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Shannen Doherty signed her divorce settlement on July 12, 2024. She died the next day (1). More than two years later, that one day of timing is still costing her estate.
Her ex-husband, Kurt Iswarienko, signed the agreement on the day she died, and it wasn’t filed with the court until after her death — and now he’s challenging whether the court ever had the authority to enter it at all (1).
While that fight plays out, her estate says he still owes it $50,274 from buying out her share of an airplane hangar, and has fallen 15 months behind on the payments (1). A Texas home worth around $1.5 million was ordered sold and the proceeds split — but the estate says it hasn’t been listed (2).
I’ve been a CPA since 1981, and I served as the executor of my own parents’ estate. Here’s the hard truth this case teaches: a plan that’s almost finished is a plan that isn’t finished. Titles, beneficiary designations, and signatures that don’t quite line up are exactly where families end up in court — and a beneficiary form generally beats whatever your will says (3).
You don’t need a celebrity’s fortune for this to wreck your family. Here’s how the trap springs, and the five moves that keep your heirs out of it.
1. Finish the paperwork — “almost done” is where the fights live
Doherty’s case turns on a settlement caught between signed and final. Ordinary divorces, home sales, and account transfers stall in that same gap every day.
If you’re in the middle of a divorce, a move, or a big financial change, treat the paperwork as urgent, not eventual. Get every document signed, filed, and confirmed — then get written proof it’s done.
And when the estate itself is complicated, the right professional guidance pays for itself. Get an expert on your team. Services like SmartAsset instantly match you with up to three fiduciary advisors — legally required to prioritize your interests.
They can spot tax savings, Social Security strategies, and estate planning gaps you’d never see alone. $100K+ in investments? Get matched free in minutes. First appointments are also typically free.
2. Your will is not the final word — your beneficiary forms are
Here’s what surprises people most: the beneficiary designation on your life insurance, IRA, or 401(k) generally overrides your will (3). Name the wrong person — or an ex you forgot to remove — and that’s who inherits, no matter what your will says.
The same goes for how property is titled. Jointly held assets and transfer-on-death accounts pass outside your will entirely (3).
3. Update everything the week a big change is final
Divorce, remarriage, a death in the family, a new child or grandchild — each one should trigger a same-week review of your will, your titles, and every beneficiary form you’ve ever signed.
This is the step almost everyone skips. It costs nothing, takes an afternoon, and prevents the exact mess Doherty’s heirs are living through now.
Quick aside — most internet financial advice comes from people who weren’t alive during the last recession. I’ve been writing about money for more than 35 years. Want rock-solid advice? Sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter. Takes 10 seconds. No fluff. No spam.
4. Don’t die without a will — the state writes a worse one
If you die without a will, state law decides who gets what — and it rarely matches what you’d have chosen. A surviving spouse doesn’t automatically inherit everything; in many states the estate is split with the children, and the rules get messier in blended families (4).
Dying intestate is how a lifetime of careful saving ends up carved apart by a formula you never agreed to.
5. Put the documents in place before you think you need them
The cruel part of estate planning is that it’s only ever done too early or too late. Doherty was 53. Crises don’t check your age first.
A plan doesn’t have to be elaborate. When you’re gone, your problems vanish — but your family’s nightmare is just beginning. Without a plan, courts decide everything, probate drags on for months, and loved ones are left guessing. Shield them with a will, a trust or both — today.
A will locks in exactly who gets what — and you can get one in minutes for $199. A trust goes further, controlling how and when heirs inherit. You can get one, starting at just $499.
One hour now protects your family, prevents bitter fights, and may slash estate taxes.
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My honest take
I don’t know how Doherty’s case ends, and it isn’t my place to referee it. But the money lesson is clean, and it’s for the rest of us: the documents you keep meaning to finish are the ones your family will fight over.
She was, by all accounts, trying to get her affairs in order at the end. The lesson isn’t that she failed — it’s that even a person doing the right thing can run out of time. So don’t wait for the diagnosis, the divorce, or the scare.
Sources
1. Yahoo / People; 2. AOL; 3. FINRA; 4. Nolo
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