Every few months one these outrageous stories comes out about a very wealthy person who never deemed it important to have a proper estate plan. I have been following this story about "Little Sweetie", a Hong Kong heiress, for the last few years.
There are two things about this story that I think are relevant to many of my clients. Firstly, you need a recently updated estate plan, done by a reputable lawyer, no matter how old you are. I don't know how old Mrs. Wang's husband was when he was kidnapped in 1990, but I'm sure he thought he'd live forever so he didn't have a bulletproof estate plan in place.
The same goes for Mrs. Wang, who died a few years ago. She left her Mr. Wang's money to a charitable foundation, but then her feng shui adviser produced another will claiming he was the sole heir to Mr. Wang's money. It was also learned that Mrs. Wang had given the feng shui advisor $688 million before she died. What a sleazeball he is for trying to claim the charity money!
The lesson here is that you may want to leave your money to care for your loved ones in trust, rather than directly. Using this method, pool boys, feng shui masters, and other con persons will be unable to usurp the wishes of those who made the money in the first place. Imagine how the kidnapped and likely murdered Mr. Wang would feel if he knew his fortune went to the former unemployed bartender and feng shui master rather than his heirs and charities.
Feng Shui Master: I Was Her Secret Lover; Puppet Show: Don't Believe It
By JONATHAN CHENG
HONG KONG -- Lawyers began arguments this week to determine whether Tony Chan, a bartender-turned-feng shui master, will become one of the richest men in the world.
His lawyers say Mr. Chan, 49 years old, is the rightful heir to the fortune of the late Nina Wang, a billionaire whose pigtails, miniskirts and bobby socks earned her the nickname "Little Sweetie." Ms. Wang's charitable foundation is fighting his claim with, among other things, a puppet show.
It's the latest chapter in a convoluted tale of money, love, kidnapping and allegations of forged wills.
Continue reading "The Fight for Little Sweetie's Billions Is Getting More Than a Little Weird" ยป
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