There are many lessons to learn about estate planning from the bad experiences of several celebrities.  The AARP recently gathered their stories.  Below are the highlights.

Prince:  When Prince died, he left no will.  Now a Minnesota judge must decide how to distribute the singer’s estimated $300 million estate among six siblings.  Other potential heirs have surfaced too, including a federal inmate claiming to be Prince’s son.

Lesson learned:  have a will.

Florence Griffith Joyner:  Before her death, Olympic gold medalist Florence Griffith Joyner never told anyone the location of her will.  Without the original document available, her relatives battled for four years before her probate estate could be finalized.

Lesson learned:  do not keep the location of a will a secret.

Whitney Houston:  Songstress Whitney Houston had a properly executed and available will when she drowned.  Her will was made a month before the birth of her only child, Bobbi Kristina, and was never revised.  Per the terms of the will, Bobbi was to receive ten percent of the estate when she turned twenty-one, and the rest of the estate later.

Houston apparently failed to consider whether her daughter was mature enough to handle millions of dollars.  Bobbi received the initial ten percent — $2 million — when she turned twenty-one, but did not live long enough to receive the remaining $18 million.  She died as a result of drug intoxication and drug intoxication.

Lesson learned:  review and update wills regularly.

James Gandolfini:  The “Sopranos” actor, James Gandolfini, was reported to be worth $70 million when he died in 2013 of a heart attack in Rome.  His will had been drawn up hastily before a vacation.  Although his will provided for his widow, daughter, and two sisters, it did not consider proper tax planning.  As a result, the estate paid federal and state estate taxes at the relatively high rate of fifty-five percent.

Lesson learned:  be sure to properly finalize estate plans.

Marlon Brando:  When he died in 2004, actor Marlon Brando had a written estate plan for his $100 million fortune, which did not include promises he allegedly made orally to his long-term housekeeper, Angela Borlaza.  She claimed that Brando gave her his house as a gift, but he never completed the paperwork to transfer the deed.  In court, she sued for $627,000 — the market value of the house — plus $2 million in punitive damages.  The case settled for $125,000.

Lesson learned:  avoid oral promises.