions set in the Will, he would have to enter into a sham marriage in violation of New York marriage-equality law. The Manhattan Surrogate's court has yet to approve a settlement.

See Alyssa Newcomb, Gay Man Told to Marry Woman or Son Would Lose Inheritance.

Do You Have a Social Media Will?

Have you thought about what will happen to your social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), your paypal account, etc. when you die? You may have executed a written Will to take care of your home and other assets, but what about your online assets? For more food for thought, go to The Hot Button Blog.