By The McVey Law Firm
January 18th, 2023
The Jimi Hendrix Estate is another example of how wrong things can go if you don’t have a will…
Jimi Hendrix died at the age of 27 in 1970. He had $20,000 in his bank account and numerous debts, including back taxes. He didn’t have a will and probably thought he didn’t need one – but he was wrong. Hendrix’ death spawned decades of litigation that is still ongoing.
An attorney took over the administration of the estate and provided Hendrix’ father – Al – an income from the royalties and other proceeds from the estate. A series of transactions by the attorney administering the estate resulted in Al Hendrix suing the administrator for conflict of interest and breach of fiduciary duty.
At that time, in 1994, the estate was valued at $80 million – a far cry from Jimi’s net worth in 1970.
When Al Hendrix died in 2003, his estate plan left all of his rights in the Hendrix estate to his adopted stepdaughter, Janie – and completely excluded Hendrix only blood-related sibling, Leon.
When Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, Leon Hendrix was his only blood sibling – Jimi’s younger siblings had been given up for adoption by his parents. And, according to Leon, he was the person closest to Jimi at his death. Now, because Jimi died without a will, all Leon has received from Jimi’s estate is whatever he has extracted through settlements of lawsuits.
Would Jimi have wanted his brother – and by extension his nieces and nephews – to receive a portion of his estate? Probably. However, when he died without a Will, his entire estate was given to his father – meaning Al’s estate would control further distribution. So, when Al Hendrix died – more than 30 years after Jimi – his relationship with Leon, not Jimi’s, controlled what Leon would receive from Jimi’s estate.
