The Estate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of one of the world’s greatest leaders, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who, for his tireless efforts and leadership of nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, received the Nobel Peace Prize of 1964.  In his acceptance speech, Dr. King, the most visible leader of the Civil Rights Movement, noted that he accepted the Peace Prize as a trustee:

I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood.  I say I come as a trustee, for in the depths of my heart I am aware that this prize is much more than an honor to me personally. . . . I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owner—all those to whom beauty is truth and truth, beauty—and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.[1]

Accordingly, Dr. King pledged to give the $54,123 of prize money to further the civil rights movement.[2]

It is somewhat ironic that, years later, Dr. King’s own children would fight a contentious and public legal battle over Dr. King’s Peace Prize medal, as well as his travel Bible, which Bible was used in President Barack Obama’s 2013 presidential inauguration.  The gravity of this dispute was underscored by the fact that former President Jimmy Carter served as mediator in the case.[3]  What’s worse, this has not been the only legal battle fought by Dr. King’s children over his estate.  Could anything have been done to mitigate or prevent such feuding? 

Though he viewed himself as a trustee of sorts, Dr. King had appointed no trustee or personal representative to manage a trust or his estate.  Following his tragic death in 1968, the Probate Court of Fulton County, Georgia found that Dr. King had died intestate, or, without a will.[4]  When he died, his net worth was less than $6,000, and the most valuable asset in his estate was a disputed bequest of $12,351.36 from poet Dorothy Parker.[5]  (Another source noted that Parker bequeathed her estate, comprised largely of her copyrights, to Dr. King, and upon his death, to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.[6]) 

Estate planning considers ways to prevent such fights among family members and loved ones, which, sadly, happen all too often.  Regardless of the size of the estate, through prudent planning, one can appoint decision makers, craft decision making processes, and adopt dispute resolution mechanisms in order to better promote brotherhood and peace. 

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To watch Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, click here.

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[1] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/26142-martin-luther-king-jr-acceptance-speech-1964/

[2] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/

[3] https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/15/490118455/legal-dispute-ends-over-martin-luther-king-jr-s-nobel-medal-and-bible

[4] Branch, Taylor.  At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68.  Simon & Schuster, 2006. At pg. 768.

[5] Id.

[6] Parker, Dorothy.  Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker.  Simon and Schuster, 2001.  At pg. 59.