• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ambler Keenan Mitchell Johnson

Estate Planning Law Firm

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
CALL US TODAY 303-407-1542
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • About The American Academy
    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • Client Testimonials
    • Mission Statement
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
  • Seminars
  • Elder Law
    • Are You A Caregiver
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • Estate Planning Articles
    • Estate Planning Resources
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Estate Planning FAQ’s
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning FAQ’s
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning Frequently Asked Questions
      • Trust Administration & Probate Frequently Asked Questions
    • LGBTQ Resources
    • Multimedia
    • Newsletters
    • Speaker Connection
    • Special Needs Resources
    • Trust Administration & Probate Resources
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Contact Us
  • BLOG
Home Estate Planning Estate Planning Mistakes – Howard Hughes

Elizabeth D. Mitchell September 23, 2014

Estate Planning Mistakes – Howard Hughes


Who was Howard Hughes? Airplane Howard Hughes was an investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist. Look his name up online and you will find many of his accomplishments including, but not limited to, setting world airspeed records, building aircrafts, making films (Scarface, Hell’s Angels, The Outlaw), acquiring and expanding Trans World Airlines, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Later in his life, he was known to be very eccentric and reclusive with an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Famous Actor in Movies What happened at the end? Howard’s physical and mental health decline brought him to the end in 1976. Roughly 3 weeks after his death, a handwritten will was found on a desk at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This will has become known as the “Mormon Will,” which purportedly gave $1.56 billion to different charities, almost $470 million to the higher management in his companies and his aides, $156 million to a cousin, and $156 million split equally between his two ex-wives. In addition, a gas station owner was also named as a beneficiary of $156 million dollars. The gas station owners told reporters that he had picked up a disheveled man on a highway and dropped him off at The Sands hotel, 150 miles away. He claimed the man was Hughes. The state of Nevada rejected the handwritten will, and declared it a forgery. The court declared that Howard Hughes had died intestate. Gavel What was the final outcome? 34 years later, (yes, 34 years!) his estate was finally settled. According to various sources, over 1,000 people benefited from the estate. This includes 200 of whom were distant relatives. During his life, Howard had voiced many times that he did not want his distant relatives to inherit money. However, dying intestate can often contradict the deceased person’s wishes. What lesson can be learned? No matter how much money you have or how well known you may be, estate planning mistakes can happen easily. It is important to have a qualified estate planning attorney compile your wishes and desires into an up-to-date, comprehensive estate plan. If you have not created an estate plan, or if you would like to make sure your estate plan is up-to-date with current laws, call or email Ambler Keenan Mitchell Johnson for a FREE, one-hour estate planning, no obligation,  consultation with one of our attorneys. 303-407-1542

Primary Sidebar

Blog Subscription

News

How to Dispose of “Stuff”

Clients are often most concerned about how to dispose of their tangible personal property, i.e., their “stuff.” Often even wealthy clients are most … [Read More...] about How to Dispose of “Stuff”

Using Disclaimers to Achieve Client Goals: Double Disclaimers

Disclaimers can be a good way of getting assets where you want them to go. If the disclaimer is a “qualified disclaimer,” the client isn’t treated as … [Read More...] about Using Disclaimers to Achieve Client Goals: Double Disclaimers

Using Disclaimers to Achieve Client Goals

Disclaimers can be a good way of getting assets where you want them to go. If the disclaimer is a “qualified disclaimer,” the client isn’t treated as … [Read More...] about Using Disclaimers to Achieve Client Goals

Map

map for Ambler Keenan Mitchell Johnson office

© 2021 · American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Contact Us