Tag: Inheritance

Celebrity Estates: Blended Families, Disclaimers, and Hulk Hogan’s $25 Million Estate

Celebrity Estates: Blended Families, Disclaimers, and Hulk Hogan’s $25 Million Estate

When wrestling legend Hulk Hogan passed away, he left behind more than a fortune; he left a tangled family web.

In this episode, David Lenok talks with Lawrence D. Mandelker, Partner at Venable LLP, to discuss the estate challenges surrounding Hogan’s $25 million legacy. 

Together, they explore how blended families, strained relationships, and renounced inheritances highlight the planning pitfalls that advisors see every day. From fairness vs. equality to the tools that can prevent disputes, this episode offers lessons advisors can apply directly with their clients.

Key Points:

  • Hulk Hogan’s life, fortune, controversies, and blended family structure
  • Estate planning challenges with multiple marriages, stepchildren, and strained relationships
  • How advisors can help clients balance fairness vs. equality among heirs
  • Discusses tools like trusts, disclaimers, and no-contest clauses to prevent family disputes
  • Why proactive conversations and lifetime gifts can reduce surprises and conflicts later
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect With David Lenok:

Connect With Lawrence D. Mandelker:

About Our Guest:

Larry Mandelker helps high-net-worth individuals with estate planning by counseling on mutigenerational transfers of assets and business succession planning. Through the use of wills, trusts, and other estate planning instruments, Larry works with his clients to creatively design estate plans that address their unique needs and plan for future contingencies, while also focusing on asset preservation, premarital planning, and estate, gift, and income tax minimization goals. His clients include individuals in many industries, including corporate executives and founders, owners of closely held businesses, real estate owners and developers, financial principals, technopreneurs, entertainers, athletes, and publishers.

Celebrity Estates: Simon Cowell and Disinheritance in Estate Planning

Celebrity Estates: Simon Cowell and Disinheritance in Estate Planning

Simon Cowell, reality star and record producer, has an estimated net value worth of $600 million. How much of that will be left for his son? According to him, nothing.

Listen in as host David Lenok is joined by Thomas Kopelman, head of community at Estate Planning platform wealth.com and co-founder of All Street Wealth. Together, they discuss how Simon plans to handle his $600 million estate and the broader implications of disinheriting heirs. 

Cast your vote toward Simon’s decision as David and Thomas highlight:

  • The rationale behind Simon’s motives for his estate plans
  • “Affluenza”- a supposed psychological condition affecting wealthy individuals
  • Opinions on ‘disinheritance,’ the act of not passing wealth down to future generations
  • Estate planning decisions are personal, reflecting what is important to the individual
  • The importance of supporting children while alive rather than solely through posthumous financial gifts
  • And more

Resources:

Connect With Thomas Kopelman:

Connect With David Lenok:

About Our Guest:

Thomas is a financial planner, the co-founder of AllStreet Wealth, as well as a blogger, podcaster, content creator, Top 23 Millennial Advisor (Business Insider), and a Top Young Advisor to Watch in 2023 (FA Mag)

After graduating from Butler University, Thomas spent his entire career in the financial services industry as a financial planner. Thomas is passionate about helping millennials cut through the noise and figure out how to use their resources to accomplish what they truly want in life. 

69. Vince McMahon Sr. and the Evolution Of Generational Values

69. Vince McMahon Sr. and the Evolution Of Generational Values

Vince McMahon Sr. is best known for founding the company that eventually became World Wrestling Entertainment. In a family business, which the WWE very much is, passing down core values can be a struggle as future generations look to create their own paths.

In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Kelley Wolfington, Senior Wealth Strategist at SEI Private Wealth Management, in dissecting the idea of inheriting values. She reveals the importance of creating conversations between generations to develop an effective plan for the future.

Kelley discusses:

  • How the generational divide impacts personal values;
  • The importance of introducing commonalities between generations; 
  • Where the financial advisor fits within the conversation;
  • How to have open conversations with advisors with your family members around;
  • And more!

Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded before the recent allegations against Vince McMahon Jr. came to light.

Connect With Kelley Wolfington:

Connect With David Lenok:

About Our Guest:

Kelley Wolfington provides holistic advice in the areas of trust and estate planning, wealth transfer, philanthropy, succession planning, tax planning and family communications strategies for ultra-high net worth and high net worth individuals and families. Her responsibilities include collaborating with internal and external colleagues and partners to craft and deliver such advice as well as develop strategies, techniques, tools and materials related to these advisory areas. She helps facilitate a perpetual process to improve her clients’ condition by working with them to navigate goals, values and visions for themselves, their families and their communities.



61. DMX: Planning For Blended Families

61. DMX: Planning For Blended Families

David Lenok is joined by John Pantekidis, chief investment officer and general counsel at Twin Focus, to discuss the struggles of determining inheritance with children from multiple partners and the legal and tax issues when children are taken into account.

With over 74 million records sold worldwide and a lucrative career that took him in many directions, Earl Simmons, better known as rapper DMX, died in April 2021. He left behind a complex inheritance scenario with fifteen children, and his fiancée Desiree Lindstrom’s attempts to be recognized as his common law partner through the courts.

In this episode, David and John address the laws and rights of partners, ex-wives and children in complex situations such as this.

They discuss:

  • How divorce can complicate relations and inheritance after death;
  • The importance of estate planning in all scenarios;
  • Why disinheritance can be a benefit;
  • and more.

Connect With John Pantekidis:

Connect With David Lenok:

About Our Guest:

John is a managing partner at TwinFocus and serves as the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and General Counsel. John has been with the firm since January 2007, six months after the firm’s launch. In this role, he heads the firm’s investment research and complex tax planning efforts, working closely with clients to help them design and implement innovative family office structures.

As the firm’s CIO, he also leads research efforts to develop new and creative investment policies, oversees due diligence for manager search and selection, and plays a multi-faceted role in guiding the firm’s private investment activities by identifying, negotiating, modeling, and structuring deals from a fundamental investment and multi-generational perspective. John has also designed and implemented the firm’s sophisticated options overlay program.