Celebrity Estate Lessons – Stan Lee

Hold onto your hats kids, the story behind Stan Lee’s estate gets a little confusing but we’re going to see if we can work it out.

Other than Stan Lee, there are five main characters in the story; his wife Joanie, who died in 2017, his daughter Joan who goes by JC, Comic-Con security guy Max Anderson, publicity guy Jerardo Olivarez, and memorabilia collector Keya Morgan.

Stan Lee left most of his scheduling to Joanie and was never super concerned about finances, since he had a decent amount of money in the bank. Lee and Joanie, however, were both concerned about JC, who couldn’t hold down a job and blew through money. They set up a Trust fund for her to ensure that she would not spend her inheritance quickly and end up destitute. They fought often about this, with JC insisting that items in the Trust fund were hers and should be in her name. The shouting matches were more like a small child’s temper tantrums and reportedly turned physical at times.

After meeting Olivarez at a red carpet event, Stan Lee hired him to help JC navigate a career in show business, hoping she could finally hold down a job. Olivarez would make $7,000 a month to act basically as a babysitter to JC, helping her brainstorm projects. Lee, however, maybe should have run a background report before hiring Olivarez because then he would have been aware 45 liens filed against him for failure to pay taxes and court judgments. This would likely have avoided the need for Lee’s suit against Olivarez. Filed in 2018, it alleged fraud and financial abuse of an elder, saying that Olivarez bought nearly $1 million in real estate in Lee’s name, forged his signature, and even stole vials of Lee’s blood.

Max Anderson met Lee a few years earlier in 2006. He was assigned to guide Lee through the floor at San Diego Comic-Con and the two became fast friends. Within a year, Anderson was helping set up Lee’s appearances. By 2014, Lee was getting paid for his appearances completely in cash, with Anderson taking a large cut. Reportedly, Lee made $800,000 for his appearance at New York City’s Comic-Con in 2017; Anderson took $700,000 for his payment and Lee made $50,000. He is reported to have made off with $8 million in cash and memorabilia. Anderson claims these were all gifts from Stan and Joanie. Anderson also had a prior conviction in 2002 for abusing his wife and would be convicted again in 2010 for hitting his son.

Prior to becoming Lee’s “protector,” Morgan’s reputation as a memorabilia trader was not great. People in the business say he tried to sell a secret Marilyn Monroe sex tape for years, but was never able to produce the tape. He also claimed to have Lincoln’s pocket watch, but that seems to have been another lie.

Lee went into the hospital in January 2018, but still made the effort to sign a document at his lawyer’s office in mid-February to describe what was going on in his household. Two days later, Lee fired his attorney and most of his staff. Morgan took over the household and refused to let Lee’s nurse and other employees speak with officers investigating elder abuse claims. Lee’s longtime accountants were fired and a new attorney was hired. His assistant was suddenly granted limited access. His phone number and locks were changed.
A number of these lawsuits are still in court, so it’s still up in the air as to what will eventually happen.

Having a strong estate plan in place, including a trusted power of attorney and health care surrogate, can help mitigate elder abuse. Putting money in a Trust can make it more difficult for others to make off with millions of dollars or important memorabilia items. Our law firm can help you draft an estate plan to help guard you in your later years. Get in touch with us today to schedule a free consultation.