When a small estate grows, estate planning is even more necessary

Estate planning is very important no matter what a person's profession and no matter how much money a person has. Punk-rock pioneer Johnny Thunders' estate is currently being debated in court, after the late man's estate grew from $4,000 in 1991 when he died to hundreds of thousands of dollars today.

He died without a will, and his sister was appointed as the administrator of his estate. His relatives got payments from the accounts twice a year. When the musician's sister died in 2009, the payments stopped. A daughter was to take over as administrator but financial issues reportedly stopped that from happening.

When someone turns 18, they might be wise to start planning their estate. Now matter how little a person thinks their estate is worth, it might grow depending on how the estate is managed.

In this case, the family members are fighting over the remaining money from the estate, as well as new royalties from the musician's work. According to a report, the band the musician led produced a song that was recently listed on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

Speaking with an experienced estate planning attorney might be a wise decision. They can help a person set up a will and other estate planning documents. People in Harrisburg can help prevent conflict between other family members by discussing the administration of their estate and why they have made certain decisions. This can give them and their family piece of mind that their wishes will be honored.

Source: New York Post, "New York Dolls estate fight," Julia Marsh, Dec. 9, 2013