Hulk Hogan died in July 2025 from a heart attack. At the time of his death, Hulk was married to his third wife, Sky Daily. However, his Will, which was last updated in July 2023, just prior to his marriage to Sky, did not provide for her. Instead, Hulk’s Will provided that all of his assets would be distributed to his son, Nick. Importantly, in addition to not providing for Sky, Hulk also did not provide for his daughter, Brooke, in the Will. Interestingly, Brooke had requested that her father remove her as a beneficiary several years prior to his death so that she would not need to be involved in any legal battle that ensued following Hulk’s death.
The questions that arise now in Hulk’s estate revolve around how his subsequent marriage to Sky affects the distribution to Nick set forth in his Will. Getting married after executing a Will is a significant change in circumstances and can affect the distribution of your estate pursuant to the laws of your state of residence at the time of your death. If you do not take the proper steps to ensure your estate plan is updated following a marriage, your assets may not be distributed in the manner you intended. In New Jersey, if you get married after the execution of your Will, your surviving spouse can receive a share of your estate pursuant to the State’s intestacy laws, as if you had died without a Will. However, if certain criteria are met, the terms of your pre-marriage Will can be upheld despite a subsequent marriage. In addition, in New Jersey, if you provide for your surviving spouse outside of your Will, such as through beneficiary designations, such distributions can be deemed to take the place of a distribution under the Will, depending on the specific facts of the case.
In addition, every state has some version of an elective share law, which allows your surviving spouse to receive a certain percentage of your estate even if you did not provide for them in any way through a Will or beneficiary designations. In New Jersey, however, the elective share law considers the surviving spouse’s own assets, as well as assets that pass to the spouse outside of the Will. If the surviving spouse has her own assets or received sufficient assets from the deceased spouse outside of the Will, she may not be eligible to receive any additional assets from the deceased spouse’s estate under New Jersey law.
We do not know at this time what Hulk Hogan’s intentions were regarding leaving assets to Sky or whether the couple entered into any arrangements prior to or during their marriage until his death. However, because Hulk’s Will predates their marriage, it is possible that Sky may inherit assets from his estate that Hulk may not have intended. Therefore, in order to ensure that your express wishes are carried out following your death, it is important that your estate plan remains current and particularly that such plan is updated following any major life event.
If you would like to discuss establishing an estate plan for the first time or updating an existing estate plan, please call our office at 856-489-8388 or visit our contact page to schedule an appointment.
