Kobe Bryant’s failure to update his will and trust forces his widow into court

On the heels of Kobe Bryant's tragic passing in January, his widow, Vanessa Bryant, and the couple's three minor children find themselves in Orange County probate court to address an oversight in the Bryant family estate plan.

Capri Bryant was born last year, after which time her parents needed to, but apparently did not, update their will and trust documents to include her as a beneficiary. While this may seem a small matter in the context of such a huge tragedy, it served to create one more complication the family didn't need right now.

The Lakers star first created the trust in 2003, and he amended it several times throughout the years, including after the birth of each of the couple's first two daughters, according to court documents. However, he last amended it in 2017 - two years before the June 20, 2019 birth of his youngest daughter, Capri Kobe Bryant.

A man of Kobe's stature, wealth, and sophistication, surrounded by a team of legal and business advisors, surely had all the resources he needed to avoid forcing such a clean-up effort on his survivors. Yet like many of us who often easily forget that tomorrow is promised to no one, Kobe seemingly failed to prioritize updating his estate plan to reflect Capri's birth. So when Kobe died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash that also claimed his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others, Capri was nowhere in the plan documents.

To rectify the problem, Vanessa has requested that the Orange County Superior Court issue order amending the trust to include Kobe's infant daughter.

According to the documents Vanessa filed, each of her children -- 17-year-old Natalia and 3-year-old Bianka -- are "entitled to discretionary distributions of income and principal" during Vanessa's lifetime. The couple's children will then receive the trust residuary upon Vanessa's death, per the terms of the trust. Without the requested relief, Capri would not be entitled to receive the same benefits, at least not without later pursuing such claims herself as a pretermitted child, also known as an omitted child.

Since Vanessa filed her petition and paid the filing fee, the Orange County Probate court appointed, last Friday, two different Guardians Ad Litem for the couple's minor daughters. It is the Guardian Ad Litems' role to advocate upon behalf of the girls and ensure their interests are protected in the proceedings. This adds yet another layer of process, attorney's fees and costs.

Now that all the parties with an interest in Kobe's estate are before the court, the court will next hear and, if the petition is uncontested - i.e. nobody files an objection to the petition - determine the petition. If the petition is contested, then the issue potentially could devolve into litigation, discovery, depositions, and, even trial. None of this seems likely, however, as no objection is expected.

Still, even uncontested petitions like these in Orange County probate court routinely are scheduled for six to seven months after the filing date, barring some exigency that does not exist here. At that hearing Vanessa and the girls will need to appear, through their respective counsel, and very likely prior to the hearing they may need to prepare and submit additional materials if requested by the court. All in, Vanessa and the girls will spend the better part of a year and spend tens of thousands of dollars to remedy an oversight that very likely could have been addressed by a simple amendment to the Bryant family estate plan that probably would have cost a fraction in terms of dollars and immeasurably less frustration.

Vanessa's frustration serves as an important lesson to all of us. As your family circumstances change - whether it's the birth of a child, death of a child or spouse, marriage, divorce, or acquisition or disposition of a significant asset, such as a home or business - it is important to meet with your estate attorney to ensure your current estate plan reflects those changes.

Including your estate attorney early will help you avoid issues like these.

As a Los Angeles trust and estates attorney who has handled thousands of cases, we've seen many successful people make similar mistakes, all of which are entirely avoidable. One needs look no further than current headlines about the estates of Prince, Aretha Franklin and Rick Ocasek for similar examples. These things are commonly overlooked, and celebrities are no exception, but they leave your family dealing with clean-up issues instead of focusing on processing their grief. That is a legacy nobody wants to leave his or her family. 