Glenn Frey of the Eagles passed away recently. Details of his estate have been made public.
The details of Glenn Frey's will are not that interesting on the surface. Nevertheless, the will does contain an interesting provision that illustrates how many wealthy people choose to handle their estate plans.
Frey left behind a will that leaves his entire estate to his wife and names her as the executor of the will.
Two co-executors were named, in case his wife was unable to serve.
There is not much that is unusual there.
The details of the will were reported by TMZ in "Glenn Frey Eagles Legend Left Everything To Wife."{: target="_blank"}
So, what is interesting?
The assets listed in Frey's will only amount to $100,000.
It is impossible that Frey did not have a lot more wealth than that. Court documents mention that he also left behind a family trust.
This suggests the bulk of his assets are in the trust to be distributed to his wife and their three children at some point.
An important takeaway from this?
The proper way for people to leave assets to their families is a trust used for most (or all) of the assets and a will used for the remainder.
Also of note is that we know the details of the will.
Why?
It has to go through probate, which makes it public.
We do not know the details of the trust, since it does not have to go through probate. People who value their privacy have another reason to use a trust.
Reference: TMZ (Nov. 15, 2017) "Glenn Frey Eagles Legend Left Everything To Wife."{: target="_blank"}