I didn’t mean to start looking at Michael Jackson jokes, but somehow it happened for about 30 seconds as I was researching this post. Here’s one of them:

This is from 101 Fun Michael Jackson Jokes:

Q: How will MJ pay off his old boyfriends?
A: Liquefy some assets.

The distribution of your assets is no laughing matter. You may ha

ve a story about where you

want your money to go, however that is no guarantee your wishes will be carried out after your demise. Sue Farley, #1 Best Selling author of Trust, Are You Kidding? shared a number of tales of woe during a call we had last week that will become a bonus gift for her book launch.

News of a battle over his estate after Michael Jackson’s death demonstrates the problems Farley identifies in the trust industry. You may think that saying X amount goes to your children for their education seals the deal, but your trustee is under no real obligation to carry out your wishes.

Here is a snippet from a report in the Michael Jackson’s assets in the Times of India (showing you just how far this story reaches:

Branca and McClain have had control over Neverland Ranch for over a month and have the authority to negotiate deals and transition Jackson’s assets into a private trust.

It is unclear how much money Katherine and her grandchildren will receive as allowance from the singer’s estate in the meantime, but the trust designates that 40% of the estate goes to Katherine, 40% goes to the children and 20% goes to various charities.

No matter what the trust designates, you can bet there will be more battles to come. Jackson’s mother Catherine just gave up her claim to control the estate.

What about your family? Got any money-grubbing folks lurking in the branches of your family tree? Can you imagine that some people will fight over what you really meant or wanted?

Recently, I saw the movie Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood, and I think most of us have a relative or two like his grand daughter who only wanted his stuff.

It is for exactly that reason that Sue Farley shows you how to create a trust that works in her book.Wouldn’t you like to know how to assure that your money goes where you desire, and in the spirit you intend?

Join me as I interview Sue Farley Wed. Aug. 5 at 1 Eastern on Empowering Stories on BlogTalkRadio. You can listen live via phone 646–716–9958 or computer. After the show, you can download the interview. Just go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/empoweringstories & click the download button by Sue’s show, Wed Aug 5 2009..

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