Document Type
Article
Publication Date
January 2021
Disciplines
Estates and Trusts | Law
Abstract
One inventory item in megastar Kanye West’s vast portfolio of assets merits a unique sort of care and safeguarding—his right of publicity. The right of publicity is a property interest which represents the commercial value of a celebrity’s name, image, and likeness. In some states, including California, the right survives the celebrity’s death and is freely alienable and devisable. A protective arrangement, such as a trust, is often pursued to impose postmortem use and transferability restrictions on property that has particular importance to the testator. This Article proposes a noncharitable purpose trust as a means by which Kanye West’s right of publicity can be safeguarded and appropriately exploited. After framing a set of hypothetical estate planning objectives for Kanye West and dis-posing of several alternative planning options, a noncharitable purpose trust is described and discussed.
Publication Title
39 Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal 195
Recommended Citation
Thomas E. Simmons, An Estate Plan for Kanye West, 39 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 195 (2021)