Estate planning is more than just setting up an efficient plan for transferring assets and reducing taxes. It can also be an opportunity to impart values and ideals to those you love. Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who recently died tragically from an apparent drug overdose, left an estate plan that accomplished both of these goals.
While known for his amazing catalogue of work in Hollywood, Hoffman apparently thought it best for his children to grow up away from the town that made him famous. In his Will, Hoffman specifically requested that his son grow up in New York, Chicago or San Francisco. If living in his preferred three cities was not possible, Hoffman requested that his son at least visit there twice a year.
“The purpose of this request is so that my son will be exposed to the culture, arts and architecture that such cities offer,” Hoffman’s Will stated.
Hoffman left his entire estate to Mimi O’Donnell, who is the mother of his three children, also naming her as his estate’s trustee and executrix of his will. The Will was executed in 2004, when Hoffman’s son, Cooper, now 10, was just a year old and before daughters Tallulah and Willa were born.
While Hoffman’s Will provision may be unusual, it is a great example of how our wishes for those we love can be expressed through an estate plan.
