Celebrity Estate Lessons - George Michael

When George Michael died in 2016, he might have had faith that his estate plan was in good shape. His Will left his £97 million estate to his two sisters, father, and seven close friends. However, his Will didn't include his long-term ex-boyfriend Kenny Goss or his boyfriend-at-the-time Fadi Fawaz. Talk about your loverboy blues.

Goss claimed that he had given up his career to be with Michael and that the musician had been supporting him even after they broke up. At one point they were planning on filing as a civil partnership, but negative publicity stopped them. Goss asked for payments of $21,000 a month.

In the UK, there is a law allowing financially dependent people to file a claim on an estate, even if they aren't named in the Will. Goss and Michael's estate settled out of court in 2021 for an undisclosed amount.

Things went a little differently with Fawaz. He's been in and out of legal trouble since Michael died. He wasn't allowed to stay in their shared home, but he squatted in another of Michael's London houses. He was arrested in 2019 and the family finally got the property back. No word on whether Fawaz will inherit anything, but it seems unlikely.

While nothing was terribly wrong with Michael's Will, this is just proof that it's important to update your estate plan regularly and to really consider what you want done with your legacy. While we don't have the same laws in Florida as in the UK, there are provisions in place for people when their spouse passes. We can help explain.