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The man of your dreams has finally popped the question, and you’re looking forward to planning a fabulous wedding. You’ve already picked the date, the dress and the flowers. But, there’s only one pesky little detail left that you’ve been avoiding: the Pre-nup.

Sure, it may seem like you’re planning the divorce before you actually get into the marriage – but if he’s asked you to sign one, there’s no need to be offended or angry. A prenuptial agreement – an agreement between two people that deals with the financial consequences should your marriage end – could be a GOOD thing, and work in your favor. Whether he asked you, or you’re wondering if you should ask HIM to sign one – here are 6 things to consider before you jump that broom.

by Selam Aster

Even though the late, great James Brown has “at least” nine children and was married at the time of his death on Christmas in 2006, he set up his will so that no one in his family inherited his money. Instead,  he designated that all his money should go towards a trust to help poor and needy children, according to a report that appeared in Forbes today.

Now, you can imagine what his family had to say about Brown giving away his $100 million fortune, right?

Indeed, since his passing, lawyer and court fees have been steadily eating away at Brown’s fortune as his large family is continuing to contest his wishes on the grounds that he was mentally unfit to make that decision. Unfortunately, Brown’s associate and former producer Jacqueline Hollander is countering the family’s wishes to get a piece of the pie, claiming that his will made it crystal clear what he wanted to do with his fortune and that was clearly not to pass it along to his family. Hollander says she even has Brown on video  stating that he wanted his money to go towards poor children. Hollander was to administer that trust.

In any case, it should be noted that Brown had not updated his will in the five years that he was married to Tomi Rae Hynie, to whom he was married at the time of his death. This fact, along with the assumption that it was hard for courts to fully believe Brown’s wishes to deprive his whole family,  led to a decision in 2009 by the attorney general of South Carolina, allocating 50% of the estate to Brown’s family, with the rest remaining with the children’s trust.

Well, two of Brown’s former trustees are contesting this decision, on strong ground that his will was very clear. The case is now with the South Carolina Supreme Court.

What’s the lesson here: if you’re wealthy and have a lot of family to handle, make sure you consistently update your will. It’s hard to believe that Brown, at his age and with his wealth and with his ex-wives and with his many children, did not pay more attention to updating his will.

The King of Pop passed away a year ago but his memory lives on in his music. The rate at which Jackson’s albums continue to sell post mortem shows that fans are even more interested in the music legend now more than ever. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Jackson was the best selling artist of 2009, having sold 8.2 million albums despite the fact that his last album was released in 2003 (Number Ones).

Although MJ is arguably one of the  best selling artists of all time, behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley,  Nielsen Soundscan has only been tracking albums since 1991 and, therefore, ranks him as the 18th best selling artist in the SoundScan era.

Nevertheless, Jackson’s estate will continue to generate hundreds of millions  over the long term. Earlier this year, his estate inked a deal with Jackson’s label partner Sony’s Columbia Epic Label Group, worth up to $250 million and which The New York Times is stating that may be and perhaps the largest in history. While many record labels are avoiding mega deals with artists in this new music age, Jackson is one of the few artists in history that can earn and carry such a contract.

The King of Pop passed away a year ago but his memory lives on in his music. The rate at which Jackson’s albums continue to sell post mortem shows that fans are even more interested in the music legend now more than ever. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Jackson was the best selling artist of 2009, having sold 8.2 million albums despite the fact that his last album was released in 2003 (Number Ones).

Although MJ is arguably one of the  best selling artists of all time, behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley,  Nielsen Soundscan has only been tracking albums since 1991 and, therefore, ranks him as the 18th best selling artist in the SoundScan era.

Nevertheless, Jackson’s estate will continue to generate hundreds of millions  over the long term. Earlier this year, his estate inked a deal with Jackson’s label partner Sony’s Columbia Epic Label Group, worth up to $250 million and which The New York Times is stating that may be and perhaps the largest in history. While many record labels are avoiding mega deals with artists in this new music age, Jackson is one of the few artists in history that can earn and carry such a contract.

(Black Voices) — Almost a year has gone by since the passing of the legendary Michael Jackson. As we approach the anniversary of Jackson’s death on June 25th, it seems as if we have been much more eager to enjoy to Michael’s talents after his death rather than during his life. According to Billboard, Michael Jackson’s estate has managed to earn $1 billion in the past year, and his estate is showing no signs of slowing down.

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The estate-planning community is facing an unusual situation this year. The federal estate tax expired at the end of 2009, so in 2010 there is no tax – so far, anyway. The majority of Americans won’t notice the change because their estates are too small to be affected. But this is causing some degree of confusion for estate planners and their clients. Most people assumed Congress would enact legislation to reinstate the tax by the end of 2009. But they didn’t. Many think Congress will restore the tax – the exemption hit $3.5 million in 2009 – this year and make it retroactive; if they don’t, it will come back on its own in 2011 at $1 million.