Some of Elvis’ financial success is attributed to his manager and promoter, Colonel Tom Parker. He helped Elvis secure unprecedented movie deals paying him a lot of money. By the time of his heart attack on August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley bank account had only about five million dollars and his total estate was worth a reported 10.2 million dollars. Elivis Presley was the highest-paid entertainer in the world in his prime, and the highest single tax-payer in the United States, this sum seems almost paltry.
Instead of a standard manager’s commission of 10 to 20 percent, Parker had a 50/50 deal with Elvis. But he also managed to double dip into Elvis’ earnings. Parker used companies he set up including Elvis Presley Enterprises to cut Elvis’ share down to 22 percent of every dollar earned for much of the income, including merchandising.
After Elvis died, Parker no longer had the King to manage or make money for him. Instead, he approached the executor of the Elvis Presley Estate Elvis’ father, Vernon Presley and warned him that he would be the target of scam artists and pirates. Parker convinced him to sign a new agreement to let Parker manage the Estate and receive 50 percent of all income received, in order to protect Vernon. The income expected to come in through Elvis Presley’s estate, in terms of royalties from his music and movies, merchandising, commercial uses of his image and likeness, would have been more than enough, even if nothing was done to promote it. He was, after all, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Eventually, due to a probate court proceeding, an independent attorney was appointed to investigate Parker’s agreement with the estate. The attorney’s 300-page report concluded that Parker’s commissions were unreasonable and exorbitant compared to industry averages. The attorney challenged the validity of the holding company for Elvis’ merchandising rights, which caused the estate to receive only 22% of related profits. All agreements with Parker were terminated.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_PresleyAnother legal issue that ensue was
Presley’s main physician, Dr. Nichopoulos, was exonerated of criminal liability for the singer’s death. In the first eight months of 1977 alone, he had prescribed more than 10,000 doses of sedatives, amphetamines and narcotics, all in Elvis’s name. His license was suspended for three months. It was permanently revoked in the 1990s after the Tennessee Medical Board brought new charges of over-prescription. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/05/05/exclusive-elvis-presleys-doctor-claims-died-embarrassing-case-chronic/
Reflection of Elvis’s Estate:
As doing my research Elvis did not have too many legal issues with his estate considering he left it all to his only daughter,. So for me it was complicated to find good legal issues. Also there was no fighting over the estate as he only has one daughter. He’s still one of the wealthiest men in the United Stated and his legacy will live on forever. I like his will because as reading the other wills he really did not leave anyone he loved out and had no big fights over his estate that I came across.
