Billie Holiday and Pablo Picasso died without wills — and left behind long legal battles for their loved ones
Billie Holiday and Pablo Picasso died without wills — and left behind long legal battles for their loved ones
Sabina Wex
5 min read
Although Billie Holiday and Pablo Picasso were household names who were celebrated for their respective crafts, they weren’t exactly the best role models when it came to estate planning.
However, they’re only two names in a long list of celebrities who didn't leave behind detailed wills — and left lengthy legal battles in their wake instead.
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For the average American, legal matters for the death of a loved one, such as lawyer or court fees, cost a median of $2,788, according to the 2024 Cost of Dying Report from Empathy, a platform that helps families navigate bereavement. The report adds that this happens over an average of a 15-month period.
This doesn’t just apply to physical assets either. If you have intellectual property (IP), trade secrets, or anything non-tangible that you want to protect after your death, we can learn a few things from the mistakes of our heroes.
Billie Holiday’s poor planning
For Holiday, she fell on hard times later in life. Although the 44-year-old died with little money, her recording royalties, images, and publishing rights were considered valuable assets.
However, because she didn't have a will, her abusive third husband, Louis McKay, received her entire estate in 1959, according to Billboard.
"It's not right that someone who was as awful to Billie Holiday as Louis McKay was would then have control of her likeness and her money," Danyel Smith, the author of the book, “Shine Bright: A Personal History of Black Women in Pop,” told Billboard.
After McKay’s death in 1981, Holiday’s estate was passed on to his heirs, including his widow, Bernice McKay. She then sold the estate to a publishing company in 2012.
"It's insane, at the end of the day, control of her money and likeness is in the hands of people who didn't know her or have a relationship with her,” Smith told Billboard.
When you own intellectual property (IP) — including copyright, patents, trademarks, or trade secrets — a will is particularly important, or else you could end up in a situation similar to Holiday, according to Trust and Will, an estate planning platform.
The first thing you need to do is make a will. Once you list beneficiaries (or just one beneficiary) for the will, your IP will automatically be passed on to them, Trust and Will says.
A beneficiary can be a child, spouse, partner, or friend. Just make sure it’s someone you trust because they will be looking after your legacy and finances after you die.
If you have specific wishes for your IP after death, list them in detail. For instance, the Beastie Boys famously won’t license their music for commercial use. Band member Adam “MCA” Yauch, who died in 2012, even wrote this request into his will, according to Vulture.
You can also create a trust for your IP. You can control this in both life and death (with the latter requiring specific instructions, of course). This is particularly helpful if you only want certain people to make decisions and benefit financially from your IP.
If you’re reluctant about making a will
Picasso didn’t leave a will either. The artist’s estate was estimated at $250 million in 1980, but was probably worth a lot more, according to Vanity Fair.
After six long tumultuous years and $30 million dollars in settlement costs later, his estate was divided amongst his seven heirs.
His lawyer, Armand Antebi, explained why he didn’t make a will: “He never made one because of superstition,” he told the New York Times after Picasso’s 1973 death. “A way of avoiding death, one might say.”
It’s reasonable to fear death, and therefore, avoid talking about it or preparing for it. But as personal finance celebrity Dave Ramsey once said on The Ramsey Show: “If you hate the people in your family, leave unclear instructions and no will. Because they will all fight [for] the rest of their lives over your crap.”
Do yourself and your family a favor and write up a will. If you choose, you can speak with your beneficiaries in advance about how you’d like your will to be executed (although you’re not obligated to), so that they can keep your IP and legacy alive in a way that will honor your wishes.
It’s also a general rule of thumb to review and update your will every few years. Many attorneys will advise revisiting your documents every five years or so to make adjustments.
After all, all that initial planning took time, money and effort — and you wouldn't want to leave your heirs scrambling when the time comes to put it to use.