I’ll write more on this myself as it develops, but here are some articles to check out:
Smart Money: Michael Jackson’s Death and Your Estate Plan
Reuters: Hello Goodbye: Jackson’s Beatles rights at risk
Wall Street Journal: Getting Personal: Jackson Estate a Tangled Affair
Business Week: Settling Michael Jackson’s Estate may be a Thriller.
At this point, all anyone is doing is speculating. No one knows if he had a will or where it is. At least no one who is talking. There is a “rumor” going round the internet that “Michael Jackson willed his control of the Beatles songs to Paul McCartney.” That is almost certainly not true.
First, unless MJ specifically said this somewhere, how would anyone know it?
Second, the asset is highly leveraged with many secured creditors.
Finally, it’s probably the most valuable thing that he owns. Why would he do that to his children?
This is going to be fascinating from an estate planning and tax and administration perspective. And I haven’t even talked about what happens to his children yet.
Stay tuned.