Annie Leibovitz needs help

[MichaelHarris]

Recently Annie Leibovitz had to sell all of her past, present, and future copyrights to all of her photographs. What happened, in a nutshell, is with the death of her long-time companion, Susan Sontag she inherited a large amount of debt. When this story broke people said things like, "she should have managed her money better,", things of that nature. There was very little pity.

She couldn't afford all of the houses Sontag had left her. Or so we thought. The truth is so much uglier and shows just what American Conservatism can do.

The truth of the matter is her financial woes stemmed from her inheritance of her long time partner, Susan Sontag ’s, estate... Same-sex couples do not have the same privileges as straight married couples when it comes to inheritance. If your partner passes away and leaves her estate to you, you have to pay up to 50 percent of the value of your inheritance in taxes. However, if you and your partner were recognized as a married couple, you wouldn’t have to pay a dime. And it is precisely this unjust double standard that got Annie Leibovitz into financial trouble.

Dumb-ass freeps, this woman is suffering and had to sell her life's work to pay for your stupidity!

http://www.afterellen.com/blog/juliamiranda/annie-leibovitz-is-in-a-jam

[Bolo Boffin]

1. Oh, damn...

Marriage equality NOW!

[Lost in CT]

2. Honestly I am confused...

I agree on the double standard and the lack of revocable trusts has caused a tax bite.

What I don't quite understand is she cannot just liquidate some of the inheritance to pay for the taxes. There are plenty of people in America who have inherited something from a friend or relative that got hit by the tax man and had to sell under duress.

I feel bad for her but honestly from the article "When Sontag died in 2004, she bequeathed several properties to Leibovitz, who was forced to pony up half of their value to keep them. Yes, she makes a nice chunk of change from Vanity Fair, and yes, she probably could have just sold the properties when the market was good in 2004, but that’s not really the point. The point is she should never have been in the position of paying or selling to not pay as much in the first place. Her wealth and poor decision-making are incidental."

I'm not crying about someone who couldn't sell one of her Hamptons properties in 2004. I have better people to weep for than the very rich paying taxes on windfall income.

[madaboutharry]

3. She also got into a lot of

trouble because of massive renovations to her Greenwich Village townhouse. I agree that the laws of inheritance must be changed. However, Annie Leibovitz made a lot of bad decisions that got her to this point. Frankly, I find the story somewhat complicated and difficult to sort out. I am not sure how I feel about it.

[MichaelHarris]

4. rich and gay

still shouldn't be a punishment. I've heard from people who have worked with her and said she wasn't a nice person, that doesn't mean she should be entitled to less rights than my wife and I have.

[Lost in CT]

5. I am in favor of inheritance taxes on millionares...

I am also in favor or her paying her fair share.

She should have set up a trust with Sontang... she didn't.

I have no problem with her being treated like anyone else who inherits millions of dollars.

Honestly I think the tax code is already to lax on windfall monies.

[condoleeza]

12. Nothing in this article says she had to sell anything

she took out loans, she can still eventually sell the properties. I'm sorry, I'm completely pro gay marriage, but lacking that option, Susan and she should have set up a trust to avoid just this kind of situation. Annie is not w/o resources to have gotten decent legal advice and hardly w/o friends to tide her over if need be. She is a fascinating and completely "commanding" presence to behold in person, she isn't someone who would ever strike me as vulnerable regardless of whatever challenge she might face.. I don't want to make light of this post, but I do question if it is over-dramatic and can't imagine Annie would approve of this being used as an example about the disparities in our world.

[dsc]

17. she isn't being treated like other people in her position

had it be Steve and Annie as opposed to Susan and Annie there would be no tax bill at all.

[MichaelHarris]

24. thanks!

I just wasn't explaining it right. I was sort of shocked that so many didn't see the obvious though.

[condoleeza]

19. I worked with her in the early 90's, and thought she was great

I admit I am ignorant of all the tax laws, but I do know that trusts can be set up that would have prevented this being as serious as it was. Point taken, however, should they have had the right to be married and had done so.

[dysfunctional press]

21. "should have" - but didn't, so they should have known better.

live and learn. next time she'll know.

[Captain Hilts]

6. I didn't think debts were transferable. How can she end up in the hole from inheriting some

property, etc.?

I thought debt collectors would go after Sontag's estate.

[Lost in CT]

7. There are no inherited debts... she had a tax bill after receiving millions. nt

[Captain Hilts]

13. Right, but how can this put her into debt? I still don't understand.

I'm not trying to be difficult here, but I'm dealing with my mother's estate right now and I don't see how inheriting money leaves you in debt. Is it because they no longer have two incomes and had the expenses of two? Vis a vis the renovations to the house?

[petronius]

15. If you inherit property, you need to pay tax on the value of the property

if it's something like real estate, you have to either sell it or find the cash elsewhere to pay the tax. If you choose not to sell (or can't, due to a poor real estate market), and don't have excess cash elsewhere, the tax bill becomes a debt.

She's still richer than she was, she just has a lack of liquidity at the moment...

[Lost in CT]

18. Plus she inherited this property in 2004... She could have sold some

quite easily back then.

[dysfunctional press]

27. can't she just let them have the property?

it wasn't hers to begin with, after all.

[dysfunctional press]

8. sounds like so much bullshit...why didn't she liquidate the inheritances instead?

since when do people inherit debts? :shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

14. Same question here. I don't 'get' it nt

[Redbear]

22. The taxes due are based upon the 2004 values

unfortunately, she can't sell the properties today at their 2004 values.

[dysfunctional press]

26. live and learn.

next time, she'll be more careful, i'll bet.

[Ilsa]

9. That's horrible. Partners need the same legal equity as married

heterosexual couples. Oh hell, let's skip the idiotic intermediary step and call it "marriage".

I didn't know that S Sontag and A Liebovitz were partners, but I live in a hay barn.

[tigereye]

10. well at least she is in a position to have the ability to borrow against her

considerable collateral. Hopefully she will be able at some point to buy those back. What a shame that artists have to do that, but at least she had the option.


I agree with you that the tax laws regarding this are highly unfair, though.

[Mike 03]

11. I cherish her work, as well as Susan Sontag's. Kick and rec, and

thank you massively for posting this. I felt there was something unsettling about Leibovitz's publication last year. It felt odd and forced.

[Retrograde]

16. Get in line

I know too many people out of work with a lot fewer resources to overly worry about someone who's having problems with multiple properties. I agree that people in a committed relationship should have rights of survivorship, and I don't know enough about New York property laws to know what could have been done to prevent onerous taxes - I'm sure someone's figured out a loophole or three by now.

At least Leibovitz has assets to sell. BTW, weren't her problems all due to Madoff a few weeks ago? From the cited article: "Her wealth and poor decision-making are incidental." No, sorry, they're not. She made some bad decisions and has to live with the consequences. Just like we all do.

[condoleeza]

20. Excellent point

[1]

23. pick up that camera, annie... and get back to work, that is what the rest of us do.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

29. Who do you think just took the photos of Michelle Obama for Vogue? Annie works all the time.

[1]

30. go annie! get some...

although i do have to say that Michelle is so beautiful i believe even i could have produced such a wonderful photograph.




ok. well, maybe not...


go annie!

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. wow. I thought she was super rich

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. More to story...debt due to renovation that went bad, lawsuits & kids after 50

http://news.muckety.com/2009/03/02/annie-leibovitz-pawns-lifes-work-for-cash/12381

Leibovitz has declined to talk about her financial situation. But her problems apparently began with a 2002 gut renovation of a historic Greek Revival townhouse she bought in the West Village, which badly damaged the foundations of the building next door, resulting in a $15 million lawsuit. To fix the problem, or so she thought at the time, she bought the building.

By all accounts, the renovations have been a continuing money pit both because of the severe structural problems, as well as protests and lobbying by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation to preserve the buildings’ design. More recently, the photographer was hit by lawsuits from a lighting company and a stylist she had hired for a photo shoot, who sued last year over unpaid bills totaling more than $778,000.

Robert Pledge, the founder of Contact Press Images, which represents Leibovitz, said she had faced other stresses in the last eight years, including runaway expenses at her Chelsea studio, which she has since closed; the deaths of her lover, noted writer Susan Sontag, as well as of her parents; and the births of several children.

In particular, the fact that Sontag bequeathed Leibovitz property after she died resulted in huge inheritance taxes because the couple was unmarried, creating additional financial pressures.

And with her three children all young, the need to resolve her financial problems loomed large. Leibovitz’ first child, Sarah Cameron Leibovitz. was born in October, 2001, when the photographer was 51 years old. Her twins, Susan and Samuelle, were born to a surrogate mother in May 2005.

[HamdenRice]

31. Treating GLBT partners like this is wrong. But Annie was greedy and got in trouble by herself

Basically, Annie inherited this property during the bubble and rather than liquidating half of the properties to pay for the taxes on the other half, she tried to keep it all. The "debt" appears to be debt, perhaps even mortgage debt, she took out to pay the taxes rather than raise the money by selling.

If she borrowed in 2004 or so to pay the taxes, she is probably "under water" now.

Annie is in this position because she was speculating that the property would increase in value, which it did, until it didn't. She's hardly any more worthy of pity than any other millionaire who speculated and lost. The fact that the tax system treats GLBT people differently from married couples shouldn't be used to obscure the fact that she is basically in the same position as Ed McMahon.

[Vinca]

32. She's Annie Leibovitz, not Joe the Camera Buff.

Her first mistake was selling the copyrights. That was a huge mistake. Maybe it could be undone if a court could be convinced she was grief stricken and didn't grasp what she was doing. She could have made a fortune selling prints of her works, but now . . . since she doesn't own the copyrights . . . she's screwed.

[progressoid]

37. She didn't sell her rights - She used her images as part of the collateral for a $15 million loan.

Annie Leibovitz Pawns Photo Rights

February 25, 2009 11:45 AM ET | Kimberly Castro | Permanent Link | Print

American portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz, known for her iconic images of celebrities, has borrowed $15 million in exchange for the copyright, negatives, and contract rights of all her work—past and future—until the loan is repaid.

The New York Times reported today that the artist, who's been drowning in mortgage debt, borrowed more than $15 million from Art Capital Group, a company that assists art owners in creating liquidity from art assets. Sounds more like a glorified pawnshop.

Some of the images used for collateral include the infamous photo of a naked and very pregnant Demi Moore, the controversial picture of tween star Miley Cyrus for Vanity Fair , and images of first lady Michelle Obama used by the same magazine.

Leibovitz also put up for collateral several houses, including townhouses she owns in Greenwich Village and a country house.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/luxe-life/2009/02/25/annie-leibovitz-pawns-photo-rights.html

[HamdenRice]

33. Correction. She did not "sell" her rights, she put them up as collateral for a loan

Even the article you link to says that she took out a loan against the photo rights, not that she sold them.

Also a little googling shows that although she may be a nice person in person if you are a wealthy celebrity that she is photographing, she was litigious, and that seems to be as much a source of her financial woes as her ill advised attempt to keep the Sontag properties.

While she deserves our empathy, as does everyone affected by this financial environment, she hardly deserves our "help."

[Romulox]

34. In a perfect world, millionaire heirs would pay at LEAST this much on their inheritances

Wether married or single, gay or straight.

[HamdenRice]

35. Millionaire heirs already do. They are referring to the marital exemption

The only "heir" that receives property free of inheritance taxes is the spouse. All other heirs and will beneficiaries pay taxes, just as Annie had to.

It's a complicated story of legal history, but initially spouses paid inheritance taxes just like children and other heirs. Then because of complicated differences between community property states and the other marital property states, the feds decided to let all widows and widowers inherit tax free on the theory that married couples already both own everything together, with the taxes being paid when the surviving spouse dies. That's the exemption that GLBT partners don't have. You might recall that the Kennedy children had to sell much of Jackie Kennedy's property at auction when Jackie died to pay the taxes because the children were not Jackie's spouse -- something that Annie should have done.

I agree that inheritance taxes on millionaires should be high, but if we're going to allow straight married couples to delay taxes until the death of the surviving spouse, we should let GLBT partners get the same treatment.

That said, Annie is in financial trouble primarily because she was greedy for the bubble induced real estate values and litigious, not because of the discriminatory tax treatment.

[Romulox]

36. Thanks for that. I think we are conflating taxes: estate taxes vs. inheritance taxes

I, of course, was thinking of estate taxes, of which the vast majority of estates are excluded, and have been for some time.

All the above notwithstanding, Ms. Leibowitz and Ms. Sontag could have easily arranged a tax-free transfer of these properties via some combination of joint tenancy wrs or a trust.

[Lost in CT]

38. Yeah it isn't that complicated and in reality should have been

done when the will was being made out...

Unless Sontag had reasons not to which could be the case here.