Don’t look for a Robin Williams hologram at next year’s Oscars.
Who can forget the dancing Michael Jackson hologram at last year’s Billboard Music Awards? Or Celine Dion’s “American Idol” duet with a posthumous Elvis? Or the recent Audrey Hepburn commercial for Dove chocolates?
The advertising and entertainment industries love a good resurrection. But they won’t have one for Robin Williams — at least not for the next quarter-century.
The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Williams’ will included a very unique and potentially shrewd provision, one that’ll keep his image safe from exploitation for a long time.
It turns out that Williams’ Last Will and Testament included a special trust that bequeaths his rights of publicity (including his name, likeness, signature, and photograph) to the Windfall Foundation, a charitable organization specially created by the late actor’s attorneys.
The trust includes two innovative provisions:
- Any uses of Robin Williams’ rights to publicity are completely restricted until at least August 11, 2039. That means no advertisements, no CGI insertion into commercials (à la Hepburn), and no holograms.
- If a court should, for any reason, invalidate the Windfall Foundation, the actor’s rights will be distributed to charities of his choosing, which include Doctors Without Borders and Make-a-Wish.
Hollywood insiders say they’ve never seen anything like it before, meaning that Robin Williams might have created the smartest Last Will and Testament in entertainment history. And experts say that it was all a direct reaction to the Michael Jackson hologram stunt.
Together, then, Jackson and Williams might have forever changed the way celebrities approach estate planning.
It just goes to show that your estate plan can accomplish virtually anything you want it to. It’s all a question of creativity and skill.
If you’d like some help custom-creating an estate plan to target your specific aims, the Massachusetts estate planning attorneys at O’Connell Law, LLC can help. Give our office a call.
