- Heiress leaves S$16.5m to her 3 dogs just like the way many not-so-rich parents do with their money

Heiress leaves S$16.5m to her 3 dogs just like the way many not-so-rich parents do with their money

Written by Wilfred Ling

Friday, 18 June 2010

I read with great amusement in the newspaper about a wealthy lady who left S$16.5m to her three dogs upon her demise. Now, her son is challenging her Will in court (see article below).

Well, perhaps that is what the rich people do with their money like leaving large sum to dogs. But on a more serious note, many not-so-rich people also do similar things too. While they do not leave things to their dogs explicitly, they also do not leave anything to their love ones but instead to unknown people and hence having the similar effect as to leaving dogs.

Everyone whether rich or poor guards their wealth closely. For a house, one will only give the keys to certain trusted individuals. For valuables, it will be placed under locks and keys. For money with a bank, the internet-banking password, userid and token are kept in secret. Since all mortals have to leave this planet earth one day, the house, the safe and bank accounts are all open for grabs. There is a law on how these assets are to be inherited by certain specific individuals. But what is stated on paper and what really happens is not the same thing. Why? Because there is no auditor and no policeman to ensure assets are given to the legal rightful owners. Legal rightful owners have to enforce their rights through costly legal battles. That is why lawyers’ job is quite a nice job. Instead of allowing others to engage in costly legal battles and get wounded by emotional scars, it is better to plan for it.

For the past half a year, I’ve been focusing on estate planning for parents with young children. Partly because I am a parent of very young children and thus the subject matter is close to my heart. It is very easy for me to identify the needs of a parents and children. I am aware that ALL parents do not plan for the unforeseen event. Every parent thinks they are immortals and will always be there for their young children. In recent years through better education and improved information efficiency via the internet, more and more parents are aware that they can get cheap term insurance to provide for the lost of income in the event of death of the sole breadwinner. I like to see the face of my clients when I show them the price of a cheapo $1m term insurance. Their first reaction is – why nobody showed it to them. Their second reaction is: “I’ve been cheated to buy unwanted insurance.” Among the very few who are already well insured (usually because they DIY and NOT because their agents advised them so), I’ve NOT come across any who has figured out how to ensure their assets, including the insurance payout, are transferred to their dependents upon the demise of the sole breadwinner in a practical way. In practice, such monies probably end up in the casino or are simply unaccounted for through lavish spending by custodians.

I am often amused to find individual parents who have no qualms in spending $3000 in upgrading their notebooks, committing themselves to $95 monthly mobile subscription (which accumulatively cost thousands of dollars) in order to get a free iPhone, paying tens of thousands of dollars in stamp duty in property speculation, and spending $80,000 in a car which is not needed. Yet, they do not even set aside any budget to ensure their love ones are taken care through careful planning. Is the young baby not more important than that iPhone, notebook and car? Is the thrill for property speculation more important than the own flesh and blood? How much have you lose by investing in stocks and unit trusts?

This article also apepared on CPF's IMSavvy / IM$avvy website: http://www.cpf.gov.sg/imsavvy/blog_post.asp?postid=570731262-111-3620722293

Son's fury as heiress mother leaves £8m to her DOGS, £17m to her housekeepers... and just £650,000 to him

By Daniel Bates, Last updated at 2:27 AM on 19th June 2010

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

A wealthy heiress has sparked a bitter legal row after leaving £8million of her estate to her beloved pet dogs.

When Gail Posner died aged 67 she had already made arrangements to give her Chihuahua and two other dogs a £2million trust fund and a £6million beach-front mansion in Miami.

The dogs were not the only winners in the will - a string of bodyguards and housekeepers were awarded £17million and the right to live rent-free in the property while they cared for the animals, according to legal papers.

Heiress: Gail Posner, who died in March, left her beloved Chihuahua her £6million mansion. Her other two dogs received £2million and her housekeepers £17million

Now Miss Posner's son has launched a legal bid to have her last wishes annulled.

Bret Carr claims his mother was drugged with painkillers and 'brainwashed' into spending lavish sums on her pets including Conchita, the Chihuahua, which took regular spas, had a full-time staff, its own wardrobe and was showered with diamonds.

He alleges aides persuaded his mother to change her will in 2008 and used their influence to leave him with just £650,000.

Mr Carr, a director, claims his mother was 'deeply disturbed' and was persuaded to hire a publicist to promote Conchita as 'one of the world's most spoiled dogs'.

His lawyer, Bruce Katzen, said he believes the publicity campaign was part of a 'ruse' to explain why a large trust fund was needed to care for the dogs.

While Miss Posner was alive, her excesses towards her animals became the stuff of legend.

In an interview in 2007 she said Conchita's most prized possession was a £10,000 Cartier necklace, however the dog refused to wear it after choking on it.

'Conchita is the only girl I know who doesn't consider diamonds her best friend,' she said.

The dog would typically accompany Miss Posner on lunch dates and she once considered buying her her own Range Rover to take the animal for its weekly spa appointments for pedicures and manicures.

In the end she decided to give the dog her gold Cadillac and bought a new car for herself.

Miss Posner, who died in March, was born into wealth - her father was Victor Posner, an American businessman and philanthropist.

The bodyguards and housekeepers declined to comment.

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Anonymous

|220.255.7.201 |2010-06-22 04:53:28

It's perfectly OK for people to leave $$$ to animals and pets etc. It's their money and as long as they do so willingly and in full mental capacity. She even had a trust for the pets, so the situation when the pets have gone to dog heaven etc have also probably been addressed. She also probably knows her own son well enough to know why GBP650,000 is enough for him.

Much better than people who leave it to Intestate regulations and "goodwill" of relatives to look after kids, or depend on "maturity" of their 20-something kids to know how to handle that $1M inheritance.

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