by Donald Kingett, Esq.
Stan Lee, the former Marvel Comics publisher and chairman, died on November 12, 2018 at age 95. Lee was the co-creator of many superheroes like Spiderman, Black Panther and Captain America. Lee’s wife died in July 2017 and he is survived by a daughter.
Unfortunately, his estate may be plagued with considerable challenges including how much Federal estate tax his estate will be required to pay. Prior to Lee’s death he reportedly accused his former publicist of transferring millions of dollars from his bank accounts and engaging in the sale of Lee’s blood as a collectible item. For tax purposes, Lee’s estate will need to value this claim against the publicist and also value his other unique assets. For example, Lee’s estate has the right to his postmortem likeness if it is used in future movies. This was also an issue in the Michael Jackson estate. It is expected that Lee’s estate probably also owns many unique collectibles and memorabilia related to Marvel Comics, which can be quite difficult to value.
These issues and valuations need to be resolved within nine months following Lee’s death because his estate must file a Federal estate tax return and pay the tax within that time. It could be a difficult problem if the lawsuit is not resolved prior to that time without a valuation of a possible recovery. Additionally, the value of the damages in Lee’s case are speculative because Lee and his legal team were not seeking a specific dollar amount. Rather, the lawsuit sought to recover an amount that would be proven at trial. Thus, the total recovery amount could be very difficult to assess and may be based on what a court decides. Consideration must also be given to any expected costs that Lee’s estate will incur, such as lawyers’ fees, forensic accountants and related legal proceedings.
At this point it is not clear whether Lee had a last will and testament, a trust or any other estate planning documents in place. Estate planning can be an emotional process, although for a typical person it is fairly straightforward. The issues that Stan Lee’s estate will encounter are not common and estate planning is not only for the rich and famous. Most people should, at a minimum, take certain steps like planning for their incapacity or disability and ensuring they have a plan in place, whether a last will and testament or a revocable living trust, in the event of their death.
“Excelsior!”
***Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal, accounting or other professional advice. Only through a personal, confidential consultation with qualified legal counsel can anyone properly evaluate their own unique Tax or estate planning challenges and determine what, if any, appropriate legal strategies and tactics should be implemented to meet those challenges.”***