There are four core planning needs in dealing with the unique qualities of your creative work, as outlined below:
Rights
Your rights include intellectual property rights such as copyright, trademark, and possibly patents. I review the status of copyright ownership, registration, transfers, and rights of termination in your work. There are other rights as well, e.g., based on contracts you may be a party to, as well as rights that may arise, such as claims of libel, and a right of publicity.
I review contracts affecting rights in your work. These rights are likely to extend well beyond your lifetime. Copyright, for example, generally lasts for your lifetime plus 70 years. Special focus on rights of termination and the opportunities created for your beneficiaries to get a “second bite at the apple.”
Reputation
How will your reputation as a creator be shaped into the future? I review your current representation by agents &/or galleries. How will your moral rights (droit moral) be addressed to protect the integrity of your work? What about your right to attribution, to be identified as the creator of the work?
I review relevant state law and contractual provisions addressing moral rights or their equivalent. Who will monitor and enforce these rights into the future? I offer this option as an ongoing service to keep your estate plan current.
Market
Who will manage and value your work? Do you have an Executor or Trustee appointed under a will or trust who has the power to control and manage rights in your work?
I assist you in the selection of individual &/or corporate candidates for fiduciary or co-fiduciary appointments. And if they are named and have the power, do they have the expertise, knowledge, and sensitivity to do it the way you would want? Is this person loyal, capable, and diligent. Managing your work could be a full time job. Have you thought how they should be compensated? I review and negotiate executor &/or trustee appointments and commissions, especially where multiple fiduciaries are involved, including family members and institutional trustees.
On the important issue of valuation will be the need for qualified appraisals? Do you have any right now? Who will deal with galleries, museums, publishers, record companies, and producers? Who can bring your art into the world of social media if you wish to allow. I discuss the need and arrange for qualified appraisals of your work.
Legacy
What influence will your life and work have on the arts community, on your family, on the work of future artists? As a distinct part of the planning process we will review your specific values regarding your work. How would you like to shape this influence? Possibilities include setting up a foundation, an archive, etc. or supporting an existing cultural institution.
I coordinate your values with the legal, business, and personal means of fulfilling them. How will you be remembered? What will you be remembered for? We will help you formulate an art succession plan to preserve the meaning and purpose of your life’s work.
