Matthew Perry, the star of Friends, sadly passed away at 54 on October 28, 2023, in his Los Angeles home. He had a successful career despite personal struggles, with a decade on Friends and other big projects like 17 Again and Fallout: New Vegas contributing to his wealth.
The actor, who played Chandler Bing, had an estimated net worth of $102million (£84million), making him the third richest 'Friends' cast member after Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox.
Now, his estate, including assets, copyrights, trademarks, royalties, investments, cash and securities, will be inherited. People Magazine suggests three possible ways his estate could be handled, one of which is electing a beneficiary.
Estate lawyer Jonathan Forster shared with the publication: "The guild and the unions allow you to list a beneficiary. It's not the most common route, but that is certainly a route. So he could have listed specific beneficiaries of his residuals with the union industry and actors guild, the different guilds, that's one option."
But it's more likely that the star established a trust, which selected who is entitled to his assets or shared between selected people. Forster explained: "Assuming Perry did something like that, then his trust, which will read much like a will, says who receives and at what time. So once the bills are paid, final expenses, funeral expenses, final illness expenses, once all that is paid, then [what you're left with] is the net distributable amount."
If he left a will instead, a "court supervised probate proceeding" will go ahead, and be put on public record. Lawyer Laura Zwicker says that's less likely, explaining: "Clearly anyone who is thinking does not pass their assets through a will because everything becomes public."
If no plan exists, his estate would go through the probate court to decide who is entitled to it. With Perry unmarried and without children, it's likely his assets will go straight to his parents John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Morrison.
Matthew also had five half-siblings sisters Caitlin, Emily, Maria and Madeline, and brother Will who his assets could be divided between.
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