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Issues in Valuing Celebrity Estate Publicity Rights

By James T. Ashe, Stephen D. Lassar and Daniel R. Roche
June 02, 2014

The IRS has recognized the right to publicity and the need to appraise this asset for estate tax purposes. But valuing the right of publicity of a deceased celebrity can be difficult, and wrought with assumptions and speculation.

For example, Michael Jackson's executors placed a value of $2,105 on his right of publicity (reportedly due to a diminishment in value from the child molestation allegations against Jackson), while the IRS values it at around $434,264.

(The difference between the overall value of Jackson's estate as calculated by the executors and that calculated by the IRS was so large that the IRS seeks to impose a substantial understatement penalty. In total, the IRS valued Jackson's estate at $1.125 billion, and wants $505 million in taxes and $197 million in penalties, including for the estate's music publishing assets.)

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