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Brief
Elvis History
Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935. When
he was a teenager he would work as a movie theater usher, then a
truck driver and singer. He started singing and toured locally.
When he started touring he was billed as the "Hillbilly Cat" and
even recorded under that name. RCA records signed Presley in 1955,
racking up hit after hit. Presley success wa stagering, he began
appearing in films in 1956, Sold more records, more concerts etc.
He was drafted into the Army, was honorably discharged, returned
home, got married, moved to his "Graceland Mansion" in Memphis TN.,
and had a baby girl named "Lisa Marie". During the 1960's when the
Beatles came to the States, Presleys popularity slowed down , but
he still had many millions of fans. He died of heart attack (by
a prescribed drug) in 1977 in Memphis, TN. Elvis was considered
the "King of Rock & Roll".
Last
Will And Testament Of Elvis A. Presley
Filed
August 22, 1977
Last Will And Testament of Elvis Presley
I,
Elvis A. Presley, a resident and citizen of Shelby County, Tennessee,
being of sound mind and disposing memory, do hereby make, publish
and declare this instrument to be my last will and testament, hereby
revoking any and all wills and codicils by me at any time heretofore
made.
Item
I Debts, Expenses and Taxes
I direct my Executor, hereinafter named, to pay all of my matured
debts and my funeral expenses, as well as the costs and expenses
of the administration of my estate, as soon after my death as practicable.
I further direct that all estate, inheritance, transfer and succession
taxes which are payable by reason under this will, be paid out of
my residuary estate; and I hereby waive on behalf of my estate any
right to recover from any person any part of such taxes so paid.
My Executor, in his sole discretion, may pay from my domiciliary
estate all or any portion of the costs of ancillary administration
and similar proceedings in other jurisdictions.
Item
II Instruction Concerning Personal Property:
Enjoyment in Specie I anticipate that included as a part of my property
and estate at the time of my death will be tangible personal property
of various kinds, characters and values, including trophies and
other items accumulated by me during my professional career. I hereby
specifically instruct all concerned that my Executor, herein appointed,
shall have complete freedom and discretion as to disposal of any
and all such property so long as he shall act in good faith and
in the best interest of my estate and my beneficiaries, and his
discretion so exercised shall not be subject to question by anyone
whomsoever. I hereby expressly authorize my Executor and my Trustee,
respectively and successively, to permit any beneficiary of any
and all trusts created hereunder to enjoy in specie the use or benefit
of any household goods, chattels, or other tangible personal property
(exclusive of choses in action, cash, stocks, bonds or other securities)
which either my Executor or my Trustees may receive in kind, and
my Executor and my Trustees shall not be liable for any consumption,
damage, injury to or loss of any tangible property so used, nor
shall the beneficiaries of any trusts hereunder or their executors
of administrators be liable for any consumption, damage, injury
to or loss of any tangible personal property so used.
Item
III Real Estate
If I am the owner of any real estate at the time of my death, I
instruct and empower my Executor and my Trustee (as the case may
be) to hold such real estate for investment, or to sell same, or
any portion therof, as my Executor or my Trustee (as the case may
be) shall in his sole judgment determine to be for the best interest
of my estate and the beneficiaries thereof.
Item
IV Residuary Trust
After payment of all debts, expenses and taxes as directed under
Item I hereof, I give, devise, and bequeath all the rest, residue,
and remainder of my estate, including all lapsed legacies and devices,
and any property over which I have a power of appointment, to my
Trustee, hereinafter named, in trust for the following purposes:
(a) The Trustees is directed to take, hold, manage, invest and reinvent
the corpus of the trust and to collect the income therefrom in accordance
with the rights, powers, duties, authority and discretion hereinafter
set forth. The Trustee is directed to pay all the expenses, taxes
and costs incurred in the management of the trust estate out of
the income thereof. (b) After payment of all expenses, taxes and
costs incurred in the management of the expenses, taxes and costs
incurred in the management of the trust estate, the Trustee is authorizes
to accumulate the net income or to pay or apply so much of the net
income and such portion of the principal at any time and from time
to time to time for health, education, support, comfortable maintenance
and welfare of: (1) My daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, and any other
lawful issue I might have, (2) my grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley,
(3) my father, Vernon E. Presley, and (4) such other relatives of
mine living at the time of my death who in the absolute discretion
of my Trustees are in need of emergency assistance for any of the
above mentioned purposes and the Trustee is able to make such distribution
without affecting the ability of the trust to meet the present needs
of the first three numbered categories of beneficiaries herein mentioned
or to meet the reasonably expected future needs of the first three
classes of beneficiaries herein mentioned. Any decision of the Trustee
as to whether or not distribution, to any of the persons described
hereunder shall be final and conclusive and not subject to question
by any legatee or beneficiary hereunder. (c) Upon the death of my
Father, Vernon E. Presley, the Trustee is instructed to make no
further distributions to the fourth category of beneficiaries and
such beneficiaries shall cease to have any interest whatsoever in
this trust. (d) Upon the death of both my said father and my said
grandmother, the Trustee is directed to divide the Residuary Trust
into separate and equal trusts, creating one such equal trust for
each of my lawful children then surviving and one such equal trust
for the living issue collectively, if any, of any deceased child
of mine. The share, if any, for the issue of any such deceased child,
shall immediately vest in such issue in equal shares but shall be
subject to the provisions of Item V herein. Separate books and records
shall be kept for each trust, but it shall not be necessary that
a physical division of the assets be made as to each trust. The Trustee may from time to time distribute the whole or any part of
the net income or principal from each of the aforesaid trusts as
the Trustee, in its uncontrolled discretion, considers necessary
or desirable to provide for the comfortable support, education,
maintenance, benefit and general welfare of each of my children.
Such distributions may be made directly to such beneficiary or to
the guardian of the person of such beneficiary and without repsonsibilty on my Trustee to see to the application of nay such distributions
and in making such distributions, the Trustee shall take into account
all other sources of funds known by the Trustee to be available
for each respective beneficiary for such purpose. (e) As each of
my respective children attains the age of twenty-five (25) years
and provided that both my father and my grandmother are deceased,
the trust created hereunder for such child care terminate, and all
the remainder of the assets then contained in said trust shall be
distributed to such child so attaining the age of twenty-five (25)
years outright and free of further trust. (f) If any of my children
for whose benefit a trust has been created hereunder should die
before attaining the age of twenty- five (25) years, then the trust
created for such a child shall terminate on his death, and all remaining
assets then contained in said trust shall be distributed outright
and free of further trust and in equal shares to the surviving issue
of such deceased child but subject to the provisions of Item V herein;
but if there be no such surviving issue , then to the brothers and
sisters of such deceased child in equal shares, the issue of any
other deceased child being entitled collectively to their deceased
parent's share. Nevertheless, if any distribution otherwise becomes
payable outright and free of trust under the provisions of this
paragraph (f) of the Item IV of my will to a beneficiary for whom
the Trustee is then administering a trust for the benefit of such
beneficiary under provisions of this last will and testament, such
distribution shall not be paid outright to such beneficiary but
shall be added to and become a part of the trust so being administered
for such beneficiary by the Trustee.
Item
V Distribution to Minor Children
If any share of corpus of any trust established under this will
become distributable outright and free of trust to any beneficiary
before said beneficiary has attained the age of eighteen (18) years,
then said share shall immediately vest in said beneficiary, but
the Trustee shall retain possession of such share during the period
in which such beneficiary is under the age of eighteen (18) years,
and, in the meantime, shall use and expend so much of the income
and principal for the care, support, and education of such beneficiary,
and any income not so expended with respect to each share so retained
all the power and discretion had with respect to such trust generally.
Item
VI Alternate Distributees
In the event that all of my descendants should be deceased at any
time prior to the time for the termination of the trusts provided
for herein, then in such event all of my estate and all the assets
of every trust to be created hereunder (as the case may be) shall
then distributed outright in equal shares to my heirs at law per
stripes.
Item VII Unenforceable Provisions
If any provisions of this will are unenforceable, the remaining
provisions shall, nevertheless, be carried into effect.
Item VIII Life Insurance
If my estate is the beneficiary of any life insurance on my life
at the time of my death, I direct that the proceeds therefrom will
be used by my Executor in payment of the debts , expenses and taxes
listed in Item I of this will, to the extent deemed advisable by
the Executor. All such proceeds not so used are to be used by my
Executor for the purpose of satisfying the devises and bequests
contained in Item IV herein.
Item
IX Spendthrift Provision
I direct that the interest of any beneficiary in principal or income
of any trust created hereunder shall not be subject to claims of
creditors or others, nor to legal process, and may not be voluntarily
or involuntarily alienated or encumbered except as herein provided.
Any bequests contained herein for any female shall be for her sole
and separate use, free from the debts, contracts and control of
any husband she may ever have.
Item X Proceeds From Personal Services
All sums paid after my death (either to my estate or to any of the
trusts created hereunder) and resulting from personal services rendered
by me during my lifetime, including, but not limited to, royalties
of all nature, concerts, motion picture contracts, and personal
appearances shall be considered to be income, notwithstanding the
provisions of estate and trust law to the contrary.
Item
XI Executor and Trustee
I appoint as executor of this, my last will and testament, and as
Trustee of every trust required to be created hereunder, my said
father. I hereby direct that my said father shall be entitled by
his last will ant testament, duly probated, to appoint a successor
Executor of my estate, as well as a successor Trustee or successor
Trustees of all the trusts to be created under my last will and
testament. If, for any reason, my said father be unable to serve
or to continue to serve as Executor and/or as Trustee, or if he
be deceased and shall not have appointed a successor Executor or
Trustee, by virtue of his last will and testament as stated -above,
then I appoint National Bank of Commerce, Memphis, Tennessee, or
its successor or the institution with which it may merge, as successor
Executor and/or as successor Trustee of all trusts required to be
established hereunder. None of the appointees named hereunder,including
any appointment made by virtue of the last will and testament of
my said father, shall be required to furnish any bond or security
for performance of the respective fiduciary duties required hereunder,
notwithstanding any rule of law to the contrary.
Item
XII Powers, Duties, Privileges and Immunities of the Trustee Except
as otherwise stated expressly to the contrary herein, I give and
grant to the said Trustee (and to the duly appointed successor Trustee
when acting as such) the power to do everything he deems advisable
with respect to the administration of each trust required to be
established under this, my last will and Testament, even though
such powers would not be authorized or appropriate for the Trustee
under statutory or other rules of law. By way of illustration and
not in limitation of the generality of the foregoing grant of power
and authority of the Trustee, I give and grant to him plenary power
as follows: (a) To exercise all those powers authorized to fiduciaries
under the provisions of the Tennessee Code Annotated, Sections 35-616
to 35-618, inclusive, including any amendments thereto in effect
at the time of my death, and the same are expressly referred to
and incorporated herein by reference. (b) Plenary power is granted
to the Trustee, not only to relieve him from seeking judicial instruction,
but to the extent that the Trustee deems it to be prudent, to encourage
determinations freely to be made in favor of persons who are the
current income beneficiaries. In such instances the rights of all
subsequent beneficiaries are subordinate, and the Trustee shall
not be answerable to any subsequent beneficiary for anything done
or omitted in favor of a current income beneficiary may compel any
such favorable or preferential treatment. Without in anywise minimizing
or impairing the scope of this declaration of intent, it includes
investment policy, exercise of discretionary power to pay or apply
principal and income, and determination principal and income questions;
(c) It shall be lawful for the Trustee to apply any sum that is
payable to or for the benefit of a minor (or any other person who
in the Judgment of the Trustee, is incapable of making proper disposition
thereof) by payments in discharge of the costs and expenses of educating,
maintaining and supporting said beneficiary, or to make payment
to anyone with whom said beneficiary resides or who has the care
or custody of the beneficiary, temporarily or permanently, all without
intervention of any guardian or like fiduciary. The receipt of anyone
to whom payment is so authorized to be made shall be a complete
discharge of the Trustees without obligation on his part to see
to the further application hereto, and without regard to other resource
that the beneficiary may have, or the duty of any other person to
support the beneficiary; (d) In Dealing with the Trustee, no grantee,
pledge, vendee, mortgage, lessee or other transference of the trust
properties, or any part therof, shall be bound to inquire with respect
to the purpose or necessity of any such disposition or to see to
the application of any consideration therefore paid to the Trustee.
Item
XIII Concerning the Trustee and the Executor
(a) If at any time the Trustee shall have reasonable doubt as to
his power, authority or duty in the administration of any trust
herein created, it shall be lawful for the Trustee to obtain the
advice and counsel of reputable legal counsel without resorting
to the courts for instructions; and the Trustee shall be fully absolved
from all liability and damage or detriment to the various trust
estates of any beneficiary thereunder by reason of anything done,
suffered or omitted pursuant to advice of said counsel given and
obtained in good faith, provided that nothing contained herein shall
be construed to prohibit or prevent the Trustee in all proper cases
from applying to a court of competent jurisdiction for instructions
in the administration of the trust assets in lieu of obtaining advice
of counsel. (b) In managing, investing, and controlling the various
trust estates, the Trustee shall exercise the judgment and care
under the circumstances then prevailing, which men of prudence discretion
and judgment exercise in the management of their own affairs, not
in regard to speculation, but in regard to the permanent disposition
of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable
safety of their capital, and, in addition, the purchasing power
of income distribution to beneficiaries. (c) My Trustee (as well
as my Executor) shall be entitled to reasonable and adequate and
adequate compensation for the fiduciary services rendered by him.
(d) My Executor and his successor Executor and his successor Executor
shall have the same rights, privileges, powers and immunities herein
granted to my Trustee wherever appropriate. (e) In referring to
any fiduciary hereunder, for purposes of construction, masculine
pronouns may include a corporate fiduciary and neutral pronouns
may include an individual fiduciary.
Item XIV Law Against Perpetuities
(a) Having in mind the rule against perpetuities, I direct that
(notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary in this last
will and testament) each trust created under this will (except such
trust created under this will (except such trusts as have heretofore
vested in compliance with such rule or law) shall end, unless sooner
terminated under other provisions of this will, twenty-one (21)
years after the death of the last survivor of such of the beneficiaries
hereunder as are living at the time of my death; and thereupon that
the property held in trust shall be distributed free of all trust
to the persons then entitled to receive the income and/or principal
therefrom, in the proportion in proportion in which they are then
entitled to receive such income. (b) Notwithstanding anything else
contained in this will to the contrary, I direct that if any distribution
under this will become payable to a person for whom the Trustee
is then administering a trust created hereunder for the benefit
of such person, such distribution shall be made to such trust and
not to the beneficiary outright, and the funds so passing to such
trust shall become a part thereof as corpus and be administered
and distributed to the same extent and purpose as if such funds
had been a part of such a trust at its inception.
Item
XV Payment of Estate and Inheritance Taxes
Notwithstanding the provisions of Item X herein, I authorize my
Executor to use such sums received by my estate after my death and
resulting from my personal services as identified in Item X as he
deem necessary and advisable in order to pay the taxes referred
to in Item I of my said will. In WITNESS WHEREOF, I, the said ELVIS
A. PRESLEY, do hereunto set my hand and seal in the presence of
two (2) competent witnesses, and in their presence do publish and
declare this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament, this 3
day of March, 1977.
[Signed by Elvis A. Presley]
ELVIS A. PRESLEY
The
foregoing instrument, consisting of this and eleven (11) preceding
typewritten pages, was signed, sealed, published and declared by
ELVIS A.PRESLEY, the Testator, to be his Last Will and Testament,
in our presence, and we, at his request and in his presence and
in the presence of each other, have hereunto subscribed our names
as witnesses, this 3 day of March, 1977, at Memphis, Tennessee.
[Signed by Ginger Alden]
Ginger Alden residing at 4152 Royal Crest Place
[Signed
by Charles F. Hodge]
Charles F. Hodge residing at 3764 Elvis Presley Blvd.
[Signed by Ann Dewey Smith]
Ann Dewey Smith residing at 2237 Court Avenue.
State
of Tennessee County of Shelby Ginger Alden, Charles F. Hodge, and
Ann Dewey Smith, after being first duly sworn, make oath or affirm
that the foregoing Last Will and Testament, in the sight and presence
of us, the undersigned, who at his request and in his sight and
presence, and in the sight and presence of each other, have subscribed
our names as attesting witnesses on the 3 day of March, 1977, and
we further make oath or affirm that the Testator was of sound mind
and disposing memory and not acting under fraud, menace or undue
influence of any person, and was more than eighteen (18) years of
age; and that each of the attesting witnesses is more than eighteen
(18) years of age.
[Signed
by Ginger Alden]
Ginger Alden
[Signed
by Charles F. Hodge]
Charles F. Hodge
[Signed
by Ann Dewey Smith]
Ann Dewey Smith Sworn To And Subscribed before me this 3 day of
March, 1977.
Drayton Beecker Smith II Notary Public
My commission expires: August 8, 1979 Admitted to probate and Ordered
Recorded August 22, 1977
Joseph W. Evans, Judge Recorded August 22, 1977
B.J. Dunavant,
Clerk By: Jan Scott, D.C. |
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