The beloved Matthew Perry from the hit sitcom, “Friends” sadly passed away on October 28, 2023. Perry, who played the hilarious Chandler Bing on the show, did have a Will dated from 2009 at the time of his death.
The Will in and of itself stipulated a majority of his assets to be placed in a living trust which is commonly referred to as an inter vivos trust, named the Alvy Singer Living Trust. Not only did Perry place most of his assets in this living trust, but he also made it quite clear in his Will that any children he had at the time of death would not inherit any portion of his Estate. He did not have any children at the time of his death.
The ability to disinherit a child is a right that is given to any testator when preparing his or her will. However, this decision may be the subject of a will challenge on the part of the disinherited child, which is common in more cases than less.
It is important when preparing your Will and speaking with your drafting solicitor to be clear of your intentions of disinheriting a child. It is also helpful to include these reasons in the form of a memorandum or letter with your Will so your intentions for disinheriting are clear to the reader of the Will.
In these particular circumstances, Perry did not have any children at the time of his untimely death and as such, the prospect of any will challenge on the basis of disinheritance on the part of a child may be unlikely.
Perry’s estate is estimated to be valued over $120 million, which may consist of his intellectual property, royalty payments from “Friends” as well as other assets he may have collected over his lifetime. It is common for actors to place their assets of significant wealth into a living trust to maintain their privacy.
Assets that can commonly be placed in a living trust include but are not limited to:
- Real estate and real property
- Bank accounts and investments
- Corporate assets
In summary, it seems Matthew Perry was intentional in his succession planning. It will be interesting to see what comes of his legacy in the future.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Kiran Sanghera
Sources:
https://people.com/matthew-perry-estate-what-happens-legal-experts-explain-exclusive-8400182