(InEntertainment) - According to court documents, Stephen Sondheim (the Broadway star who passed away in November) has apparently left $75 million to his spouse, his friends, and multiple charities.
The ‘West Side Story’ songwriter left the contents of his estate, including the rights to his music and literary works, personal effects and finances, which will go into the Stephen J Sondheim Revocable Trust, his will states.
Sondheim designated 20 people and charities as beneficiaries to his trust, including his husband Jeffrey Romley, his ‘Into the Woods’ collaborator and director James Lapine, and fellow playwright Peter Jones, with whom Sondheim had a relationship when he was 60, the New York Post reports.
Sondheim added the Smithsonian Institute (New York City), the Museum of New York City and the Library of Congress as beneficiaries of his estate.
In 2015, the then-President Barack Obama presents Stephen Sondheim the Presidential Medal of Freedom during an event in the East Room of The White House.
A soon to be created Stephen Sondheim Foundation was also mentioned by him as a beneficiary.
Other names listed in Sondheim’s will include Rob Girard, his gardener for 14 years, and Sondheims close friend, home designer Charles Peter Wooster, who lived on Sondheim’s Connecticut property in a carriage house, according to the New York Times.
The lawyer source stated that it is called a pourover will, where all assets go to the trust.
It is an extremely classic method of estate planning.
F Richard Pappas (the lawyer for the composer and lyricist) had just announced Sondheim’s passing in Roxbury Connecticut, one day before Thanksgiving.
Sondheim, according to his will, named Pappas (another man was not identified) as executors of the estate.
According to the source, “The trust will definitely tell the whole story but we don’t have a copy.”
‘We can safely assume that the names of people listed in the probate petition are beneficiaries and will be receiving something but we don’t know how much.’
Irish Repertory Theater co-founders Ciarán O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore called the bequest ‘a lovely surprise.’
Sondheim ‘never failed to honor us with his staunch support … especially of our musicals and musical adaptations,’ their statement continued.
While it was frightening to see “Himself”, we felt safe enough to explore the worlds of mystery where he was undisputedly the master.
According to The Post, Sondheim was well managed by a New York trust lawyer, who is not related to Sondheim’s case. Someone close to Sondheim manages his musical legacy and inherits his intellectual property.
According to a legal source, Stephen Sondheim worked with some of the best planning lawyers in the country. He has an estate plan that is sound and will be beneficial for his spouse as well as his friends. It also benefits charitable organisations that are important to him.
‘Also, it keeps order of his intellectual property … there is somebody who is managing his musical legacy.’
