The world is mourning the death of Whitney Houston who died this week at the relatively young age of 48. The legendary singer/actress was found dead of unknown causes in her Beverly Hills hotel room where she was staying in anticipation of the upcoming Grammy Awards. Best known for the song I Will Always Love You, Houston once seemed to have the touch of gold with a string of number one hits and a successful attempt at crossing over to acting with her role in The Bodyguard. Sadly, the last decade of Houston’s life was plagued with personal troubles including a battle with alcohol and drug addition and the end of her contentious relationship with singer Bobby Brown. As is often the case, sales of anything related to Houston began to soar within hours of her death. Beneficiaries of Houston’s estate stand to receive income from the residuals of her music and acting contracts for years to come.

Although most of us have not attained the kind of public success that Houston reached during her lifetime, many people do have assets that may continue to grow long after death. When planning your estate, it is important to take this into consideration. An investment, or business, for example, will continue to increase in value long after your death if managed properly. Even a small investment or fledgling business can grow to become an asset of significant value in a short period of time. When planning your estate, be sure to consider the possibility that an asset such as this can grow exponentially, providing a significant future income for the beneficiary. By the same token, if you have an asset that has grown, and the new value changes how you wish to handle the asset in your estate plan, be sure to consult with your estate planning attorney to make the required changes in your estate plan.