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The 10 Biggest Trust Advisor Stories of 2013

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Your hunger for hearing about other people’s star clients behaving badly proved insatiable this year, but key planning issues like the death of DOMA and the looming end of Ben Bernanke’s reign at the Fed also captured serious attention.

year-end-2013-to-2014It’s been a big year in the markets and a relatively calm year for the industry, so the Trust Advisor team had to make our own news for you in the form of more practice management, more industry updates and more of the latest developments where financial services and technology come together.

In the process, we published close to twice as much material in 2013 as we did in 2012. We also boosted our active readership by well over 15%, so clearly you appreciate the coverage enough to refer your friends.

As always, thank you for that, as well as for your attention and for all the feedback over the last year. We have a few new features planned for you in 2014. I think you’re going to like it. If not, let us know!

Most of the top stories of 2013 struck a bigger chord with you than anything we published last year — in fact, based on raw readership numbers, practically none of our 2012 stories would have made this list at all.

And so, with no further preamble, I wish you all happy holidays and a prosperous final week of 2013.

1. Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore Divorce Settled via Twitter IPO

In barely a decade, Ashton Kutcher went from Demi Moore’s boy toy to a fairly influential venture capitalist, sparking the Twitter revolution along the way.

But when she caught him cheating, her claim on a piece of his portfolio as part of the division of marital assets held up the divorce talks for years.

Now they’ve finally come to terms – and since Twitter was reportedly the crown jewel of Ashton’s empire, the timing was awfully suspicious. (Full Story)

2. Tony Soprano’s Surprise Death Puts $70 Million on the Table

When James Gandolfini died in Italy at age 51, the news was so sudden it reminded fans of the shock ending of his organized crime series, “The Sopranos.”

Gandolfini was relatively young and seemed to be in fine health. He doesn’t seem to have been traveling a big entourage. Nobody saw this coming.

In a lot of ways, his story is irresistible to advisors looking for an example to motivate their 50-something clients to get their estate plans in order. (Full Story)

3. Simon Cowell’s Wife-Stealing Exploits Prove the Power of the Prenup

Simon Cowell is no stranger to exotic estate planning, since the lifelong bachelor has flirted with funding the costs of having himself frozen in perpetuity.

But now that he’s apparently gotten his friend’s socialite wife pregnant, he’s running into some of the most traditional asset protection rules around.

Andrew Silverman, the jilted friend and husband, came from established New York money that made sure their former daughter-in-law couldn’t make a claim on their wealth. (Full Story)

4. Nicolas Cage: Paying Millions in Back Taxes, Happy At Last?

So Nicolas Cage is stunning the world with confessions that he’s happier living a relatively modest life in Las Vegas than he was collecting mansions.

On the surface, his newfound peace seems rooted in a sincere desire to spend more time with his family and “reflect” without the paparazzi in his face.

But let’s face it, you’d be eager to keep a low profile too if you still were still paying off a $14 million IRS bill. It could all have been avoided if he’d listened to his financial advisor in the first place. (Full Story)

5. Child Support Loophole May Doom Michael Jordan’s Prenup Agreement

From Kobe Bryant to Tiger Woods, we’ve seen a lot of extremely high-powered athletes get badly burned when their wives take them to divorce court.

Michael Jordan, whose endorsements still bring in $80 million a year a decade after he retired, has done his best to ensure he never gets socked with a nine-digit alimony bill again.

But while the prenuptial contract looks ironclad this time, Jordan and every pro baller need to watch the child support bills as well as the alimony. (Full Story)

6. Glenwood Gardens Death Opens Up Estate Planning Nightmare

The operators of the Glenwood Gardens independent living facility are lucky that the family of a woman who died on their property aren’t suing, much less filing manslaughter charges.

Glenwood Gardens became notorious when the home’s staff refused to administer CPR to 87-year-old resident Lorraine Bayless or find someone who could.

She died before the ambulance could arrive. A “do not resuscitate” order might have justified the refusal, but because nobody can find one on file, management is dodging an enormous liability bullet here. (Full Story)

7. Was the Nazi Stolen Art Recovery a PR Stunt for George Clooney’s New Movie, “The Monuments Men,” or Incredible Timing?

George Clooney is generally considered a smart, lucky and well-connected guy, so it strained the limits of coincidence when recent headlines turned public opinion around on the movie he’s struggling to wrap.

A few months ago, “Monuments Men” was the center of Hollywood gossip amid fears that the release date kept moving back because the story of military art historians trying to save priceless paintings from Hitler was not connecting with likely Oscar voters.

Suddenly, $1.3 billion in stolen Nazi art turns up in Munich and Clooney’s movie is shaping up as one of the hottest tickets of 2014. (Full Story)

8. Prenup Separates Rupert Murdoch from Other Billionaire Divorce Disasters

Two of the world’s richest men spent much of 2013 negotiating to see who will not have to go down in history as most expensive divorce ever.

The tale of two billionaires left Rupert Murdoch winning the round. He even filed for divorce himself this time.

The fact that Murdoch, sometime title holder with a $1.7 billion settlement on his books, might actually has the upper hand this time says it all. Meanwhile Harold Hamm’s advisors probably cost him $3 billion by failing to get his now-estranged wife to sign. (Full Story)

9. Kim Kardashian May Be Hiding Mom’s Money, But $25 Million Is a Lot

When the divorce papers start circulating, many wealthy couples instinctively look around for ways to move “their” assets out of the way of the inevitable settlement, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Kris Kardashian Jenner has been pumping money into her daughter’s accounts.

Rumor has it she’s been caching millions of dollars with family members like daughter Kim in order to keep it out of the divorce court’s reach and maybe collect it later.

If so, she’s not going to be able to hide a lot without trading a divorce loss today for a huge IRS bill down the road. (Full Story)

10. Bernanke Bloodbath: What Do You Tell Your Clients?

June’s announcement from the Fed that the dreaded “taper” out of extraordinary bond market intervention was on the horizon rocked the markets nearly to the technical correction point.

In theory, it was good news. But after five years of intense and unprecedented stimulus, many investors worried that the transition was not going to be easy or pain free.

The trick was acknowledging the reality of client fears while providing a rational, fact-based perspective on the odds the rally could continue — as it did. And that, in turn, went going a little beyond vaguely urging them to “stay the course.” (Full Story)

Honorable Mention:

Jailed Estate Planner Bilked Sun City Seniors, Flaunted Credentials

Northern Trust’s Love Affair With Advisors Is Over

Lance Armstrong Could Have Stashed Millions in Secret Trusts, Experts Say

Dead DOMA Spells AUM Bonanza for LGBT Wealth Planners

Advisor Trust Companies Continue Year-End Winning Streak

Scott Martin, senior editor, The Trust Advisor

Permalink: http://thetrustadvisor.com/news/top2013


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