King's Estate Not So Dreamy for DreamWorks Studios

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Daryl Binkley

I blogged about Dr. Martin Luther King's estate dispute among his children back in October 2008.

And just this week, disagreement among the children was brought into the spotlight again. This time around DreamWorks Studios announced it will back out of plans to produce a movie about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., unless King's three surviving children settle their differences over the deal.

As stated in the recent news article:  "The latest public rift between Dexter King, the chief executive of the King estate, and his brother and sister -- Martin Luther King III and Bernice King -- erupted Tuesday, May 19 2009 after it was made public that Dexter King, 48, had finalized the deal with DreamWorks. Martin King and Bernice King have complained in court filings that Dexter King has acted independently for years on estate business matters, refusing to call a family meeting. Over the past year, angered over Dexter King's move to publish their mother's love letters, neither Martin King nor Bernice King has spoken to Dexter King, the source close to the family said.Dexter King, in a written statement Wednesday evening, said he has 'always upheld my duty' as CEO of the King estate to communicate with the others."

Years after Dr. King's death, the disputes are still going on with his estate and his legacy. In large estates, disputes among children might lead to contentious time consuming and costly litigation.  But even for those with moderate estates, contentious and expensive litigation can still occur.   It is better to create an overall estate plan that includes no contest provisions within the documents.  These provisions should help avoid and deter many of the costly lawsuits. 

I am sure there will be more updates on this matter...stay tuned...

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Choosing an Assisted Living Facility in the Desert Just Got Easier for Yourself or a Loved One...

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Daryl Binkley

Sometimes it takes an illness, or an array of health issues to push us to plan as to what we would like to do with our house, assets and how we would like our money to be passed on to loved ones. Procrastination is the number one reason why people delay making decisions regarding their estate plan--and the same can be said about their long-term care options.

Health care decisions affect estate planning and finances--making families easily feel overwhelmed with the number of decisions needed to be made in choosing an appropriate board and care residential living facility option that would meet the wishes and lifestyles of those involved. As families embark on that search, an array of questions arise. Where do you look? How do you start and how do you evaluate the various assisted living facilities, and finally how do you compare them and make a final decision?

Recently, I had the good fortune of meeting with the founders of KLM Group Services, a new healthcare consulting company. Lawrence and Karen Morrissey who started the no cost referral services company desired to make the "Board and Care homes" search easier and more effective to the residents of the Coachella Valley. Lawrence (Larry) was dealing with some health care issues of his own and started to research and review the Board and Care facilities that were available in the Desert, when he realized that there were little to no standards for rating board and care facilities.

As a former healthcare executive, Larry thought it would not only be advantageous to the client and family, but a great help to the community to establish professional standards of "Board and Care homes" in the Coachella Valley. According to Larry, he decided to establish a set of accreditation criteria for inspection standards that would include potential preferences from social, lifestyle and personal options for each home. Their "strict accreditation standard" is currently used for the personal inspection of each home in their services network of Board and Care facilities making the search not only easier for the families, but increasing the level of trust and confidence that their loved one is placed in the a home which has been rated according to superior standards. 

Almost a decade ago, my grandmother was in a Board and Care facility in Cathedral City and so I think providing some criteria of the homes is a great idea, and I believe this is a valuable service for desert residents that need this option for themselves or a loved one. You can find out more about Larry and Karen Morrissey and their organization at www.klmgroupservices.com.

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