Jason D. Jones, Esq.

Brooke Astor lived to 105 and spent most of her adult life giving money away. What makes her estate a useful planning example is not her fortune or the famous names attached to it, but her last decade, when the questions surrounding her became ones any family can face. Who decides when the client can no longer decide? Do documents signed late in life reflect what the client truly wanted? And what happens when the person closest to a declining parent is also the one who gains from the changes?...

Marilyn Monroe died more than sixty years ago, yet legal and commercial questions connected to her estate have continued long after her death. That is what makes the estate useful as a planning example. For most people, estate planning is about deciding who receives property after death. But for clients with meaningful assets, complicated family relationships, valuable personal property, public visibility, or a strong sense of legacy, estate planning is also about preserving privacy,...

Many people assume that a Will is only necessary if they are wealthy, elderly, seriously ill, or dealing with a complicated family situation. That is incorrect. A Will is not only about distributing money. It is about creating structure, authority, and clarity at a time when the people left behind may be grieving, confused, or in disagreement. Even a modest estate can become more difficult when no one has clear authority, no one knows what the deceased person wanted, or family members...