Jarvis Law Office

Federal Law to Protect Rights of Heirs Headed for Test

The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act is about to get its first use, according to The New York Times in "A Suit Over Schiele Drawings Invokes New Law on Nazi-Looted Art."

While the Nazis were plundering Europe, one of the many things the Nazis did while taking over most of Europe, was to steal artwork from the owners and keep it for themselves. Under international law, artwork is supposed to be returned to the original owners or their heirs.

The current holders of many contested works have successfully defended themselves against the heirs for technical reasons, such as the statute of limitations. To address this problem, last year the U.S. Congress passed the HEAR Act.

One of the first cases is over two drawings by Egon Schiele that were once owned by Fritz Grunbaum. The Nazis took Grunbaum's artwork from his home in Vienna in 1938 and sent him to a concentration camp, where he died.

His heirs claim the Nazis stole the artwork.

However, that has been disputed by dealers, current owners and museums, who claim the Nazis only inventoried the works. They also claim that Grunbaum's sister-in-law sold some of the works, including the two drawings in the current dispute, to a dealer in the 1950s.

Grunbaum's heirs have previously lost in court trying to recover this artwork.

They claim they have lost for the very technical reasons that the HEAR Act was designed to prevent.

Reference: New York Times (Feb. 27, 2017) "A Suit Over Schiele Drawings Invokes New Law on Nazi-Looted Art

It Is Not Always Easy to Preserve Generational Wealth

Grandchildren and great-grandchildren of an initial wealth generator may not be qualified to preserve wealth, according to an article in Private Wealth "Heirs May Not Guard Wealth, An Advisor Says."

The further removed heirs are from those who created the wealth, the less likely those heirs are to understand the work that went into it and the more likely it is that having wealth will seem like a natural occurrence to them.

This often leads to these later generations spending more of the wealth than they should and not leaving enough for it to continue passing down through the family.

There are ways to help protect against this.

Those who create the wealth can discuss the issue with their estate planning attorneys and devise ways to make it more difficult for later generations to waste what they inherit. Another good idea is to make sure that subsequent generations receive solid financial educations and advice.

An estate planning attorney can guide you creating an estate plan to fit your unique financial situation, including preserving generational wealth.

Reference: Private Wealth (Dec. 19, 2016) "Heirs May Not Guard Wealth, An Advisor Says."

Prince Estate Becomes More Complex in Identifying Heirs

The list of potential heirs to Prince's estate has been narrowed down considerably as the judge in the case has thrown out many claims. However, that does not mean the issue of who will inherit a share of his fortune is entirely settled.

While the long list of possible heirs to the fortune left behind by Prince has been reduced, it has been potentially expanded by the laws of Minnesota, according to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press in "In Prince estate case, blood relation might be unnecessary."

Due to a unique feature in Minnesota's family law it is possible the descendants of Duane Nelson could be declared to be related to Prince and receive a share of his estate even though Nelson is not a biological relative of Prince.

Under Minnesota law someone who is treated as a child can be legally declared a child even if they are not biologically a child. Duane Nelson was previously thought to be Prince's half-brother through his father, but it now appears Nelson was not. Interestingly, Nelson’s birth certificate lists Prince's father as his own.

If the judge decides that Nelson is related under the law, then Nelson's three children have a claim to a share in Prince's estate. The law itself gives little guidance for the judge to make a determination, so it is not clear how the court will rule.

Reference: Twin Cities Pioneer Press (Sept. 29, 2016) "In Prince estate case, blood relation might be unnecessary."

African American Museum Won’t Feature King Artifacts

The Washington Post has reported in "Why no major Martin Luther King Jr. artifacts will be at the new African American museum," that the National Museum of African American History and Culture may not be displaying any of the personal artifacts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The reason the museum, which opened recently in Washington D.C., will not have a King display is most likely the result of disagreements within his estate.

King's children met with the curator and offered to loan the museum King's Bible and Noble Peace Prize to display but the curator turned them down. The official reason given for the decline was that the museum prefers to display gifted items, not those that are loaned and can be taken back. That is of particular concern here because King's children have a long history of feuding with each other over their father's estate.

The Bible and the Noble Peace Prize have often been a source of contention between the children.

This is another example of the consequences when the heirs of an estate cannot peaceably settle their differences. Unfortunately, in this case the entire nation has to face those consequences as visitors to the museum will not be able to see King's artifacts.

Reference: Washington Post (Sept. 11, 2016) "Why no major Martin Luther King Jr. artifacts will be at the new African American museum."

Heir Location Service Faces Charges from Justice Department

An heir location service and owner have been charged with antitrust violations, according to the Courthouse News Service “Heir-Location Firm Charged in Antitrust Probe.”

When someone passes away without an estate plan or will an heir location service is often brought in to find the potential heirs and notify them. The heirs then have to prove they have the right to inherit the estate. When an heir location company is successful, it receives a lucrative fee from the heirs.

The Justice Department has charged heir location service Kemp & Associates and one of its co-owners with antitrust violations linked to conspiring with an unindicted competitor to allocate customers between themselves.

If the charges are accurate, it means the heir location service has been colluding to avoid competition, which would drive up the costs of the services for customers.

Reference: Courthouse News Service (Aug. 22, 2016) “Heir-Location Firm Charged in Antitrust Probe.”

Most of claims by Prince’s ‘Heirs’ are Rejected

Most of the claims to be heirs of Prince have been dismissed by a judge, according to a CNN report “Prince's possible heirs narrowed down to six.”

Prince did not have an estate plan which has led many people to file claims with the court claiming they are closely related to Prince. Many of those claims were very weak.

For example, one person claimed that someone told him that his mother named him after Prince and thus he filed a claim to be the musician’s son.

In a single decision, the judge overseeing the case has dismissed most of the claims of those claiming to be Prince’s heir as CNN reports in “Prince's possible heirs narrowed down to six.”

A total of 29 claims were dismissed including 18 claims to be the late musician’s child.

The ruling leaves six claims to be related to Prince open. They include a possible sibling, three half-siblings, a niece and a grandniece. The remaining claimants will undergo DNA testing to see if their relation to Prince can be verified.

Determining who Prince’s heirs are is just the first step in settling his estate. After this step is completed, it will still need to be determined exactly how the estate should be divided between the heirs, who will be in control of Prince’s musical legacy and how the estate will pay the estate tax bills.

Even a simple estate plan could have avoided much of the controversy and confusion following the death of Prince.

Reference: CNN (July 29, 2016) “Prince's possible heirs narrowed down to six.”

Tesla Plans to Be Accommodating If You Pass Away Waiting for New Model

More than 300,000 people have paid $1,000 each to get on the waiting list to acquire the Tesla Model 3, which isn’t available until late 2017. An article in Bloomberg discusses what happens if you pass away before the delivery date in “What Happens When You Die Waiting for a Tesla?”

The actuarial reality that people on the waiting list will pass away means they should be aware of what might happen to the right to purchase the vehicle in the event of death.

Everyone on the waiting list signed a contract with Tesla that explicitly states that the right to purchase a Tesla Model 3 is not transferable to another person without the prior approval of Tesla. This is included as Tesla was concerned that spots on the waiting list would be hoarded and sold at higher than retail value when the car starts shipping. Even estate permission from the company must be sought to transfer the right to purchase to an heir or beneficiary.

Should someone on the waiting list pass away, Tesla would be accommodating, said a spokesperson for the company. They plan to either allow a transfer of the place on the waiting list to an heir or refund the $1,000 deposit.

Reference: Bloomberg (July 13, 2016) “What Happens When You Die Waiting for a Tesla?”

Will 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Skip School?

People often find they never forget discovering Harper Lee's anti-segregation novel To Kill a Mockingbird or the high school teacher who assigned it as required reading. However, as of April 25 that paperback version generally used in high school will no longer be available, as the Tampa Bay Times reports in "Harper Lee's estate wants readers to pay more for 'Mockingbird'."

Lee's estate has informed the publisher of the paperback edition of the novel that it will no longer have license to print the book. Other, more expensive versions of the book will still be available.

This news comes shortly after a judge controversially agreed to seal Lee's will from the public so the public does not know who the author's heirs are and who is behind the decision to put an end to the paperback version of the book.

Lee's estate is not necessarily in the wrong.

It does have a duty to properly manage the author's assets for any heirs or beneficiaries. Selling To Kill a Mockingbird for a few dollars more could potentially lead to more money for those heirs or beneficiaries.

However, this decision could also backfire as schools often face financial challenges and look for ways to reduce the budget. Perhaps a less expensive book will fill the bill.

Reference: Tampa Bay Times (March 12, 2016) "Harper Lee's estate wants readers to pay more for 'Mockingbird'."