Fans of music around the world were met with some extremely sad news recently when the death of British singer Amy Winehouse was announced. Winehouse was an extraordinary talent, a winner of five Grammy awards whose music touched the lives of millions of people. Some critics say that she helped to revive a stagnant British music scene with the enormous success of her seminal album Back to Black.
Though Amy Winehouse was known to indulge in drugs and alcohol to excess, the precise cause of her death has not been determined as of this writing. She was just 27 years old at the time of her passing, joining the so-called “27 Club” with other deceased musicians Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, blues legend Robert Johnson, and grunge rocker Kurt Cobain.
Because of her image as a freewheeling, hard living sort many people would assume that she did not have her financial affairs in order. The reality is that according to British newspapers she did in fact have a current estate plan in place, and it is a good thing that she did.
Amy Winehouse had an ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who is imprisoned at the moment. Because of British law he may have actually been in line to inherit her assets, but because of the fact that she engaged in effective estate planning her wishes will be honored and her parents and her brother will assume ownership of her assets.
Though the Amy Winehouse case is certainly not the typical one on a number of different levels, it does shed light on the fact that younger people do pass away at times for one reason or another. Many young adults have spouses and children, and these days two incomes are usually required to maintain the standard of living is enjoyed by most families. So estate planning is something that is relevant to all adults, and if you don’t have an estate plan in place at the present time you may be leaving your loved ones in a precarious situation.
Mr. Nirenstein is licensed to practice before the courts of the State of Connecticut and the United States District Court. He is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations, and the Estate and Probate, Elder Law, Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
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