Tragedy in 2020
Perhaps unsurprisingly then, the famous actor Chadwick Boseman, most well-known for his role in Marvel’s “Black Panther”, was included among the 70% of Americans in the nation without a will or trust in place.
After being diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2016, Boseman wed the musician Taylor Simone Ledward–entirely in private. After battling the cruel disease for multiple years, he passed away in the summer of 2020.
While Boseman’s decision to marry before his passing allowed for more of his assets to be distributed as per California’s right of survivorship (assuming Ledward was on title) and possibly outside of probate, not having a will in place complicated matters significantly.
Case in point, Boseman’s estate inventory was valued at a total of $3.8 million, as per a report from Radar Online, which had access to the final accounting report filed by his wife.
After tax costs of $51,000, a bond for probate in the amount of $900,000, and other fees, the assets remaining total approximately 2.3 million–a significantly smaller amount. Just by having a will in place, the expensive costs associated with probating his estate may have been avoided.