A Tenor's Testament
Welcome to my week of blogs! As you may have gathered, lawyers at Hull & Hull alternate weeks when it comes to blogging. The hope is to provide you with a cornucopia of perspectives on various issues of interest to the estate bar and the profession generally. We try to mix light-hearted topics with serious ones.
Turning to today’s blog, I read with interest that Pavarotti’s Will was recently opened. The great tenor ultimately succumbed to pancreatic cancer. Pavarotti was colourful both on and off the stage. He was married twice and sired 4 children. It now turns out that Pavarotti’s estate is as rich as his voice.
Pavarotti left the bulk of his estate to his second wife and four children pursuant to a recent June 13th Will (his youngest and only child from his second marriage is four years old). In a second Will dated July 29th Pavarotti apparently created a trust in favour of his second wife of approximately €15 million. This was a surprise to his friends and family. The second Will dealt with Pavarotti’s three New York apartments as well as personal items, including paintings by Matisse. The family has denied rumours in the Italian press that Pavarotti’s first and second families were at odds. Like so many, Pavarotti waited until the end of his life to deal with his Estate. No doubt, the opera star was reluctant to confront his own death (though death looms large in many operas).
The reading of a Will by family members is often fertile ground for surprise and disappointment. Many testators use a Will to settle old scores, reward or punish behaviour, or favour those who nursed the testator through illness or old age.
I struggle with whether to advise a client to reveal the contents of his/her Will to family members before death. Overcoming the trepidation to execute a Will is one thing, but to then reveal its contents to family members, who may benefit unequally, is an entirely different matter. For example, a disappointed son or daughter may punish their parents by no longer seeing them or cutting off access to grandchildren. However, if the Will comes as a surprise after the testator’s death and is a disappointment, the potential for litigation is rife. A disappointed beneficiary will justify litigation by claiming that they are only doing “what mom really wanted”. Emotions come into play, judgment becomes clouded, and lawyers are retained.
In the end, there is no easy answer as to whether to advise your client to reveal the contents of his/her Will.
Ciao, Justin
