Carley’s Corner - The Estate of Kobe Bryant

Today, we focus on a poignant example that serves as a reminder of the critical nature of estate planning: the estate of the late basketball legend, Kobe Bryant. While his untimely passing shocked the world, it also brought to light a significant oversight in his estate planning - the failure to include his 6-month-old daughter in his carefully crafted arrangements. This unfortunate oversight serves as a powerful lesson, highlighting the necessity of thorough estate planning, and the importance of updating our documents over time. Let’s explore the implications of this estate and the valuable lessons that we can learn from it. 

At the time of his death, Kobe Bryant’s estate was worth a whopping $600 million dollars. He had done his estate planning, and had created a Trust naming his wife Vanessa, and his three older children as the beneficiaries. The Trust itself was very thorough and well written, allowing the beneficiaries to draw from its assets and providing that any remaining funds would pass to his children after Vanessa’s death. Kobe was smart and often updated his estate planning regularly. However, Kobe and his team of attorneys failed to update the Trust after the birth of his youngest daughter. This meant that Capri was not named as a beneficiary.  

Vanessa and Kobe’s best friend were named as Co-Trustees of the estate and petitioned to the Court to add Capri to the Trust as a beneficiary. The main goal was to ensure that Capri received equal treatment as her siblings under the Kobe Bryant Trust as this would have been Kobe’s wish.  

After several months of delays, substantial legal fees, many court filings and hearings, and exposure of the family’s personal matters to the public, this petition was finally approved, and Capri was added to the Trust. While this oversight in Kobe’s estate planning seems trivial, had the petition to the court not been approved, Capri would have been disinherited of hundreds of millions of dollars. 

It’s clear that Kobe paid great attention to his estate planning, and amended the Trust regularly as his life changed, however he died before he was able to include his newest daughter. This brings us to biggest lesson that we can learn from Kobe’s estate – don’t wait. Accidents happen, and illnesses can arise quickly – our time on earth is not guaranteed. It’s wise to review your estate plans regularly and immediately modify your arrangements after any major life milestones such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces etc.  

At ETP Canada, we know that settling a loved one’s estate can be a challenging and overwhelming task to take on. We’re here to help ease the burden, and help you navigate your next steps. To book a consultation with a member of our team, click here.  

This blog is not intended to be legal advice and should not be relied on as such. If you require legal advice, please contact a legal professional concerning your particular circumstances.