In this blog we regularly talk about how important it is to engage in conversations about long term planning with your loved ones. But estate planning is not always a natural conversation starter. It involves thinking and talking about mortality and personal finances, two topics that can make some people uncomfortable. But a recent article from Forbes provides an idea about how to break the ice and open the conversation around estate planning over this Thanksgiving holiday.

The article acknowledges that this can be a difficult topic of conversation to begin. It also points out that most people, if given the chance, are more than willing to engage in gossip about celebrities. This suggests a recipe for a Thanksgiving conversation around estate planning that may be more palatable than trying to jump directly into a conversation about wills, trusts and estates.

The article highlighted two celebrities that seem to always make the pages of the gossip columns, Kim Kardashian and Michael Jackson.

Kim Kardashian is highlighted due to her recent, short-lived, marriage and the estate planning implications that the nuptial might have. Fortunately most marriages last more than seventy-two days, but the compressed timeline allows us to look at the full cycle of estate planning steps both spouses should take. When a couple gets married it is important to update your wills, beneficiary designations and any other estate planning documents. If the couple fails to do this the prior documents may not be recognized. On the other end of the marriage it is obviously of utmost importance to update upon divorce. In many cases, because of the length of time that can be required to finalize a divorce it may make sense to begin the process upon separation.

Forbes recently identified Michael Jackson as the top-earning deceased celebrity, earning about $179 million in the last twelve months. Sales of his albums apparently not only spiked right after his death but have continued to garner interest and sales. The disputes surrounding his estate began shortly after his death. Despite the earnings from his albums after his death, his family was receiving only an amount to cover their living expenses until recently. The executors recently moved $30 million into a trust for his family. Because Michael Jackson had not funded his trusts during his lifetime, his estate still had to go through probate, and the fight to fund the trusts will likely continue in to the foreseeable future.

For better or worse most of our estates will be on an entirely different scale than these celebrities. But the same general principles to estate planning apply. As a topic of conversation, it is more interesting open with the battles over Michael Jackson's estate than to suggest that we share our views on the effective funding of trusts.

Source: Forbes "Pass The Turkey With A Side Of Celebrity Estate Planning Stories," Danielle and Andy Mayoras, Nov. 14, 2011