Is your will up to date?

The late actor Heath Ledger will be remembered for his Oscar-nominated role as a rugged (and secretly gay) cowboy in the 2005 film "Brokeback Mountain." His tragic death from an overdose of prescription drugs in January may serve as a reminder to maintain an updated will.

Ledger executed a will in April 2003 that left everything he owned to his parents and sisters. That predated his relationship with "Brokeback" co-star Michelle Williams and the 2005 birth of their out-of-wedlock daughter, Matilda Rose, leaving her inheritance the subject of legal uncertainty.

Heeeere's foreclosure?

Ed McMahon, the beloved former "Tonight Show" sidekick, has come perilously close to losing his Beverly Hills mansion to foreclosure because, like so many Americans caught up in the housing bubble, he took out a mortgage beyond his means. He reportedly fell $644,000 in arrears on a $4.8 million loan.

The 85-year-old suffered a broken neck nearly two years ago, rendering him incapable of working. In an interview with CNN's Larry King, he confided that he also had spent more than he earned, which compounded the troubles. Lucky for McMahon, real-estate mogul Donald Trump has offered to help the "American icon."

Celebrity: Ed McMahon

Born: March 6, 1923, in Detroit

Claim to fame: McMahon was Johnny Carson's sidekick on "The Tonight Show."

Photo Credit: Alan Light

Support the children

Actress Anne Heche claimed in a court filing in May that she is no longer able to pay nearly $15,000 in monthly child support. Her most recent gig, on the television show "Men in Trees," from which she earned about $65,000 per episode, was canceled, and she's since been unable to find steady work.

Heche wrote in the filing that mortgage payments on a house in Canada, rent on a Los Angeles home, auto expenses and other bills had drained her account to just $34,840.93. The judge gave her a one-month reprieve on child support. Perhaps she should cut some expenses?

Financial knockout

During his time in the ring, boxer Mike Tyson landed some serious punches and took a notorious bite, but it was his lavish lifestyle outside the ropes that served the financial knockout. Despite earning an estimated $400 million during his career, he filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003.

Tyson treated his skill inside the ring as a license to spend everywhere on everything. His extravagance ranged from the usual homes, jewels, cars and gadgets to the weird, including a pet tiger. That lifestyle racked up debts he couldn't level. Since filing for bankruptcy, he has reportedly attempted to live within his means.

Background checks?

Before you start seriously dating an Italian real-estate mogul, it might be a good idea to verify his business dealings. Apparently actress Anne Hathaway of "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Get Smart" fame was so in love with Raffaello Follieri that such due diligence fell by the wayside.

Hathaway ended their four-year relationship in June after Follieri's long string of financial scandals started to blight her reputation, according to media reports. A few days after the split, Follieri was arrested in connection with a fraud and money-laundering scheme that allegedly included lies about his Vatican connections.

Out-of-bounds bets

Golfer John Daly's talent on the links has earned him millions of dollars on the PGA Tour, and over the years his myriad sponsors have chipped in several million more. But when his chips are on the casino table, Daly's talent is more often than not bested by the house.

The golfer admitted in his 2006 autobiography that he'd lost between $50 million and $60 million during 12 years of heavy gambling and that his gambling debts could prove his financial ruin. He says he's now trying to play within his limits. Would-be bettors should heed the advice, even if Daly doesn't.

Pay those taxes

Richard Hatch, "the fat, naked guy" who won the debut season of the reality TV show "Survivor" in 2000, failed to pay taxes on his $1 million prize money and is now attempting to survive a four-year, three-month sentence in a West Virginia prison.

In an appeal, Hatch claimed the show's producers were to pay his income taxes, provided he kept mum about employees who allegedly smuggled food to the contestants. The producers denied the charge, and Hatch lost the appeal. The moral of the story: No one has immunity from the Internal Revenue Service.

Sign a prenup

Former Beatle Paul McCartney might have been head over heels in love with Heather Mills when they married in 2002, but financial experts say he would have saved himself quite a few headaches had he signed a prenuptial agreement.

The lack of the legal document precipitated a messy divorce that could have seen a large chunk of his fortune -- which by some estimates exceeds $1.5 billion -- cleaved away. In the end, Mills walked with nearly $50 million.

Oops, I spent it again

Pop diva Britney Spears is not a typical 26-year-old. She makes about $737,000 a month from music royalties. But typical of many 20-somethings, she fails to save a dime, according to court papers filed in 2007 during a custody battle with dancer-turned-rapper Kevin Federline for their two kids.

Among her monthly expenses is $102,000 for entertainment, gifts and vacations. But if she saved just 8%25 of her income, as many financial planners recommend all 20-somethings do, she'd retire a multimillionaire.

Scammed host?

CNN talk-show host Larry King claimed in a lawsuit that an unscrupulous insurance broker had swindled him into a series of "highly complex life insurance transactions" that involved two policies worth a collective $15 million, according to a court document obtained by The Smoking Gun.

The transactions were part of a scheme known as a life insurance settlement, in which owners of unwanted policies sell them to third parties. King said he was steered into the deals against his financial interest. Whether he was swindled remains up for debate, but such transactions are seldom advised.

Celebrity: Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger)

Born: Nov. 19, 1933, in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Claim to fame: Since 1985 he has hosted CNN's nightly interview program "Larry King Live."