How Does Fotog Dad Leave Copyrights to Kids?

Dutch children photographed at Ellis Island

Dear Rich: My dad is a fine-arts photographer. His photographs have been exhibited in gallery shows many times. On his computer, he has many thousands of images, pretty much all the same quality as those he has shown. He does not mention his intellectual property or copyrights in his will, only"his artworks" meaning the ones hanging on the walls of his house. What should he write in his will if he wants his five kids to be able to split the profits equally from these images, should they ever get published within the copyright period but after his death, and actually produce a royalty or money from their sale? 
We can't provide the language to use in a will -- state laws differ and we're not an estate planning expert -- but we can highlight five important issues.
Artworks. You state that your Dad is using the term "artworks" and that it refers to pictures hanging in his home. To avoid confusion your father may want to make it clear that the term "artwork," as currently used in his will, does not refer to the prints of photographs he created.
Photo copyrights and photo prints. The existing prints of your father's works are tangible assets; the copyrights in the photos are intangible assets. Both should be transferred by will. In other words, your father must specifically reference the copyrights when transferring their ownership. If he fails to do so, the copyrights will likely fall into what is known as the residuary estate and be divided according to the residuary estate instructions.
Copyrights. Your father owns the copyright in the photos unless he assigned rights to someone else or he created the photos as part of his employment. If he grants rights to all five siblings equally they would all be co-owners (and each could exploit rights as long as the other co-owners were compensated). This may not be an ideal method for exploitation in which case, the siblings may decide to transfer all rights to another entity -- for example, an LLC -- and set up a system for exploitation and decision-making.
Any existing deals. If there are currently royalty-generating deals in place, your father's will should assign the right to receive royalties from those deals to the children.
Bypass the will and assign them now. Your father may want to make the grant of rights prior to death. In that case he need only execute an assignment of copyright to the children as co-owners.That decision may require consultation with an attorney to determine if there are any IP, tax, or estate considerations as explained in this article.
P.S. Dept. Now may be the time to organize and register group collections of your Dad's photos

Are We Entitled to Royalties from Outdoorsy Grandpa?

P.S. We miss John Candy! R.I.P.

Dear Rich: My grandfather was a legendary outdoorsman and outdoor writer. He died in the late 1970's with a will dividing his assets per stirpes. His books have continued to be published. His name and likeness have also been used to market various products, including commemorative guns, a non-profit museum, videos, and editions of magazines. Following his death, my mother received royalties from various publications. Since my mother's death six years ago, neither my brother nor I (we are the sole heirs) have received any royalty checks from the publishing companies, and so far as I know, no company or organization has ever offered any family member permission to use his likeness We are aware that my aunts and uncles have continued to receive checks from various publications. However, we are not close and do not know which publishers have been paying, or how much. We do not know if any companies are using his name and likeness Are my brother and I entitled to my mother's share of the royalties? Do any of my grandfather's heirs have any right to determine when his name and likeness may be used? Are we entitled to profits generated from such use? Your first step is to check your mother's will, and if there is no will, review your state inheritance law. If your mother inherited a share of your grandfather's royalties, you and your brother would be entitled to her share ... provided your mother's will passed those assets to both of you. If your mother had no written will, then most likely under laws of intestate succession, it would go to her children (assuming there is no spouse). (This intestate succession article provides more info on the process.)
If you inherited ... Your next step is research and documentation. If you and your brother inherited your mother's share, you will have some paperwork ahead of you. First, you need to determine the sources of the royalties. Then, you must contact the sources and provide them with appropriate documentation proving that you are entitled to the payments. This may require providing a death certificate as well as estate or probate documents (state laws differ) demonstrating you are the heirs. Most likely you will have to contact your mother's siblings.
As for the name and likeness ... Making money off your grandfather's name and likeness (from endorsements, etc.) depends on the contracts he signed while alive, the contracts signed after his death and state "right of publicity" laws -- some states provide for post-death rights, others do not. Again more research is needed. Possibly, somebody is coordinating these endorsements, and that most likely is one of your aunts or uncles, or someone appointed by them to manage these endorsements. Research is needed!

Wants to Leave Copyright to Son

Dear Rich: I want to leave a copyright to my son but want the management of publication, sale and any income from the book to be left to my husband. How do I arrange that? A copyright consists of a bundle of rights and it sounds like you want that bundle --  the right to reproduce, distribute and profit -- to go to your husband. We're not sure what that would leave for your son except to have his name on the copyright (and having your name on the copyright doesn't mean much if somebody else has acquired all of the rights). Perhaps what you wanted was for your husband to obtain all rights and income during his life and then for the copyright to pass to your son after your husband's death. In that case, you would most likely want to establish a trust. We're not estate planning experts (though we have friends who are) but we believe that it would be more than a simple living trust. More likely it would need to be irrevocable and would require an attorney's assistance.