Kobe’s sports and business empire
Between his salary and endorsements during his 20-year career with the L.A. Lakers, Kobe earned an estimated $680 million. And that’s not counting the money he made from his numerous business ventures, licensing rights for his likeness, and extensive venture capital investments following his retirement from the NBA. That said, by all estimates, his estate has the potential to be the most valuable of any modern athlete.
Given his business acumen and length of time in the spotlight, it’s highly unlikely Kobe died without at least some planning in place to protect his assets and his family. But even if Kobe did have a plan, when someone so young, wealthy, and successful passes away this unexpectedly in such a terrible accident, his family and estate will almost certainly face some potential threats and complications.
For example, due to his extreme wealth, Kobe likely created trusts and other planning strategies to remove some of his assets from his estate in order to reduce his federal estate-tax liability. However, because he was so young and still actively involved in numerous business ventures, it’s quite unlikely that all—or even the majority—of his assets had been fully transferred into those protective planning vehicles.
And seeing that Kobe owned the helicopter and the weather at the time was poor (many other flights had already been grounded), there’s also the real potential that the families of those killed in the crash will file civil lawsuits against his estate. Regardless of how extensive Kobe’s estate plan is, it’s doubtful that the lawyers who drafted his plan considered the possibility of so many potential wrongful-death lawsuits.
Here’s the bottom line: the post-death handling of Kobe’s affairs is surely going to be complicated, and we’ll keep monitoring the court filings to let you know what there is to know, once we know.
Though you almost certainly don’t have a Kobe-size estate to pass on, that makes it even more important for you to handle your planning—and really get it done right. Kobe’s family can afford years in court, lawyers upon lawyers, and a loss of some assets to taxes and lawsuits. Your family, on the other hand, cannot.
Trusted support when it’s needed most
Since Kobe’s wife Vanessa survives him, and it’s been widely reported that they married without a prenuptial agreement, it’s most likely that she will inherit everything. And due to the “spousal exemption,” those assets will pass to her tax free. Yet despite the protection from estate taxes, if she does inherit everything directly, all of the estate-planning, financial-planning, business-management, and wealth-preservation responsibilities for Kobe’s immense fortune will now pass to Vanessa.
That’s an overwhelming responsibility to suddenly have to take on, especially while she’s mourning the loss of both her husband and child, as well as raising Kobe’s three other daughters. Given the vast scope of Kobe’s estate, ongoing business ventures, and likelihood of lawsuits and other legal complications, Vanessa will need the advice and support of her trusted counsel now more than ever. And we sure do hope she has that support, and that it was established well before this point in time.
Unfortunately, many estate planning firms do not engage with the whole family when creating estate plans and the associated legal documents, leaving the spouse and other family members largely out of the loop. Though we can’t know if this was the case with Kobe’s lawyers, such situations occur frequently enough that there’s a good possibility this could be true for Vanessa as well.
And it could be true for you and your family, too. Are you in the loop on the planning that’s been handled (or not) for your parents? Are the people you’ve named in your plan or who you would want handling things for you when needed fully up to date and in the know about your planning?
This scenario highlights the immense value of working with family-centered planning lawyers like us. We take the time to get to know your family members and include them in the planning process. We can even facilitate regular family meetings to keep everyone up to date, as your family dynamics and planning strategies evolve and change over the years.
While the death of Kobe, his daughter, and the others is terribly sad, if it motivates you to get your estate planning handled the right way, or updated, the tragedy just might have some positive impact. Whether you already have a plan created or nothing at all, meet with your Personal Family Lawyer® to learn about the specific planning strategies necessary to protect your loved ones and their inheritance if and when something equally tragic happens to you.
This article is a service of Family Trust Lawyer Stuart Williams and the Family Wills & Trusts law firm of Lansing. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That's why we offer a Family Wealth Planning Session, ™ during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before, and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge.
