An Estate Plan for Kanye West

Authors

• Thomas E. Simmons, University of South Dakota School of Law

Abstract

One inventory item in megastar Kanye West's vast portfolio of assets merits a unique sort of care and safeguarding his right ofpublicity. The right ofpublicity 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 disposing of several alternative planning options, a noncharitable purpose trust is described and discussed.

Disciplines

Contracts | Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law | First Amendment | Intellectual Property Law | Law | Torts

Recommended Citation

Thomas E. Simmons, An Estate Plan for Kanye West, 39 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 195 (2021).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoaelj/vol39/iss1/7