Celebrity Estate Planning - Estate of Marlon Brando - Episode 197
- Jenny Rozelle, Host of Legal Tea
- May 20
- 7 min read
Hey there, Legal Tea Listeners! This is your host, Jenny Rozelle. We’re back to “estate planning of the rich and famous” where we chat about celebrities and their estate planning (or lack thereof!). Today’s episode is about Marlon Brando – and if you happen to not know or not immediately recognize his name, you would definitely recognize his face or the movies Marlon has been in – most especially as THE Godfather. As I have blabbed before on here about, I am to the point in this podcast where it is hard to find new content for these celebrity estate planning episodes – and I stumbled upon some stuff about Marlon’s estate and I was like, “How am I just not finding out about this?!” There is quite a bit to learn from what happened after he passed away – so let’s get into it. As we always do on these episodes, we will chat about him more personally-speaking and then shift into what happened estate-wise after his death.
Alrighty … According to his Wikipedia page, professionally, Marlon was a total game-changer. He blew onto the scene with this raw, intense acting style – the whole "Method" thing he learned with Stella Adler, according to Post Modern Culture Journal – and it was like nothing anyone had seen before. When I was doing the research for this episode, I was like, “What is this ‘method’ acting style they are talking about?” Well … in case you are like me … back in the day, a lot of acting, especially on screen, could feel a bit... theatrical, almost like they were still on a stage, projecting to a big audience. Then comes along this new wave of actors, and a key figure in that was Marlon, who was heavily influenced by a technique called "Method acting." He learned this from the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler.
A couple of his early movies that put him on the map were “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “On the Waterfront” – with the latter earning him his first Oscar as Best Actor. Marlon was not one to play it safe, jumping from heavy dramas to musicals and even a pirate flick! Later on, even when folks thought he might be fading, he comes roaring back with "The Godfather" and "Last Tango in Paris," which basically confirmed his legend status. The guy just had this undeniable screen presence.
Now, on the personal side, according to his Wikipedia page, Marlon’s life was definitely... eventful. He tied the knot three times, first with Anna Kashfi, then Movita Castaneda, and finally Tarita Teriipaia. Though before, during, and after those three ladies, he dated a few too. Wink, wink. He had a pretty big family too, with several children – 11, in total. Some biological and some adopted. One of those many relationships that Marlon had was a long-term relationship with his housekeeper, Maria Cristina Ruiz. In fact, they had three children. Maria’s name will be important to remember as we shift into what happened with his estate.
Marlon ended up passing away on July 1, 2004 in Los Angeles, California – respiratory failure and congestive heart failure contributed to his death. Now shifting to what happened estate-wise, well … where do we even start? In fact, when I was doing research for this episode, I found a blog or an article that was titled something like “Top Estate Battles of All Time” …. And Marlon’s estate was on the list. So, yeah – there’s a lot to talk about. I also picked up a couple names to add to my list for future episodes. Anyway, so … Marlon. Oh Marlon. Where do we start? Let’s start with his actual estate plan…
Marlon did indeed have formal estate planning documents in place at the time of his death. According to Los Angeles Times, his estate plan centered around two key instruments: a Last Will and Testament dated August 28, 2002, and a living trust. The will served primarily as a "pour-over" document designed to transfer any assets not already held in his trust into the trust upon his death. Marlon’s will named three individuals as co-executors of his estate: Mike Medavoy (a producer and longtime friend), Larry Dressler (his accountant who had managed his financial affairs for years), and Avra Douglas (a close personal friend who had worked as his assistant). These same three individuals were also designated as trustees of his living trust. Unlike many celebrities who die without proper estate planning, Marlon had taken meaningful steps to organize his affairs. However, despite these preparations, the complexity of his personal relationships and the significant value of his estate (estimated at approximately $21.6 million at the time of his death, not including intellectual property rights) would lead to long-drawn-out legal battles that his estate plan failed to prevent entirely.
Now, speaking of those three individuals as executors and trustees, Mike, Larry, and Avra – they faced a daunting task in administering Marlon’s estate. The trio faced immediate challenges upon Marlon’s death, including securing his property, inventorying his assets, and addressing the initial claims against the estate. Their responsibilities extended beyond the immediate settlement period, as they actually continued to manage the Brando trust for years after Marlon’s death, making decisions about licensing his image, managing his real estate holdings, and overseeing distributions to beneficiaries. According to New York Times, one notable thing that is often discussed is a controversial decision to sell many of Marlon’s personal property items at auction in 2005, including scripts with his handwritten notes, letters, photographs, and even his Academy Award nomination certificate for "On the Waterfront," generating both revenue for the estate and criticism from some family members who felt personal mementos should have been preserved within the family.
One of the biggest things that happened, though, in Marlon’s estate that is widely, widely discussed was a claim made by Angela Borlaza, Marlon’s longtime housekeeper and personal assistant who had worked for the actor for nearly 10 years prior to his death. According to The Guardian, Angela filed a $627,000 lawsuit against the estate. First, she alleged that Marlon had verbally promised her the house she lived in, a property in the San Fernando Valley valued at approximately $1 million. She argued that Marlon purchased this house specifically for her but had never formally transferred the title. Second, she claimed that Marlon had verbally guaranteed her continued employment after his death, claiming that he had promised she would be employed by his estate or trust for the remainder of her life. Third, she sought compensation for unpaid wages and services she claimed were owed to her from her years working for the actor.
With these kinds of claims, the battle became quite contentious, with Angela’s attorneys presenting evidence including personal notes and testimony from other household staff supporting her claims about Marlon’s verbal promises. The estate's representatives countered that without written documentation, such promises—if they were indeed made—were not legally binding. After many, many months of litigation, the court ruled against most of Angela’s claims, particularly regarding ownership of the house. However, recognizing her long service to Brando, the parties eventually reached a settlement agreement where Angela ended up receiving approximately $125,000 from the estate—significantly less than her initial demand.
Of note, Angela’s claim was not the only one, though. Marlon’s death sparked MULTIPLE lawsuits against his estate, including a $2 million claim from former daughter-in-law Deborah Brando alleging a promised lifetime of financial support, a $100 million suit from longtime companion Maria Cristina Ruiz (mother of three of his children), and several additional claims from his former business manager and various creditors (that we don’t have time to talk about). Most claims were eventually settled for reduced amounts or dismissed entirely, but the three-year legal battle from the claims significantly delayed asset distribution and depleted the estate through substantial legal fees.
After all was said and done … after the claims were resolved, Marlon’s estate was distributed primarily among his children, though not equally. Some of Marlon’s children received lump sum distributions, while others received ongoing income from trust assets. One asset, though, I want to specifically mention was his French Polynesian island that he owned (I want to own an island!) remained within the trust rather than being distributed to beneficiaries. According to Town and Country publication, following Marlon’s original vision, the trustees worked with a developer to transform part of the island into an eco-friendly resort called The Brando, which opened in 2014. This luxury resort, with villas costing thousands of dollars per night, continues to generate significant revenue for the trust while maintaining Marlon’s commitment to environmental conservation for the property.
Another one of the most valuable parts of Marlon’s estate was his intellectual property rights, including rights to his image, name, and likeness, as well as residual income from his films. According to Los Angeles Times, these were also retained by the trust and professionally managed to maximize their value. In the years following his death, the trustees licensed Marlon’s image for various commercial purposes and authorized his digital likeness for use in entertainment projects. His estate has continued to generate millions in annual revenue from film royalties, merchandise licensing, and strategic partnerships. For instance, in 2013, the trust authorized the use of Marlon’s image for a Dior cologne campaign alongside images of other iconic celebrities, generating substantial licensing fees.
Shew! This episode was a lot to cover. So, a quick takeaway for us non-island-owning people … Even though Marlon had official paperwork in place, three simple mistakes caused years of headaches: he kept some assets outside his trust (making everything public and going through probate), made verbal promises he never wrote down (leading to lawsuits), and didn't clearly communicate his wishes to family (creating unnecessary fighting). The lesson? Even if you don't own a private island, putting everything in writing, keeping all assets in your trust, and having honest conversations with your loved ones about your plans can save your family a lot of stress and money after you're gone.
Alrighty, let’s wrap this episode up and shift to a sneak peak at next week. Next week we’re back to a “cautionary tale” episode where we talk about real-life clients, real-life cases that I, or my office, have worked on -or- maybe they are just generally good things to know/be aware of so you don’t slip up and turn into a cautionary tale one day. Next week’s episode is going to be about this trend I’m seeing and noticing that I am going to call “family compounds” – they are where like Mom and Dad buy property and then a child or children build or move to the property … there are some things that we’ve noticed that have gone well and some that have gone not-so-well about these setups. … so that’s next week, Legal Tea Listeners…until then, take care and be well!
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