Whilst “The King” may no longer be with us, his rock and roll legacy certainly is and it is as strong as ever – nearly 40 years after his death. Yesterday, 8 January 2015, millions of fans across the world celebrated Elvis’ birthday, on what would have been his 80th birthday.
A multi-day celebration is being held at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. Some of the items being sold range from his driving licence through to his pair of personal jets, which although are no longer air-worthy, are expected to fetch up to $15 million.
But what will happen to the funds raised?
The Last Will and Testament of Elvis Presley is now a widely-available document. The Will was drafted to give maximum flexibility to his (now deceased) father, Vernon E. Presley, in terms of who inherited the bulk of his fortune. Elvis decided to incorporate a trust into his Will, so as to allow his father and any subsequent Trustees, to make distributions to his beneficiaries. The initial beneficiaries included his daughter Lisa Presley, his father and his grandmother Minnie Presley. A further clause was also included which stated that the Trustees could make payments to any other of his relatives who were in need of “emergency assistance”.
Whilst it would be unlikely that you could claim to have a ‘copy-cat’ Will to that of The King of Rock and Roll, this type of arrangement is an option that many people decide to pursue. Whether it be for tax planning purposes or to protect certain family members, it is possible to draft your Will to provide your Trustees with ultimate discretion as to who should benefit from your Estate, and when they should do so. Alternatively, if you wished to control, or limit, the way in which a beneficiary could spend their inheritance, then this could well be a viable option to consider. Granted, there may not be $15 million dollars worth of personal jets in your Estate, but the principle remains the same.
Over the next week, another chapter in the story of Elvis Presley’s life will come to fruition and thankfully, his Trustees, can rely on and follow Elvis’ wishes, chapter and verse, through the contents of his Will.