Bob Marley’s Legacy: Everything’s . . . Not Gonna Be Alright

The recent movie Bob Marley: One Love, the life story of the Jamaican singer known for his unique reggae style, ended before addressing the chaotic 30-year probate process of sorting Mr. Marley’s assets amongst his blended family; his wife, as well as 11 children from 7 different women. The “No Woman, No Cry” and “One Love” singer lost his battle against cancer in 1981 at the age of 36, with an estimated worth of $30 Million.  Marley’s strong Rastafarian belief in reincarnation prevented him from acknowledging his mortality; therefore, he died without a Will detailing how he wanted his assets distributed.  Even though he owned homes in Delaware, Florida, London, and Jamaica, Jamacia was declared his country of residence, and therefore his estate was distributed according to Jamacia’s laws of intestacy: 10% to his Widow, 45% held in a life estate to his Widow, and the remainder distributed equally amongst his children.

After Marley’s death, the legal fighting began. His wife, children, record label, and 21 other musicians filed claims against his estate. Marley’s Attorney and Accountant attempted to craft an estate plan after his death, convincing his widow Rita to forge Marley’s signature to predate the transfer of assets prior to his death.  One of Marley’s former managers uncovered their scheme. The Attorney and Accountant were later found guilty of fraud and criminal conspiracy. Rita later confessed to her part and the Court removed her from control of Marley’s estate.

Prior to his death, Marley had purchased a home for his mother in Miami, Florida. Because of Jamacia’s probate laws, Marley’s mother was not able to inherit. Though no one contested that Marley had purchased the Miami home solely for his mother, the home was in Marley’s name when he passed. Therefore, the attorneys had no choice but to liquidate Marley’s assets to distribute the estate, which included evicting his mother and selling “her” house. 

 Ultimately, in the 1990’s, the Jamaican Supreme Court ruled that Rita and his children were entitled to the rights to profit from Marley’s name, likeness, and image, but legal battles continued for another decade over song licensing and copyright enforcement.  At one point, the family emphasized their frustration that legal fees had totaled $4 Million dollars. The accumulating legal fees continued to reduce the amount they would receive from the estate. 

Marley’s estate shows what can go wrong when you do not have an estate plan in place. Many of these legal challenges would have been prevented if Marley had created an estate plan in the year and a half he had cancer prior to his passing. Ironically, against all his beliefs, Marley’s estate was decimated by corruption and commercialism that could have been avoided.