The legendary musical composer and performer Ray Charles created a foundation before he passed away that provides support to certain educational programs. As a musician, he knew that ongoing royalties would be coming in and he was in a position to help others even after he passed away.
Ray Charles also took care of his children. According to an article that is appearing on the CNN website, Ray Charles provided each of his 12 children with a $500,000 trust. He did require them to agree to make no further claims against the estate in the future.
It is looking like five of the children were willing to honor this agreement, but seven of them are being sued by the Ray Charles Foundation for attempting to gain ownership of copyrights to 51 of their father’s compositions.
These individuals are being sued for a half a million dollars each on the grounds that they have damaged the value of the songs by attempting to claim ownership of them.
We can often learn useful lessons when we read about the estates of famous people. In this case, you see how interested parties can adopt new perspectives some years after receiving an initial inheritance. This is why it is so important to assert your wishes carefully and comprehensively to be certain that they remain legally binding into perpetuity.
Expert guidance is key. If you are interested in creating a truly ironclad estate plan, take action right now to arrange for a consultation with a licensed, experienced, and highly skilled San Jose estate planning attorney.
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