Cynthia Brittain recently spoke with Wealth Management about the sudden and tragic passing of Lisa Marie Presley, who was the sole heir to the Elvis Presley estate, and what challenges may lie ahead in carrying out her final wishes to divide the estate between her three daughters.
“Lisa Marie’s history of financial troubles could certainly slow down the estate administration process, as any resulting litigation against her estate affects the value of her estate,” Cindy said. “It’s likely in this situation that U.S. estate taxes will be due, and her estate will need to be valued in order to determine her estate’s U.S. estate tax liability. A lawsuit against her estate can seriously hamper getting a timely U.S. estate tax valuation.”
Lisa Marie’s three children will ultimately have to decide if the properties and assets remaining in the estate should be sold or preserved, which, according to Cindy, could cause conflict. “The most significant threat to family assets is internal litigation that can arise amongst family members who want different outcomes,” she said. “For example, if one family member wants to sell the assets and go their own way while others want to preserve the pool of family assets. Neither is wrong, these are just preferences among the beneficiaries.”
