If anyone here in Buffalo is mourning the death of singer Whitney Houston, he or she is not alone. News of Houston's Feb. 12 death has sparked a renewed interest in her work. Sales of a greatest-hits compilation have soared on iTunes and her signature song "I Will Always Love You" sold 195,000 copies after her death, up from only 3,000 the week before.

But now that Houston is no longer with us, where will all the money from those sales go, since she is not here to receive it?

The answer is that any income she makes from the sale of her music and movies will be rolled into her estate. What will happen to it after that, though, is not yet known because we are not sure what, if any, estate plans Houston made.

It is not uncommon for the estate of an iconic celebrity to keep making money after that celebrity has died. The estates of James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe keep making money even though all those stars died decades ago, and it will likely be a similar story with the estate of recently deceased celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson.

It isn't just the estates of celebrities that keep earning after a person has died. If you have an ownership stake in a business, for example, that asset could continue to earn revenue or incur losses even after you die. This is why it is crucial that you have an attorney help you identify your assets and develop a plan for what will happen to them after you have passed on.

Source: The Washington Post, "Whitney Houston's death sparks outpouring that will benefit estate though questions remain," Feb. 14, 2012