The one year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s shocking death on June 25, 2009 is upon us. While his music and thriller dance moves live on, unfortunately, so do the legal battles over his estate.  Let’s moonwalk backwards through the past 12 months to review the courtroom clashes and combative issues involving the King of Pop’s estate.

June 25, 2009 – Michael Jackson unexpectedly dies at the age of 50 as he is about to embark on a comeback concert tour.

June 29 – Katherine and Joe Jackson, Michael’s parents, file to open the probate estate of Michael.  They allege that he died without a will and ask for Katherine to be appointed to administer his estate.  Katherine filed to be appointed as guardian of Michael’s three children the same day and is granted temporary authority to assume custody of them.

July 1 – John Branca, Michael’s former attorney, and John McClain, his former manager, file their own probate petition, asking the Judge to appoint them as executors of Michael’s estate based on a will Michael signed July 7, 2002.  The will names Katherine as the person Michael wanted to care for his children, with Diana Ross as the back-up.  The assets are left to the Michael Jackson Family Trust.  Estimates of the estate’s value exceed $500 million, despite reports that there was so much debt to render Michael Jackson insolvent.

The case raged for months, and The Probate Lawyer Blog featured several articles about it.  The Hong Kong judge carefully deliberated since closing arguments took place in late September.  Earlier today, the High Court released the 326-page ruling that declared Wang’s 2006 will to be a forgery.

Tony Chan contended that Wang had left him her fortune because, rather than being a mere feng shui adviser for her, he was also her secret lover.  Of course, he was married during the affair.  And he was 20 years younger than she was.

Lawyers for the Wang family and charities (the vast majority of her fortune from the prior will, in 2002, was earmarked for charity), said Chan forged the new will.  They also claimed, alternatively, that Chan had tricked her into signing it by declaring it to be a “feng shui will” that he was supposed to destroy as part of a ceremony to help extend her life.

If you’re interested, you can read the Court’s decision here (don’t worry, the helpful Hong Kong Court also provided a much shorter summary of the long legal document which is also available through the same link).  Here are the highlights:

Nina Wang did have an intimate relationship with Tony Chan, but she wanted to keep it a secret.  Despite giving him lavish gifts and payments of money, she didn’t want to give him her entire fortune.

Rather, she held true to her wishes in the 2002 will, leaving most of her wealth to charity.

Wang did, in fact, sign a new document in 2006.  But it wasn’t the will Tony Chan said it was.  No — that one was forged . . . through a “highly skilled simulation”.  Instead, Wang signed a Specific Bequest Will leaving Chan $10 million (poor guy).

The Judge didn’t find Chan believable — pointing to his criminal past, among other reasons.  Chan lied and withheld relevant information from the Court, the Judge said.  And, the 2006 will was written in English, not Chinese like the 2002 will.

The judge also said he didn’t believe Chan’s wife either, who also offered testimony to support the validity of the 2006 will.

Chan’s lawyer already promised an appeal.  But, Chan has other concerns in the meantime.  Chan may be referred for criminal prosecution based on the finding of forgery.  And he won’t even have the $10 million from the “Specific Bequest Will”.  That partial will wasn’t located and Chan didn’t offer it for admission to the Court.  So he may not even get that amount.

The real irony here is that Chan’s path is eerily similar to Nina Wang’s.  Her husband was kidnapped in 1990 and was never found.  (In fact, that’s how she met Chan — he was supposed to help locate her husband).  After Wang’s husband was declared dead, the father-in-law challenged the will that left Nina Wang everything.

And, just like in this case, the will was found to be a forgery and Nina Wang was charged criminally.

But, Nina Wang ultimately won on appeal and was exonerated.  She inherited her husband’s fortune, despite originally losing her case.  Will her feng shui master/former lover be as lucky on appeal?

Feb 4, 2010 Update — Tony Chan has been arrested because of the ruling.  Read the story here.

Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at awmayoras @ trialandheirs.com.

They also each owned NBA franchises in the midwest.  Davidson owned the Detroit Pistons (yeah!), while Simon co-owned the rival Indiana Pacers (boo!) with his brother, Herbert Simon.

Both men died last year, with Davidson passing away at age 86 in March and Simon passing in October, at age 82.  And both were survived by spouses as well as children from prior marriages.

And, in both instances, the spouse and the children from the prior marriage did not see eye to eye.  Because of that, both the Davidson Estate and Simon Estate are mired in lawsuits about the true wishes of the beloved billionaires.

In Davidson’s case, there are actually multiple lawsuits that have recently been filed.  An Israeli company and a Jewish charity started the legal actions claiming that Davidson (a renowned philanthropist who generously supported many charitable causes, especially Jewish and Israeli ones) had promised them sums totaling $20 million.  The problem was that Davidson’s revised will, signed only one week before he died, did not include money for these Jewish and Israeli causes.

Karen Davidson, Bill’s wife, supports the company and charity, and she has actually joined in the request for funds, even though, as Bill’s wife and a primary beneficiary of her estate, Karen stands to lose millions if the money is taken from the estate to pay these claims.

Opposing Karen and these claimants are the two co-executors of the Davidson estate, which includes the husband of Karen’s step-daughter.  The son-in-law pointed to a dispute amongst the beneficiaries as a reason for refusing to provide the money.

Yet these $20 million disagreements pale in comparison to the family feud surrounding Mel Simon’s Estate.  He signed a new will and trust seven months before he died that drastically reduced the inheritance to his three children, to the benefit of his wife of 37 years, Bren Simon.  In fact, reportedly, Bren will receive one-half of the fortune, instead of one-third, with the children being cut out.

Deborah Simon, Mel’s daughter, filed the lawsuit a few weeks ago.  She claimed that Mel was ill from pancreatic cancer, dementia and neurological disorders which impaired his understanding and his ability to sign the new documents.   In fact, she says, he wasn’t even able to hold the pen or the documents to sign his name, and someone else had to move his hand for him.

Mel’s wife, Bren, counters that the documents were valid.  Mel fully understood and desired to make the changes, she says, to protect his wife from his children, and because he wanted to compensate her for loss in value of company stock.  Bren admits that Mel needed help signing the estate planning documents, because he suffered from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Mel’s wife, Bren, counters that the documents were valid.  Mel fully understood and desired to make the changes, she says, to protect his wife from his children, and because he wanted to compensate her for loss in value of company stock.  Bren admits that Mel needed help signing the estate planning documents, because he suffered from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

As a probate litigation attorney who regularly handles will disputes and trust contests like these cases, I see these types of family fights affect people on a daily basis.  While millionaires and billionaires do seem to attract these legal battles more often (as covered in Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights!), the reality is that they are also far more common than people realize, even for middle-class families.

The exact same type of legal fights surface over estates worth hundreds of thousands, or even tens of thousands.  When a will or trust is changed and family members are cut out, or someone is convinced that a promise was made and not fulfilled, estate disputes are usually just around the corner.

The best prevention remains a good estate plan with an experienced estate planning lawyer.  Despite this, two-thirds of adults in this country don’t even have wills.

Don’t let this happen to your family!  Work with a good attorney and plan ahead.  And if you do suspect a loved one has been a victim of undue influence, or has been coerced to sign new documents when not mentally competent, learn your legal rights by working with an experienced probate litigation attorney.

As the Davidson and Simon estate battles will demonstrate, these court proceedings are long, expensive and emotionally-draining for everyone involved.

Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at awmayoras @ trialandheirs.com.