What happened to Amy Winehouse’s millions?

We’ve previously written about a few famous singers who have succumbed to illness or have died in the past few years or so. This next singer is no exception.  Although not as famous as her peers in the music industry, Amy Winehouse proved herself to be an exceptional songstress with a beautiful voice. She passed away at the age of 27 in 2011 from an overdose. 

Like many in the music industry, Amy succumbed to many of the vices that have claimed the lives of other famous singers: excessive alcohol and drug use. Although she was initially posthumously lauded for having the foresight to create an iron-clad Last Will and Testament prior to her death, it was later discovered that the converse was true: Winehouse died intestate (without a Last Will in place).

It was not known as to how Winehouse would have preferred her $4.66 million-dollar estate to be divided. It was rumoured that while she may have been in love with her ex-spouse, Fielder-Civil, he received no share of her estate upon her passing.

Amy’s estate was eventually passed on to her parents, but it was no windfall. The bulk of Amy’s estate and assets were used to pay for litigation fees, mortgage payments, security as well as taxes. In fact, Amy’s father Mitch had lamented that dealing with the various details and resolving all of her debts and legal fees “had cost an absolute fortune.”

Perhaps if Amy had the insight to create a proper Last Will and Testament, both her estate and her finances would be in proper order, instead of causing her parents further heartache and stress.  

It’s always good to be prepared with a proper estate-plan in place.