Tomi Rae Protection

If
you’re a partner (or possibly a second or later spouse) in a situation like
Tomi Rae, there are many steps you can take to avoid the problems and legal
entanglements facing Brown’s estate:

√ Write a will
that clearly explains what your partner will be left, what her rights are, and
so on. Hire a lawyer specializing in estate planning and get it done right. List
in the will all key family and other relationships. Brown might have listed Tomi
Rae as his partner, wife, or former partner or former wife. Clarifying the
relationships, and your intentions, is vital to minimizing legal entanglements.
It’s simple, and doesn’t take much time or legal cost.

√ Communicate
your personal concerns and wishes to your lawyer. Focus on the people you want
cared for (or not), not just taxes and legalities. If your lawyer advises that
your requests could be problematic, seek his counsel on better ways to
achieve  your goals. It’s easy for
a lawyer to “yes” you and write whatever you say in your will, but often that’s
not protecting your goals or your heirs. Example: Brown could have given Tomi
Rae the right to live in his home for life (a life
estate) and following her death the house could pass to his children. Sounds
easy, but how would she pay for upkeep? What if a repair or improvement were
needed? A better approach may be a trust with an independent trustee and
sufficient cash to fund upkeep. Life estates can be really problematic. In a
second or later marriage/relationship you might want to grant your partner some
period of time, say 90-days, to live in your residence even if it is bequeathed
to others. During the emotional trauma following your death, a loved one (even
if not intended to inherit your house) should not be thrown out by children
from a prior marriage, or a lawyer doing his job as executor, etc.

√ Write a
personal note of instruction to family, friends and other important people
explaining what you are doing and why.
In many cases a simple note can take the edge off the pain heirs feel.
Perhaps Brown felt that Tomi Rae had adequate housing and that his home should
be made into a museum to encourage some of the values dear to him. A note
explaining that might have avoid some of the problems.

√ Never make
your estate plan or will vindictive. If you have an ax to grind deal with it
while you are alive and able to, not at the end.  Even if Brown felt he didn’t want to provide for Tomi Rae,
they still had a child and many years of a relationship. Perhaps some bequest
to help her out, even if not what he thought necessary, may have minimized or
eliminated the problems and pain.

√ Watch how
assets are owned (“title” in legal terminology) and note beneficiary
designations (e.g., IRA, insurance). Title and beneficiary designations
determine where you assets go regardless of what your  will says. It all must be coordinated.  Brown could have had his house owned
jointly with Tomi Rae if he wanted her to have it. If Brown wanted to protect
Tomi Rae, avoid the media circus, and then have the house to go to charity to
establish a museum, he could have transferred ownership of the house to a
revocable living trust which reserved 90-days for Tomi Rae to live there
following his death, and then  transfer the house to the charity.

√ Take steps to
keep your estate decisions out of the limelight. Set up trusts now to avoid
publicity. But this won’t work unless you tie up loose ends and address key
issues that could create problems later. Celebrities are often better off using
lifetime transfers (inter-vivos) to minimize
post-death media attention. Also, to minimize the success of a post-death
lawsuit, set up a pattern of benefiting the people you bequeath your estate to,
especially if there are others that view it differently. Example: If Brown
wanted to minimize what Tomi Rae would receive, he should have made lifetime
gifts to other heirs intentionally leaving Tomi Rae out to demonstrate
consistency with his will that may provide limited bequests for her (if that
turns out to be the case).

√ Have a family
law attorney prepare a legal document to protect your partner. If  Brown thought he was marrying Tomi Rae
he should have had a pre-nuptial agreement signed. If  Brown knew he and Tomi Rae were not
married he should have had a living together agreement signed.  If Brown wanted to assure Tomi Rae of
certain bequests he could have signed a document committing to make certain
bequests to her in his will (a will contract).  This would have prevented Brown from
changing his will to cut out Tomi Rae.

√ Assure your
partner has sufficient assets in her name to get her through the transition
period following your death but before bequests or trust for her benefit can be
effectuated

Plan ahead, be clear, don’t be vindictive,
establish a pattern…clean up loose ends and minimize the problems.