A recent federal court case, Elam v. Early, vividly illustrates the importance of planning for the posthumous disposition of your assets to family members and other loved ones. And who better to illustrate this principle than Normal Rockwell, the artist perhaps best known for his sentimental paintings of family unity?
The court case involved four large illustrations, collectively known as "So You Want to See the President?" They were created by Norman Rockwell in 1943 and gifted to Stephen T. Early, President Franklin Roosevelt's longtime press secretary. He died without a will in 1951 and was survived by his wife and three children. Eighty years later, there was a dispute among Early's descendants about ownership of the illustrations.
At the time of the dispute, Early's wife and all three children were also deceased. One of his grandchildren (the plaintiff) sought a judgment declaring him the sole owner of the illustrations. The defendants — two other grandchildren and Early's daughter-in-law — claimed that, under the laws of intestate succession, they each had a claim for partial ownership of the illustrations. The plaintiff asserted that Early had gifted them to his mother in 1949 and that he acquired sole ownership through a gift or inheritance from his mother.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in favor of the plaintiff, finding that he was the sole and rightful owner of the illustrations. Noting that "possession is nine-tenths of the law," the court explained that there's a presumption that the individual in physical possession of the property is the owner, which can be overcome by proof of superior title. In this case, the evidence showed that the plaintiff's mother had physical possession of the illustrations from 1960 (or at least 1972) until 1978 when the artwork was loaned to the White House until 2022.
As the last person to physically possess the illustrations, the plaintiff's mother — and, therefore, the plaintiff — enjoyed a presumption of ownership. The defendants offered a couple theories to rebut the presumption (all of which were rejected). The primary one was that the plaintiff provided no evidence that Early gifted the illustrations to the plaintiff's mother so they must have passed through the laws of intestate succession. However, pointing to this lack of evidence wasn't enough for the defendants to meet their burden of producing evidence of superior title. The defendants also attempted to rebut the presumption under a theory of theft by the plaintiff. However, they offered no proof.
Not only did the defendants fail to meet their burden, but the evidence supported the conclusion that the plaintiff had superior title. Most significant, when Early died, the official accounting of his estate didn't include the illustrations, even though, as the defendants admitted, they were their "most precious and prized possession."
The accounting — deemed "a true and perfect inventory" of Early's estate — was signed under oath by Early's wife and included assets worth as little as $1.50. "One can only conclude," the court reasoned, "that the illustrations were not a part of . . . Early's estate because he had already gifted them during his lifetime."
This conclusion was supported by the fact that, of Early's heirs, only the plaintiff's mother referred to the illustrations in her estate plan. Although the defendants offered several hypotheses for omitting the illustrations from the other heirs' estates — including tax avoidance — the court dismissed the suggestions as "rank speculation."
Most families, of course, don't own original Rockwell artwork. But you need to anticipate that ownership of valuable — and even just low-value but sentimental — personal assets could potentially divide your loved ones. Don't wait to establish a comprehensive estate plan with an experienced and qualified advisor. Also, help prevent family disputes by explaining what your estate plan stipulates and why you've made specific decisions.
Get in touch today and find out how we can help you meet your objectives.
