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Even if we don’t like to think about it, death is the inevitable end to our journey. We tell ourselves not to worry about it since it won’t happen for a long time. After all, only a handful of people look forward to the day when they’ll need to sit down and write out their wishes about the care of their children, pets, and the things they value most in this world.
Yet, some family members decide that this is the best way to surprise their relatives, even from beyond the grave. User melshole created a thread on Ask Reddit where they gave lawyers the chance to share some of the most interesting, bizarre, and offensive things they ever saw in someone’s will, and hundreds of responses started pouring in.
From hilarious stipulations to the strangest demands, Bored Panda has collected some of the best answers from this viral thread. Have a read through these stories and upvote the wildest ones. And if you've ever heard some strange bequests people left in their wills, let us know in the comment section below!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Not a Lawyer, but an aging woman my family knew left her house(large, and in a very affluent neighborhood) and estate to family friends for so long as her cats were alive and taken care of in said house. After they died, the house was to be sold and the remaining estate donated.
The weird thing is, it's been like 20 years and the cats are still alive.
Also, they've changed color.
Auntriarch 3 years ago (edited)
Not a legacy, but an old gentleman moved into sheltered housing. If you already had a dog you could keep it, but you weren't supposed to get another when it died. He had the same border collie for 27 years, it changed name four times and it's red and white fur changed to black and white after the first few years
Anna Snorrepot 3 years ago
yeah, that's the thing with dog years, you have to multiply by 7 to get its legal life expectancy ;)
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Devil's Advocate 3 years ago
They were other cats, adopted by her cats in honour of their deceased cat-mom, so defo still counts
Slick 3 years ago
It's kind of sad to think that this lady really was alone. Her cats were all she had as family and friends.
Tonya Wallace 3 years ago
Don't feel so bad! She left the house for "family friends" to take care of the cats, so she probably wasn't all alone. 😊
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#2
My grandfather hated his neighbor. They lived next to each other for 20+ years. I remember well my grandfather raging at every opportunity about this guy. We never saw them speak to each other.
In Grandpa's will, he left the guy $10K, a car, and golf clubs. We were dumbstruck.
Turns out, they were good buddies from the army. When they coincidentally bought homes next to each other, they decided to play a long scam with both their families. They actually played golf together two to three times per week and had a monthly poker game for years.
Legen ( wait for it ) dary 3 years ago
With Hugh Jackman and his other actor friend that are always roasting each other.
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Tracy Wallick 3 years ago
As a military member, that is completely on brand and I salute their dedication to the hijinks to keep it up for so long
Otter 3 years ago
Why the hell would they play a "long scam" with their families... if they weren't closeted and trying to cover their secret passion?
C. Wade 3 years ago
I don't know, Otter. Not everything needs a reason. Live a little, smell the roses, buy a lottery ticket, piss against the wind! Life's fun.
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Zophra 3 years ago
I agree - I don't get this. They could have had combined family BBQs and maybe vacations together...weird game they played.
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I don't like my name 3 years ago
I just don't see the point... but I'm glad they were friends🧡
#3
My grandfather passed a few hours ago, but my grandmother came to me after with a navy blue tie featuring pink elephants. Ridiculous looking, but she said that he wore it to intimidate people in business, as someone willing to wear such a ridiculous tie doesn't care about what people think. That scares people. So he wanted me to have it, so I could do the same.
juice 3 years ago
i don't know! it's not the actual image though, here's the one from the og post: http://imgur.com/a/NFpe22f
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Quiltin Mammar 3 years ago
Your grandparents are/were amazing people - you are blessed my friend
While some family members and lawyers couldn’t believe the things others write in their wills, you can’t help but think about preparing one of your own. Sooner or later, many people come to this realization and want to ensure that their wishes will be carried out after they pass away.
Yet, a poll conducted by Gallup last year found that slightly less than half of U.S. adults have a will, and it seems that the results are not drastically changing since 1990. According to the global analytics and advice firm, people aged 65 and older are the most likely subgroup to have a will. Also, “upper-income Americans are much more likely than lower-income Americans to report having a will.”
Everyone can benefit from spelling out their last wishes. After all, life is unpredictable and chaotic, so expressing your requests and instructions can make things much easier for those left behind. Patrick Hicks, general counsel at Trust & Will, wrote that creating a will takes a load off your shoulders once you know you’ve set up your loved ones with protection when they’ll need it most.
#4
"To my daughter Anne, who created my beautiful granddaughter Jane, and her dear fourth husband John, who laid hands on my Jane, I leave one dollar you money-grubbing b*stards. To Jane, I leave all of my monetary assets, save $5,000 and my best gun, which I leave to my son Bill, on the condition that he beats John bloody during the time between my funeral and my burial. Jane, bail your uncle out of jail, please."
Other than names, this is the exact wording of a great-uncle's will... And in case anyone wondered, yes, Bill got his five grand. He didn't get arrested, though, because John had a warrant on him, so he didn't dare call the cops. Bill did kindly inform the police of his whereabouts a few weeks later.
Kanuli 3 years ago
In some countries if you arent in the will, you can plead on a mistake or something. So with the 1 dollar this gets prevented I think.
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Legen ( wait for it ) dary 3 years ago
Granny wants to see the world burn. I'm sure she was a legend.
Zalzany Games 3 years ago
Pretty sure my Uncle who died had a clause in his will who ever beat up his brother in law (my uncle) Ross gets 10k and my aunt who refused to let him press charges on my uncle for bad touching their daughter covered it up... Like they refused to let non direct family to the reading, and my Cousin super pissed for months after the will was read in private. I just assume since he went to his death bed hating any one who dare say Ross, my middle name I tried to go buy as an adult FYI till he told me why I was banned from his house for using that name since it was after my uncle Ross.
#5
I'm not a lawyer, but my family has an odd story involving a will.
Several generations back, a woman (along with her brothers) in our family inherited a huge sum of money from her father (oil money in Oklahoma). At the time, women were allowed to inherit property/assets if single, but all assets would have been transferred to her husband if she married.
She wasn't too happy about the situation and, in protest, never took a husband. She had a few "friends" over the course of her life and lived a very comfortable life until dying of old age. At which time, her estate was divided amongst all of the female descendants in the family.
tl;dnr: my great, great, great aunt of something was a bad ass feminist b****.
Denis Ureke 3 years ago
Grea, great, great auntie lived in a time where women were pretty much considered more as property than human-beings and knew that the only way for a woman to gain independance was with financiial security.
Insert Generic Username 3 years ago
I love Auntie's grand scheme. Way to go keeping what was rightfully hers and keeping it in the family!
Indy 3 years ago
Klas... it says several generations back. This is when women had no legal right of any kind. It's only suited she gave it to the other females facing the same discrimination. Rich white males had all rights. She lived a happy life beating a misogynistic system. Why not give it to her female relatives.
Shaza Hardy 3 years ago
Pretty sure you mean Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert and had 9 children. Her kids married into so many royal families that she is often called the Grandmother of Europe.
Load More Replies... #6
My great-grandfather had a pair of socks that he only wore on Christmas Day with the family. They were hideous. After he passed, we found out he left those socks to my uncle in his will and told him to carry on the tradition, which my uncle has done. I've already been told I'm getting them next.
Debbie Barnes 3 years ago
I think this is lovely. Okay, it's not something that is going to improve your life, but it's a tradition within your family and I love that idea.
Lp Johnson 3 years ago
I think it quite would improve life, for the whole family. They can reminisce, laugh about the ugly socks, pause in shared grief and happy thoughts, and, most importantly, share that history going forward.
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Pheebs 3 years ago
I have an old Fire King (milk glass) Peanuts coffee cup my grandfather had had since I was born. It became “my” cup when I decided I was old enough to have coffee with my dad and grandpa at age 8. It wasn’t left to me in a will, but my brother and uncle made a special trip to my grandpa’s house just to make sure I got that cup. My hubs found the same cup on eBay, in new condition, so I could put my grandpa’s cup away for safe keeping.
RayAnn Davis 2 months ago
It sounds like he wanted them to be passed one not buried with him. They did the right thing
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Insert Generic Username 3 years ago
A sweet if not hideous tradition is always a blast 😁 my family dresses up for Christmas Day dinner in our finest ugly Christmas attire (think ugly Christmas sweaters paired with ugly Christmas themed pants).
So if you believe that this daunting process can make you feel stressed and anxious, Hicks provides several points of what you should think of before writing your will. So first, lay out your assets (don’t forget your digital assets like email or online accounts) and consider your final wishes. It’s important to make them crystal clear if you want everything to be honored as you intended.
Then gather the needed documents like birth certificate, marriage license, mortgage information, and others that are significant to you. The next noteworthy step is to choose the people responsible for carrying out your instructions.
“Choose someone trustworthy and capable of handling the financial, legal and moral obligations required to complete the process,” Hicks advised. You need to name beneficiaries as well: “Remember that the more specific you are, the better the chance your estate will be settled as you envision.”
#7
My grandpa gave me all his tools (which sounds dumb, but we are in the same trade, and it was a real life changer. It included a lift and his old shop truck, so I pretty much got everything to start my own shop but a building), a pretty good chunk of change, and his dog Tanner, as long as I made sure his live-in girlfriend at the time got nothing at all, and I told my uncle he was fat and his wife was going to leave him if she couldn't find his pecker. There was literally a script inside the will.
Bobby 3 years ago
Tools might only sound dumb to those not aware of the cost. My dad was a tool and die maker and when he passed we made 10k off the sale of his tools, And that was estate sale prices.
madbakes 3 years ago
My dad got loans years ago with all his tools as collateral. Def not dumb.
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Pernille Dyre 3 years ago
Is nobody commenting on: he should tell his uncle he is fat and his p****r will disappear (in fat) along with his wife... 🤣😉🤣🤣
Parthania Dawson 3 years ago
I remember having a garage sale and the tools were the first things to go. Tools are important to some. Especially if you work a job where you're required to provide your own tools.
Amy Broderick 3 years ago
My step-dad was a mechanic and had a butt-load of tools. We plan to donate them to the local trade school in his honor since none of us need or could use them.
Veronica Vatter 3 years ago
Hey he knew you would put the tools to good use. Love is helping you, not doing it for you
#8
My grandma left a penny and a nasty comment to almost every person in her will - all of her sons and daughters, even a few grandchildren. Except for me. I got 1,000 dollars.
Thanks, Grandma.
Bumble 3 years ago
Maybe she was just a d**k! Old people can be d***s too!
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Slick 3 years ago
So she basically had just $1000 and à few change to her name by the time of her death or is she hiding stuff ??
Marcellus II 3 years ago
May have donated the rest to some spiteful charity.
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Kevin Donegan 3 years ago
It's sad to see so many people carrying grudges and hatred to their grave ... their thoughts are consumed with how to hurt people that hurt them. Take my dogs advice ... kick some grass over that crap and move on. Your life will be more enjoyable plus those that have hurt you will be envious of your happiness.
Zalzany Games 3 years ago
You dog has s**t advice and never really been hurt. I got family who bad touched other family you bet your ass they are in some peoples wills and its a damn good reason...
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BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
I wanna know what everyone else did to deserve a penny and what you did to get $1000
Zalzany Games 3 years ago
Piss her off, one cent means you get notice saying she left you something. But as per will you don't know till after the reading. The goal of the one cent or one dollar spite messages is you show the hell up to the reading and lawyer is contracted to read every word of it out loud to the room and embarrass you in front of every one there.
Load More Replies... Insert Generic Username 3 years ago
Then his second wife pawned the large collection of expensive, antique, handmade jewelry my biological grandma had left with him when she passed to give to me (I was 6 when she passed, 30 when he passed). I got her diamond wedding ring and a few pieces of now antique and very unique gold and jade bracelets and pendants she'd brought when she moved from China to the US. Family heirlooms pawned by his heartless wife.
#9
I read a lot of estate documents as part of my job. There is so much subtle shade in them occasionally, they can be pretty entertaining. One super wealthy lady had a huge section for the care and well being of her pets, with primary and successor caretakers, a certain amount of money from the trust for care and feeding of each pet (one pet owner might receive 3k a month to take care of one of her pets after she passed), and certain stipulations on how they were to be cared for. While some might see it as excessive, the language and stipulations she had, and how they were referred to showed that she really, really loved her pets.
In that same will and trust, she also left a slew of people only one dollar, so that there would be no chance they could take the trust to probate court one the basis that they were merely forgotten. That part had SO MUCH SUBTLE SHADE. A lot of "they know what they did", "they are well aware of their guilt in the matter", etc. They she split up about 2 million dollars among 5 or 6 different animal rescues and animal welfare charities.
It was around 200 pages long, and I swear I read the entire thing just for the sheer entertainment value.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
This lady is awesome and I'm sure the animal charities needed and appreciated the money way more than her family members
Milady Blue 3 years ago
Not to mention, the animal charities deserved the money more than her family.
Load More Replies... AnnaBanana 3 years ago
This would be me when I die. I don't have millions, but what I do have will be going to the welfare of animals. I've said this all my life and I absolutely mean it.
Ozymandias73 3 years ago
Fur babies are family too and it's good to know that a lot of people do this to make sure that the ones who can't speak or care for themselves are being taken care of by their hoomans after they pass away.
Wistiti 3 years ago
Someone leaves essentially everything to animals and strangers, do you still want to meet the "family"? I would probably hire a guard when I go to my appointments with them. Either the dead person is horrible (unlikely) or the family is.
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
Is it unlikely that the dead person is horrible when they have a problem with the whole family? Not really, is it? If everyone dislikes you, it usually means you're not a nice person. Not always, but likely.
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Zalzany Games 3 years ago
Yeah people forget the one buck is for legal reasons same with hate messages, yes they are fun and little silly at least if its not you or your friend who got it. But legally you can sue saying you were just forgotten and dispute the money. Its why my grandma gave a ton of people something even people she didn't like got something, because my eldest aunt called dibs on every f*****g thing not included in the will sigh...
Kelly Hartle 3 years ago
I love the wills I've seen that say things like, "For reasons she'll understand, I'm only leaving him/her $1."
The process of choosing guardians for your children, dependents, and pets may be the most crucial yet difficult part of it all. “We never want to think about not being there for those who need us most, but to protect them, it’s well worth the discomfort.”
So when you’ve finally made all of these tough decisions and written your will, finalize it “with the correct number of signatures your state mandates.” And remember, life is constantly changing, so Patrick Hicks recommended reviewing your documents every three to five years, and updating them if needed.
#10
Not me, but whenever I visited my old grandma in Nicaragua, it would always seem my aunts and uncles would be weirdly nice to her, almost as if she was a famous person. People would be visiting her house to greet her and strike a conversation. One day, my mother walked into my grandma's room to have a conversation with her.
I remember during the flight back (3-4 after the conversation) I asked her what the conversation was about. She told me that grandma used to have childeren that almost never talked to her, and now that shes sickly they are trying to act nice to get stuff out of her will. My grandma wanted to talk to my mom to ask her what she wanted from the house. My mom was always the favorite growing up since she charised grandma, and grandma wanted to pay her back for being a good daughter. My mom replied with "I don't want anything for you, I just want your love" and they both smiled at eachother.
(Also she wanted us to take a washing machine back home to sell it for cash, but we declined)
FYI: She's still alive. Grandma aint giving up yet
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Good for her hopefully she will outlive the money grubbing relatives and teach them a lesson
NsG 3 years ago
Re: the washing machine - it might be worth taking what she wants to gift you while she's still alive to offer it (assuming she's definitely not using it). When my hubby's grandma died she willed him a lot of household goods so he could have a decent start after leaving university. Only to find that his cousins had made it to her house first and cleared the entire place. This was before the executors of the will had even received their instructions - it had been done while the hospice was sorting out the paperwork surrounding her death (as in, the vultures descended before she was even cold). Hubby got a few trinkets that his mum had had the foresight to let grandma take to the hospice with her, so they weren't in the house to be stolen.
Rider 3 years ago
My grandmother gave away her jewelry before her health really started to fail. She loved giving gifts more than anything and wanted to see our joy. I asked for few rings that reminded me of her, they weren't worth much. I did ask for the big one too though (gorgeous,), which my aunt has, but I will get next. About a year after she passed, mom found her jade and the family gifted it to me. I adore it, I really wish she could have seen me receive it.
Nicole Cabrera 3 years ago
Praying for you, Abuela!! I hope they all stub their toes and bite the insides of the cheeks after pass, those money grubbers!!! The angels will sit and laugh with you! xoxo!
#11
My great-grandmother left most of her money to a local donkey sanctuary.
Rosie McLeod 3 years ago
This always happens. I grew up near a donkey sanctuary and they have a huge display on the wall of all the old ladies who donated basically their entire estates when they died
gingepanda 3 years ago
I agree, people leave money to charity all the time.
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This process might make you feel overwhelmed with thoughts about your life and your loved ones. Consider writing it all down—or sit down and make a video about it—and leave a genuine statement about your experiences, memories, and general things that shaped your life. While it may seem hard at first, those you care for will be touched by it.
#12
Not a will, but a deed. The City I work for was renovating a small park that was donated to the City in the 1910s. We went looking through the hand-written deed for easements or other restrictions and found that the family could claw the property back if the park were not, "perpetually provided with a fountain of pleasant running water fit for consumption by man and beast alike." ...the family still has descendants in town, so we installed a new water fountain with a dog bowl filler just to be safe.
Cactus McCoy 3 years ago
I love this one. "Yeah, you cn have the land as long as it stays a park for recreation. Exploit this and we will take it back." Great.
Devil's Advocate 3 years ago
Many donated green spaces have this caveat, and it's great!
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Kevin Smith 3 years ago
We have land similar to this at our local university. It is a parade field at the very front of the university. No permanent structures may be built on this field or it reverts back to the family that deeded it to the university. The school was founded 1889.
Kelly Hartle 3 years ago
We had a lawyer in our hometown who left land for a park. After years as a park, the town "lost" the deed requiring it to be a park and built a shopping center on it.
Mare Freed 3 years ago
Beautiful story, and also a beautiful photo. Does anyone know where it was taken?
Locked In The Cellar 3 years ago
I love the stipulation that the water should be running pleasantly
Galious 3 years ago
Holker Hall & Gardens, Cark, Grange-over-Sands, United Kingdom. https://www.holker.co.uk
Load More Replies... #13
When my great aunt whom I barely had any relationship with died, I discovered that in her will, she left me a taxidermied giant silk moth that she had hanging on her wall. Evidently someone told her about my love for bugs. I still have it and it's one of the coolest things in my collection of odd knickknacks.
...she left my cousin a Furby.
Auntriarch 3 years ago
This sounds like a perfect great aunt! Thinks - who will I leave my dino poo fossil and collection of garden flamingos to...
Kelly Hartle 3 years ago
When my dad was a kid there was a nice old man who'd walk past his house and talk to him. It turned out the man was L.S. Heath, who founded Heath Candy Co., and he left Dad a copy of his autobiography.
Jil Sanchez 3 years ago
Is the butterfly alive or dead??? If dead why but if Alice soooo cool!!!
#14
A good clause is always “for reasons known to them.” which is will-speak for “you’ve gone and f**ked up, ***hole. I don’t forgive you.”
In my own will, I’ve left my father “The contents of my kitchen trash can at the time of my passing, for reasons known to him.”
N 3 years ago
I'm so going to use that! In my will, I asked to be burried in my favorite sparkly dress with the ashes of my beloved cat (he's not dead, but almost 16) in one arm and a bottle of white wine in the other. There should be an open bar and a band playing.
Chijioke Ugochinyere Sylvia 3 years ago
What if you die(I hope not) before your cat?
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Cass Malone 3 years ago
I think I'll be leaving my dad the contents of all of the trash cans and the litter box. Thanks for the idea
Wendy O'Shea 3 years ago
I am one of 6 kids. Our eldest sister was left out of our mother's will and the lawyer used that very prase.
#15
Family friends did this - they have a net worth in the seven figures and two children. They left everything to their daughter and $1 to their son "for reasons known to him" (he has been estranged from them for a while).
That way, their daughter won't be caught up in any kind of legal battle. By naming the son in the will and leaving him "some" money, he can't claim that he was "omitted" from the will in error.
This was in following with their estate lawyer's advice. Of course, their son can fight it, you can fight anything, but it's a much harder battle if he's expressly mentioned in the will and left something specific.
Sabrina Bowen 3 years ago
I am learning more from this thread about what I need to do in my will than I ever did after many conversations with my attorney.
R und MC 2 years ago
Look for your country laws - in my country the one dollar would not help. He will sue and win.
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Mad Dragon 3 years ago (edited)
Leaving someone $1.00 is a bit of a risky move, because it can open the door for claims that the person was not in their right mind when they wrote the will. The safer thing to do is to leave the person a few hundred dollars and the other person many, many times that.
Tami 3 years ago
I think you can also just say you leave nothing to someone. As long as you mention them in the will they can't claim erroneous omission. My mom has a statement in her will like that.
Pudgy Panda 3 years ago
That’s what our lawyer advised us to do (we have three kids, but only have a relationship with two of them). Just stated it was not an oversight, but a result of her choosing to cut us out of her life.
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Shawn Cromwell 3 years ago
I know of someone who won a substantial amount of money in a lottery. He shared generously with four of his siblings. The fifth, an estranged sister, got $500 for this very reason. And yes, she did try to sue for her "fair share" and was basically laughed out of court.
Linda Yesenia 3 years ago
My father left a will to me and my half brothers and sisters. My father had an older son he did not put in the will because he gave the older son a house and some other property. That POS found out my mother died, contested the will claimed he was omitted- got my brothers and sisters eliminated from the assets and that POS got more of the money than me and my brothers.
Debbie Burton 3 years ago
I learnt that when my first FIL passed.... his will mentioned his illegitimate son (th't at both legitimate sons didnt know about) and said that he had scammed enough money over the years and wouldn't get another cent. Even my husband (their youngest son) didnt know about this guy. I did.... meet him at 15 and knew straight away he was related.
#16
My grandmother had her b**bs done when she was in her 60s. Nothing really wrong with that, but when she died, she wanted an open casket with her b**bs on display. Really, Nanna? She passed away at 80 and got exactly what she asked for. Grandad had ended up sticking two strategically-placed daisies on her b**bs. So she got what she wanted, and so did Grandad. RIP Granny, you silly b**** love you.
Brian Bennett 3 years ago
If you got 'em flaunt them to the end! way to go granny!
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AnnaBanana 3 years ago
OMG, this would definitely have been something my Nanna would have done - even without having a boob job first!
Gaspode the Wonder Dog 3 years ago
Not as extreme,but when he died,(at age 95,)we dressed Grandad in his favourite Homer Simpson socks,a pair of shorts,(because he always had "hot legs",)a nice shirt,his best flashing light up tie,and a baseball cap.We played The Muppet theme tune as everyone walked into the church and had recitals of Spike Milligan poems. Everyone wore bright colours and we had multicoloured balloons. I miss my eccentric,hilarious Grandad,he was one of my best friends <3
Hugh Crawford 3 years ago
If you're not comfortable typing out "boobs", why not use "breasts"?
#17
My grandfather left my uncle three things from his rather valuable estate:
One dollar in unrolled pennies.
A framed copy of a contract my uncle signed saying he owes my grandfather more than $100K (never repaid).
A framed copy of the letter my uncle sent my grandfather saying he was disowning my grandfather for "being cheap," with my grandfather having written, "Accepted, a**hole," and signed his name at the bottom.
Marcellus II 3 years ago
So... uncle is up 100K, seeing as he now doesn't have to repay (holding the IOU)? Otherwise someone else could inherit the debt, and even pass on to collecting bailiffs.
SoozeeQ 3 years ago
Well, it was a "rather valuable estate". So, I'm assuming it was at least $1M, which Uncle thought he would inherit. Grandpa's like "Nup. You've already had your share".
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April W 3 years ago
Loose pennies. When they’re rolled they’re in rolls of $0.50.
Load More Replies... #18
This one isn't necessarily crazy, just an interesting glimpse into the mind of a kind old woman in her 90s.
My aunt and uncle (both were more like parents and incredibly beautiful people) passed away within a few weeks of one another. When my uncle became ill, the aunt tried to work on a will with her long-term lawyer, but she was kinda just old and out of it. Her main concern the entire time was small knick-knacks like a jar of pennies she wanted a distant cousin to have or a used jacket from the 70s she bequeathed to a sister-in-law.
It was quite touching how much time she spent carefully considering each item and who would get it. Most of the items were used and didn't even really hold any sentimental value, she just wanted them to go to good homes.
When she passed away, everyone knew exactly who was getting each odd item. The real kicker is when the lawyer told the primary beneficiaries that she never got around to the bigger assets and all that jazz. She basically told the lawyer, "Pay for our funeral and anything we owe and then family members x, y, and z can figure out the rest." It ended up being millions in homes, lakefront property, jewelry, antique firearms, vehicles, life insurance policies, stocks, bonds, gold coins, etc. etc.
Luckily, the family is very close and everything went off without a hitch. They were amazing people who wanted to keep family items in the family, they just didn't put that much weight on their incredible wealth. They also hid their wealth amazingly. We all knew that they were very comfortable, but no one had any idea they were deep into eight-figure assets. It was just funny to see a random niece get a set of plastic cups, worn dance shoes, and a check for $125,000.
Mateo Buysse 3 years ago
If this is a true story this is the best family ever. Most families would tear themselves to pieces within a month after the funeral.
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LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
I didn't have a single clue as to how much money my grandfather had till he died. The entire estate was divided into thirds because he had three kids. My mom's third was split in half because she had kids and my sister and I each got one half of that. Considering what we got was 6 figures, we were stunned. I'm still annoyed though that my mom and her sisters found a loophole that prevented my sister and I from having no say, or even needed to be told, about what was happening with the house. Because my mom and her sisters were greedy, my sister and I who originally planned to buy the house and keep it in the family, we got screwed over on that one. We're still angry. The house my immigrant grandfather built himself was sold and two years later its now on the market again. It looks nothing like my childhood home and it's twice as much. All because 3 women wanted a bit more cash.
#19
I’m not a lawyer but my dad put something really weird in his will. I a 17 year old last year was the recipient of a rock thrown at my head. I owed it to my dads quirky sense of humor and he probably thought that it would be the funniest s**t to ever happen and it was even any special rock it was one you’d find at the bottom of a river. Anyways this year I was reading some of the stuff he had written as I was never allowed to see the will being that I was too young at the time and didn’t think he’d end up dying. Regardless the note under My name and recipient items I was to get if he died was “throw this rock at ———— and hit him in the head with it but make it surprising” and I was thinking what the s**t dad what kind of a will is this. Then I read a little further on and he had left a note saying this is the rock that I had hit him in the head with when He was teaching me how to skip rocks when I was younger and I hit him so hard to dented his skull above his ear and it never really healed. It was the most meaningful thing he’d ever done and after all the years me and my dad had messed around with each other it was his way of winning and taking the final crack at me. It was so heartfelt it moved to tears. He got the last laugh and I was completely ok with it
Sean Pack 3 years ago
Sorry...(tearing up old Will and trying to think of the heaviest thing I can pay my lawyer to throw at random relatives without "complications".)..
BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
Who knew that having a rock chucked at someone's head would be such a meaningful gift
#20
Not a lawyer but had a very interesting experience when my grandma passed. My family has pretty much moved on from where my grandma lived, except myself and my children. Every week I went to her house for dinner. When I had my youngest (who is one now) she cooked me a meal everyday to feed my family so I wasn’t drowning. None of her other grandchildren or children spent any time with her. When she passed there was a lot that everyone wanted but she left everything to me. Even a stash of gold coins that she had buried in her back yard. She didn’t have much, but the little things I have from her mean everything to me. It was a huge ordeal and pretty much everyone hates me but maybe they should have spent time with her.
ThatOneWriter 3 years ago
"...and pretty much everyone hates me" It is disgusting that people care more about the money they might get when someone dies than about the loss of someone usually referred to as a loved one. And then they have the audacity to hate the person who was close to the deceased person.
LittleWombat 3 years ago
This 100% is what happened in my family. When my mom died, she excluded my brother who had skipped her birthdays and almost never visited her. She excluded her grandson, who had already milked her for the last of her cash to buy himself a car. But they and their families hated and disowned me and my daughter, the ones who loved her and were her actual caregivers. No loss. That isn't family, those are just some people w similar DNA that I used to know...
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Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Disgusting the way people are so self entitled when it comes to money that doesn’t belong to them and that they have no right to whatsoever
Zoe's Mom 3 years ago
Agree. A friend of mine was complaining that her 'inheritance' was being spent on her Dad's care while he was in a care facility. I looked at her and said, ""I's his, he earn it', you have no right to it". "Be grateful that he saved enough to have care paid for or you and your sister would have to take it out of your own pocket". She just looked at me. I was so surprised that she thought that way that I felt different about her from that point on. We are still friends but it's a tug that still bothers me.
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Charlotte Greenhaw 3 years ago
So my grandmother is still alive but when she passes away I know a little about inheritances. She has 2 daughters but one grandchild (me). She is leaving an equal sum for both daughters, ( my aunt doesn’t even live in the same state, is hardly ever around and never takes care of her, gives my mom s**t, only cares about money etc.) I’m getting some money also. My aunt argued this and said my inheritance should come out of my mom’s. She also has certain bad political beliefs. :/
Bodey Bigham 3 years ago
I find it stupid that people only hang out with relatives on their last days hoping to get in the will. first of all its just terrible to be that type of person. but also, people don't usually write their wills on the last days of their life usually the will is written well in advance with just a few amendments towards the end for any new stuff they may have gotten or stuff they may have lost or given away.
Susan Murray 3 years ago
I worked for a lawyer... "Where there's a will, there's a lot of estranged relatives"
#21
Might be late to the party and not a lawyer, but my great-grandad had a clause in his will that stated something along the lines of, “if any of the beneficiaries decide to dispute the contents of the decedent’s estate, their share becomes $1 and nothing else.”
Seemed like a pretty good way to maintain harmony among his survivors.
Crazy Dog Lady 3 years ago
I wish everyone in my family had done this! So much fighting, shows you what people really value.
De Gueb 3 years ago
My mum's body was still warm and my sister was google how much my mums house was valued at.
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Dillon Brown 3 years ago
Or you could just not have any money like my grandparents and parents and thus have nothing to fight over when you die. Generational poverty is the ultimate way to provide harmony among survivors, it's the reason I've decided to continue in the tradition.
An Co 3 years ago
Hard to enforce. By law, people have the right to dispute. Especially when you are claiming the will is fake or superseded by a later will, rather than simply objecting to the distribution. So in several locations these kinds of provisions get thrown out if there is any reasonable dispute.
Dawn Bodtke 3 years ago
My Uncle did this to his mother's will while she was borderline cognitive, then changed so he and his kids got most of her money, it was sad.
Theo Blackwood 3 years ago
I’m just taking notes for my dad’s will. I don’t want to have to keep fighting the battle with his family when he’s gone.
#22
"To my wife I leave her lover and the knowledge that I was never the fool she thought me. To my son I leave the pleasure of working for a living - for 25 years, he thought the pleasure was all mine." --- Best dis ever. Was in my Wills & Trusts book in law school as an example of people talking s**t in their wills (you're supposed to discourage them as lawyers from doing so)
Anne Mitchell 3 years ago
One would think that a person who had attended Law school would be articulate enough to find suitable words that did not require asterisks
April Stephens 3 years ago
They wrote it for the AskReddit audience. Reddit doesn't censor anything. They didn't know it would be picked up here. It's interesting to me that people from every walk of life cuss.
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#23
My grandpa put in his will a chocolate bar for every one of his grandkids. Well, I have like 12 cousins, and it was very difficult to track down where a couple of them went. All the estates and money he had in his will were at a standstill for months because they couldn’t find a couple of cousins. We had to show the court that we put in effort to hire someone to track them down, etc. The lawyer that was helping execute the will was blown away that another lawyer allowed this, and why he wouldn’t highly suggest Grandpa not do it.
But I’m not complaining, 'cause I got a Toblerone out of the deal!
BlackestDawn 3 years ago
How does that lawyer know the one helping with the will didn't highly suggest against the chocolate bars? Since it is a legal action they couldn't stop grandpa from doing it regardless of how much they suggested against it.
Devil's Advocate 3 years ago
Exactly, why the heck shouldn't the old man get his last crazy wish and mess with his family just for the fun?! Go Grandpa!
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Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
I don't know why a lawyer would be 'blown away' that another lawyer 'allowed' something in a will. The lawyer well knows that lawyers act on instructions. The other lawyer may had advised that it was an inadvisable clause in the will, but if the testator was of sound mind and wanted it, that's all there is to it.
April Stephens 3 years ago
It's sad not to be able to find a couple of the cousins. I mean, in a perfect world there would be no broken families and everyone in a family could be close, though of course that's not how it is. I don't know where any of my cousins are, but I wish I did.
#24
My grandfather left me $1.00, he had dementia and confused my dad ripping him off with me. He left the rest of the family between $100,000 And a few million each. They all said they felt horrible because they knew the details, but not horrible enough to give up any of their share. The way I see it is it was never my money to begin with, so it's not a loss. I'm just glad my sister got a hundred thousand,she needed it more than any of the others.
Libstak 3 years ago
If he had dementia and the whole family knew this was questionable then this could be easily contested.
Linziaj 3 years ago
Only if it was written after diagnosis where he would be mentally incapable
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Auntriarch 3 years ago
Not enough to give up any of their share. I couldn't live with that if I were them
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
Here you're not allowed to make a will (or change it) when you're cognitively impaired, like your grandfather. How is it legal to make a will when you have dementia??
Theo Blackwood 3 years ago
What f****d up lawyer allowed him to make a will if he wasn’t of sound mind????
Brenda Pereira 3 years ago
How could he legally make a will if he wasn't of 'sound mind'? You could have contested it, but it would given all the money to the lawyers.
Gypsy Lee 3 years ago
Your grandfather is exactly my mother, except she steals from me then tells everyone the thing she stole- I had stolen from her initially. She isn’t suffering from anything other than kleptomania. Everybody knows. When she dies they know all I want is my stuff back.. just because.
Kelly Hartle 3 years ago
My aunt left her estate to my female cousins and me, but excluded my male cousin. I always felt bad for him.
Martha Higgins 3 years ago
"Being of sound mind" used to be required to have a valid will, I believe.
#25
When my grandfather passed his will asked that I clean out his shed, and I alone. I found marijuana seeds, old reel style film p***ography, which was hilarious and a bunch of other unsavory paraphernalia. 50's flick knives too.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
I collect old vinyl record albums and you'd be surprised how many times you open them up and there's marijuana seeds still stuck in the corners.
Tami 3 years ago
Vintage seeds! I switched from album covers to a small aluminum pizza pan. The texture of the pan worked better for the job.
Load More Replies... L.a. Williams 3 years ago
Just when you think you know that person's secrets. Bam out comes the will.
#26
Just last week I handled a matter where the parents left millions in artwork to various people, wads of cash to various charities, and only left their kids the family cats. Turns out they did it because the kids got them the cats to comfort the parents in their old age and the parents f**king hated the cats but the kids wouldn’t let them get rid of the cats.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago (edited)
That's why you should never make a gift of an animal. There are exceptions but usually the poor things end up suffering
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AnnaBanana 3 years ago
I'd be very happy to inherit cats! I've already told my elderly parents I'll adopt their kitty when they expire.
Anna Snorrepot 3 years ago
what stupid action is this? The giving of the cats, the accepting of the cats, the living with the cats and then the spite in the will. Don't these people communicate? Or arrange their own life and get cats out of it if not wanted? Silly small minded people, the lot of them.
April Stephens 3 years ago
The cats in the picture are so cute I can't stand it. Who is a good kitty? You and you and you and you!
#27
Rich uncle of mine, real crazy, and not in a good way...
When he died he had no friends... He left his entire estate to an Elvis impersonator. Everything.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Crazy or not it was his money. There is something about relatives complaining about the deceased mental state or will that’s highly distasteful to me.
Anne Edwards 3 years ago
Neither here nor there but the absolute best Elvis impression I ever saw was Andy Kaufman on SNL in the 70s. Elvis was still alive.
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#28
Best will story I personally know of: The Father had a valuable antique Grandfather Clock, he also had 2 daughters. His solution: If I die on an even day, daughter A gets the clock, an odd day and Daughter B gets it. The Daughter who did not get the clock got an equivalent cash award based on the value of the clock. I know of the event because I had to service the clock several times over the years.
Dorothy Parker 3 years ago
Fair, except the odd days daughter had a slight advantage because there are seven months with a extra odd number.
Honu 3 years ago
Yep. I suppose he could've made it relative to the day of the year and not the day of the month. For instance, today (2022/02/08) is the 39th day of the year.
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Mare Freed 3 years ago
My mother had a 250-year-old grandfather clock, in full working condition, which she ruined with 60 years worth of indoor cigarette smoke. The stink was permanently embedded in the wood from top to bottom. It sold at the estate sale for $40, and we were lucky even to get that.
#29
In my trusts & estates class in law school, we read a case about a man who left everything to his wife, but only if she got his body stuffed and left it on the living room couch forever.
Luckily for her, the court invalidated that part of the husband's will. IIRC, part of the reasoning was that it would make it impossible for her to date/remarry if she had her husband's creepy dead body glaring at anyone who came to see her.
DelvianBlue 3 years ago
No problem - stuff him, put him on the couch, and then bury the couch. It doesn't say the couch has to stay in the living room!
#30
My maternal* grandpa was wealthy. He divorced my maternal grandma, remarried, and promptly dropped dead of a heart attack. He was only 48 and had no will so everything went to his new wife, my moms stepmother. She was actually really nice and was planning on making sure that everything was "fair"...till she died in a car accident 6 months later. She was a widow herself prior to marrying grandpa and had a now orphaned 15 year old son from the previous marriage who got everything. My mom and her siblings had to go to the auction at their childhood home and buy back as much of their heirlooms and memories as they could afford (and, truthfully, stole some of what they couldnt).
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
That's heartbreaking... It shouldn't be considered theft when they're your items
Z Alexi 3 years ago
O.J. tried that & served 9 yrs for kidnapping & armed robbery [He served 0 for double homicide]. He claimed someone stole HIS memorabilia & got some goons to get it back. It's "considered theft."
Load More Replies... SoozeeQ 3 years ago
Am I the only one with a suspicious mind here? Gramps drops dead. Stepmom follows, not long after. 15-year-old *orphaned* son inherits the lot! He's the common denominator. What happened to his father? The thot plickens!!!
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Indeed. I don’t know why people are downvoting you.
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Nicky 3 years ago
Does everyone know to do a living trust estate document instead of a will to avoid probate? Wealthy people have estate planners who teach about this. You can do a living trust for free using NOLO press and it's just like a will except it has to be notarized.
Catie Marie 3 years ago
Done and done. As soon as dad was dx with glioblastoma 3 yrs ago
Load More Replies... I Just Changed My Name 3 years ago
Shame on that young man. I seriously don't know how some people live with themselves.
Bobby 3 years ago
He's a minor so it was likely his father handling it all, not him
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The Starsong Princess 3 years ago (edited)
Well, your mileage may vary. For example, in Ontario, if someone dies intestate, then their spouse is entitled to any property held in common, like if their name is on the deed of the house. After that, they are entitled to the first $350,000 of the estate (an amount that it was recently raised to, it used to be lower). If there is one child, then the spouse is entitled to half the remaining estate and the child gets the other half. If there is more than one child, the spouse gets a third. In most places, the children inherit something if the person dies intestate. This makes me think something else was going on or grandpa wasn’t really wealthy or intestate.
Magoomba 3 years ago
When it came out that for decades record companies hadn’t paid any royalties to many old blues artists an effort was made by one company to rectify the situation. A certain artist had died in 1959 but was owed about $2 million in the 1980s. He had no descendants so the money was awarded to the grandson of this guy’s first wife who he had left 30 years before he died but never legally divorced. The dude who got the money died of a drug overdose two months after cashing the check.
Gabrielle B. Marcelo 3 years ago
cecily holland youre pfp is what people think about you you insensitive a*****e
Z Alexi 3 years ago
Gabrielle is in dire need of a brain transplant. Cecily Holland was correct~~by law & morality: "They were not THEIR ITEMS. It legally went where it should. So much greed & self entitlement." She was obviously talking about greedy/entitled Gabrielle B. Marcelo.
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#31
My grandma's will literally says that one daughter is to get nothing, that it is her intent to leave her nothing, and that it is her wish that the daughter not be informed of her death until after she has been buried.
Half of her will is just language ensuring that everyone knows that she is intentionally leaving that daughter nothing, and that she is not able to contest that decision.
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
Yeah, for there to be THAT much bad blood you'd think it would have to have been something pretty terrible.
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kim morris 3 years ago
When my sister died, her husband wasn't going to tell my dad, who had just lost his wife 3 months earlier. Then they realized he went to the cemetery every morning, and he'd stumble upon his own daughter's burial. So they told him the day before, so he went to the wake, and the burial. It was a 35 year long very sad terrible story. not bad blood. Just very sad.
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
I wouldn't be surprised if my nana had written this about my oldest aunt. Their relationship was very strained by the time nana died that during the last Christmas she lived her words were "I don't want that ungrateful brat here, so I'm happy."
#32
A friend of mine was adopted at birth. When her mom died, the will gave half the estate to her 'two natural daughters'. My friend got nothing. Wtf
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Why adopt a child you're not going to love the same as any natural born? That is majorly f*cked up! It's like saying you are really never our child to begin with.
AnnaBanana 3 years ago
As an adopted person, that's one of the cruelest things I've ever read.
Gabby M 3 years ago (edited)
My dad adopted me at 5 yrs old. When I was 12 he finally got his natural born son. FF to when he passed ... my brother was left millions in money and property. Me because I was married and adopted was left 25k. I didn't think I would even get that. The ethnic {in this case Armenian} always leave mostly to the son. FF to NOW {dad has been gone 13 years} My brother has burned thru everything to support his extravagant lifestyle and now at the age of 50 has to work for the first time in his life. So there is some silver lining here.
Load More Replies... Cecily Holland 3 years ago (edited)
That is beyond disgusting and can be contested easily. When you sign those documents to adopt they contain clauses about being treated equally in inheritance ect.
Jesse Taylor 3 years ago
I hated my mother for my whole life. She was gaslighter. She was cruel and abusive in every way. When she died, she left me $620 while she left my brothers a lot more. When I said she got the last laugh, he replied, "We'll see." He knew how awful my mother treated me, so he wasn't surprised. He was also a lawyer. He sat us all down to go over my mother's Will, of which he was the Executor. The amounts weren't the same, not even close. They all got a lot more than I did. One of them got an enormous amount of money. My father said our mother had done the wrong thing and he was going to fix it. It turned out that my mother had an IRA, close to $50K. He said he was splitting everything up equally, that her favoritism wasn't going to divide us. I was so grateful that he had stuck up for me and it meant more to me that he fought for me. He should have prevented her from doing the abuse I had to endure. It would have meant so much more to me than money
Deborah Padgett 3 years ago
That is just not right. That child did not ask to be adopted by her. She chose to adopt so she owes that child something. And the 2 "natural" daughters should be ashamed not to share. Karma is a real b***h, watch out.
#33
Lots of people sending their friends and family on weird errands to spread their ashes (leaving money for people to take trips and spread their ashes around the world).
Pet trusts are a fun one: leaving a whole whack of money in a trust to be used for the care of the pet during their life.
However, my favourite ever (that I obviously didn’t draft) was a lawyer who left the bulk of his estate (millions in today’s dollars) to whatever Toronto-area woman had the most children at a specific date some years in the future. I recall the winner had 10.
Very Bored Panda 3 years ago
I find it kind, helping a family of so many by giving them financial support
Honu 3 years ago
Unfortunately 11 families competed and there was only one winner. It was called The Great Stork Derby. The fellow was named Charles Vance Miller and he had several bequests that seemed to be designed as jokes: " giving a vacation home in Jamaica to a group of three men who detested each other under the condition that they live in the estate together indefinitely, brewery stocks to a group of prominent teetotal Protestant ministers if they participated in its operations and collected its dividends, and jockey club stocks to a group of anti-horse-racing advocates." From the Wikipedia page for The Great Stork Derby.
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Red Ruffensor 3 years ago
Here's the whole story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stork_Derby
Craig Reynolds 3 years ago
Pets are children to most people. You are an arsehole for being against their care being assured. I would cut your loser a**e out of my will just for what you think about the matter. I hate people like you.
Julieandthephatones 3 years ago
honestly thats great! them she would've been supported with all those children
#34
My grandfather saved his kidney stone so that he could leave it to my cousin. They never really got along.
Insert Generic Username 3 years ago
Now I regret not asking my surgeon to give me the 10mm stone he removed from my left kidney that got stuck because of its size. It backed up the urine in my kidney, which then swelled to three times its normal size. It also gave me a massive infection and sepsis that nearly killed me. A week in the ICU was not fun and I can certainly think of a few asshat relatives I could bequeath it to.
Lindsay Morrison 3 years ago (edited)
I have a kidney stone in a vial in a drawer in the bathroom. They really hurt. I caught one so I'm keeping it so future generations can say something like "what and an idiot he kept a kidney stone".
Evelyn Haskins 3 years ago
My son THREW OUT my gall stone!!! it was beautiful too, like an agate.
#35
Not a lawyer but my mom put in her will that if she dies under suspicious circumstances that my sister and I won’t be left anything. She watches a lot of true crime.
T. 3 years ago
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
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AnnaBanana 3 years ago
My ex-husband used to say that, because of my collection of serial killer books, if he turned up dead one day, the cops should look right at me!
Walking On Sunshine 3 years ago
Hahahahaha my late husband used to say, whatcha reading? And I'd say, how to kill you and get away with it.
Load More Replies... Spring Fisk 3 years ago
if I learned only one thing from True Crime, it is never get a lot of life Insurance!
Anna Repp 3 years ago
Does not matter - it is still the closest family members who are the prime suspects.
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Joe Reaves 3 years ago
So if the person next in line to inherit if the two of you don't can have her killed and as long as they don't get caught they get the loot, because she died in suspicious circumstances that you two had nothing to do with.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
If she did what you said then she would know that being done for murder automatically disinherits you
#36
"No, ma'am, in order to bequeath something, you actually have to own it."
Rijkærd 3 years ago
Damn...and I thought I could leave my unborn kids like 10% of Amazon and 15% of Apple....tough luck kiddos , gonna see if Bezos n Cook would do me a solid
#37
We had a client who was a widowed farmer who owned several heavy equipment (Caterpillar trucks, etc). He had two sons who were already working with him at the farm and a daughter who was working in the city. He willed the heavy equipment to the daughter, when asked why since these equipment were essential to the farm. He said that the farm was to go his kids equally but his girl needed to know he always wanted her to join their venture and dispel her notions of alienation because she was a girl.
Jessica Bertram 3 years ago
i don't necessarily like this. as well-intentioned as it seems, he is questioning his daughter's career choice and essentially forcing her to engage in the family farming business, when perhaps that's the last thing she wanted.
kim morris 3 years ago
She can 'rent' the equipment to the farmer brothers every year for a small stipend, thus staying involved in the family business.
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Rider 3 years ago (edited)
This could go badly, what if she sold them? Would the brothers be able to keep the farm going? It sounds like a movie plot.
Signe Manat Hansen 3 years ago
Yes, that's the point. He wants all his children to hold essential assets of the family business. If she sells, there is no family business, there's just a farm.
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#38
Saw this answer from a similar question some time ago. When a dad died he set up financial installments so long as his daughter remains under a certain weight. Dude was controlling her diet from the grave.
Miriam L 3 years ago
I hope that's not legally enforceable, and I feel almost as bad for the person responsible for distributing the money and ensuring the clause is met as I do the daughter. That poor, poor woman
L.a. Williams 3 years ago
That is truly sick . Like women don't take enough body shaming during her life she needs dad doing after he's dead. I don't think any amount of money would convince me to do what dad wanted.
Cayna Louise 3 years ago
…..sad to see that so many dads only see their daughters as an object to be controlled.
#39
My vindictive grandmother left my aunt $20 as a reminder of the $20 my aunt stole from her once.
#40
Not a lawyer, but an estate planning paralegal for many years. I've read, drafted or executed thousands of wills and trusts with clients. My first nitpicky comment is that the common belief that lawyers actually assemble the whole family and hold a "reading of the will" is entirely a construct of TV. You would never sit there and just read a will to people; it's mostly a bunch of legalese about bonds and payment of taxes and the powers of the executor. Only a very small portion of the will actually pertains to distributions, and in many cases it's just a paragraph stating that everything goes to the spouse if living, otherwise equally to the kids (or to the trust, which then says it all goes to spouse-then-kids.)
Believe it or not, they're usually pretty mundane. When strings are attached, it's usually just parents trying to make sure their kids go to college or they get a smaller distribution, or just have to wait longer to get their money. People who don't have kids usually name about 2 dozen beneficiaries, which is cumbersome and annoying, especially since a lot of times they don't even have much money to divide. People with kids almost always just leave the money to them equally.
Probably the most f**ked-up thing I've seen is a couple different clients who included provisions to disinherit kids and grandkids if they married a black person. That's their prerogative, and we'll serve them professionally, but we tended not to get too cozy or chatty at those signings, unlike with many of the nice clients with whom we would become friendly. Just get 'em in, get 'em out in those cases.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
And after. I would wait until the inheritance check cleared, then schedule the wedding. F**k ‘em, they’re dead and I got my money.
Load More Replies... Auntriarch 3 years ago
Well I'm going to be one of those awkward people, 11 nieces nephews great nieces goddaughters, and counting. Muwahaha!
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
And that's how you help keep racism alive! You should simply refuse to do business with people like that, not condone their behaviour!
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
That last part sounds like a good setup for a drama/romance story in which the hero/heroine gives up the big inheritance their horrible racist grandfather left them for the sake of True Love. (Probably with a twist at the end where they get the money anyway, because screw you Gramps).
Tim Douglass 3 years ago
The reading of the will was actually a requirement in many countries for a long time. It's only in recent years that the wills have become something so cumbersome with legalese (thanks to the lawyers) that it doesn't make sense to read it. It's not really a construct of the entertainment industry, just an archaic institution that is no longer practiced.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
That should be illegal. There are actually still US cities where black folk weren't allowed to own a property because there is some sort of ancient stipulation on certain deeds that only white people may own a certain property...they don't legally uphold it in the courts anymore but it's a charming reminder of Jim Crow era. (Sarcasm)
Amanda Hunter 3 years ago
Withholding money until kids are older is a good idea. A friend's ex-husband died and left a lot of money to their two sons. One of them purchased a house, the other bought drugs, and eventually died of an overdose.
Signe Manat Hansen 3 years ago
How is that their prerogative legally? The law should never be used as a tool to attack protected groups. I'm very happy to live in a country where that s**t wouldn't fly.
#41
I (early 20s) was forced to write a will due to the health insurance i get at work, and, amongst sensible stuff, the in-house lawyer said it was totally okay for this clause to be added: "My funeral wishes are that i be buried in a coffin which has been springloaded, such that opening the coffin would cause alarm to future archeologists" Then a bunch of stuff about if this is to costly i'd be cremated and have my ashes scattered in a specific place.
Kate 3 years ago
As an archaeology major, I'm a little disappointed that I won't be around in a few hundred years to dig you up.
#42
A relative worked for a firm preparing wills and was confronted by an Executor who had an edict to “scatter the deceased’s ashes from a microlight aircraft”. He couldn’t fly one. She kindly pointed out to him that the drafting said nothing about whether said microlight was in flight at the time of scattering.
Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
Also, he didn't have to do it, unless a bequest was tied to it. It's all very well to honour the deads wishes, but maybe the dead should have been a bit more reasonable.
#43
When I was a clerk in law school at the state court of appeals the adult children of a rich woman tried to invalidate the will. Basically the woman was worth about 8 million dollars and all the children were working professionals earning 6 or 7 figures. Well the woman had used the same hair dresser for multiple years and left a considerable amount in a trust for the hair dresser's children's education. The remainder of the estate was given to different charities. Basically the kids were mad they didn't get a cut.
Jeff Christensen 2 months ago
If they wanted a *cut* they should have been patrons of that hairdresser.
#44
I research land and often go through wills to determine ownership of property. “To my wife I leave a length of rope long enough to hang herself.”
Madzdad the Bard 3 years ago
My sister's first husband (she is on #4 now) divorce her a few years before he died due to her infidelity. He left his business and estate to his daughters and 25 cents to my sister because she was, and I quote, "a two-bit whore". He was a great guy.
#45
I’m the executor of my grandmother’s will. I also get the house and everything in it and a share of life insurance that’s split three ways between myself, sister, and mom. My mom has always said that all my dad , my grandmothers son-in-law, would like to have is some table. Well in the will there’s like a whole paragraph that states how my dad gets nothing, he doesn’t lay a finger on any thing in the house or any money. How my dad is basically worthless and deserves nothing and how he was a [lousy] dad and that she begrudgingly has my mom in the will. Thanks grandma I’ll appreciate the awkwardness.
#46
I used to work for an accountant and we used to make wills as well.
An old man probably around 70 left all his money to his mistress while his wife only got the gold fish.
I had to tell him that if his wife contested it she would most definitely win, he said he didn't care.
Bobby 3 years ago
leave everything in a trust to your wife but make the mistress the executor of the trust? I don't know if that can be done or not, but sounds like the guy just wanted some drama because he should have divorced and married the mistress if he really cared that little for his wife
#47
My sister’s mother in-law is leaving her house to her three sons. If one wants to sell out his third of the house, he has to sell it to the other two brothers for $1.
Miriam L 3 years ago (edited)
... That sounds questionable. What's her plan, that they co-own the house and pass it down to each generation of cousins until the people owning it are barely related? I'm sure there's actually a story behind this, something about the family memories and keeping a gathering place together. It's not my intent to call the mother in law dumb. It's just that this could go so many ways, and it really depends on whether the men are on board with whatever the intent and goal was. Otherwise, as other similar stories have shown, this could end up breaking the family apart
Hunter 3 years ago
Depends. If a share is worth selling, it’s going to be rather significant. It’s going to be closer to something like a mansion than a apartment. It’s perfectly reasonable to think that it was meant to be partitioned and still be large enough to live in. ( I know. I inherited 1/2 of a French chateau)
Load More Replies... WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
I'd sell my part of a house for $1 if it meant saving hundreds of dollars on property tax each year.
AnnaBanana 3 years ago
I want my house to be sold when I die. All debts taken care of, then the rest goes to animal welfare. Anything sentimental, my niece and nephews can argue over!
An Co 3 years ago
Can not put rules about selling things you bequeath to people. You can however set up Joint Tenancy with rights of Survivorship. I that case, no one can sell their portion without permission from ALL the other owners and upon death it goes to the survivor until just one is alive.
Bobby 3 years ago
That sounds really similar to a tontine, which I was under the impression if not strictly illegal, has some questionable legality. Then again I'm not a lawyer so take my thoughts with a grain of salt
Load More Replies... Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
So, 2 brothers sell it to the 3rd for $1. The 3rd brother sells the house for a normal price to an outsider and splits the profit with the other 2 brothers.
#48
So this is related. Worked on a divorce up a couple who fought over every single thing in the house. Separating pillows and such. They were left 52 gallons of vanilla extract by her grandmother. In a secondary preceding he was awarded all but 5 gallons. Two weeks later he sent in a case of "samples" in zip lock baggies to our office along with a request to subpoena a urine test from his ex-wife to prove she pissed in the jugs before he picked them up. We never needed to as she screamed in court that she, "pissed them full just like he pissed all over her during their marriage." They were neat. This same couple went to court for nearly two years over a beanie baby collection. They had three kids.
Sheila Stamey 3 years ago
I'm not even questioning the pee, but 52 GALLONS of vanilla extract? That place must have smelled like the Pillsbury doughboy's b******e!
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
You get an upvote for making me gigglesnort.
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VeninTheNonBinaryRogue 3 years ago
Maybe they were the people from the math problems. You never know
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#49
It went something like this: "Frank, if your fat monkey heart is still beating, then congratulations. I want you to know that I hereby leave all of your money to Bruce Mathis, the real father of my children. A handsome man with a beautiful soul and a nicer penis. For my darling son Dennis, I give you my house on the sole condition that Frank is not be allowed in. Deandra you get nothing."
Sinkvenice 3 years ago
Deandra is her daughter, they're all characters from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
Load More Replies... #50
My great-uncle's official will gave the contents of his outhouse to the City Council of a nearby town after they'd tried to take his land twice to build a new water treatment plant. He spent quite a few years fighting eminent domain claims, and just wanted to give them something in return. As a joke, his kids boxed up all the books and magazines in the outhouse and dropped them off at City Hall.
Klas Klättermus 3 years ago
His kids totaly failed their father. He obviously wanted to donate his poo to the criminals in the government
NsG 3 years ago
Yeah, I'm thinking this was the kids' way of honouring the spirit of the bequest without actually committing any kind of actual crime that would have come with delivering excrement (however deserved) to a government building.
Load More Replies... Sue Hazlewood 3 years ago
JUST the books and mags? Could have at least included the dunny seat.LOL
Auntriarch 3 years ago
Tell me you're chronically constipated without telling me that you're chronically constipated
#51
I am a qualified solicitor, my favourite two are: A lady wanted to create a trust fund of £100,000, for her pet fish. When I asked if it was a special kind of fish, she confirmed it was just a normal goldfish but she wanted it to be fed fresh avocado every day and be looked after by a local dog walker after she died. She was absolutely serious. Another lady confessed she had a secret daughter, and she wanted to leave the daughter some money and photographs without the rest of her family finding out. Even her husband does not know. That will be a fun conversation when she passes away.
#52
Not really the question but related: A lawyer once advised my 90 years old aunt to adopt me (24 at the time) to avoid paying inheritance tax. Now I'm not a big fan of tax avoidance... but her last name is "Falcon" in my language which is immensely cooler than my current surname. Almost would've done it.
Leodavinci 3 years ago
Tax evasion is the problem, not avoidance. No one is obligated (legally, morally, or ethically) to pay more than tax law says they are supposed to.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
So hiring accountants who know every loophole in tax laws to get out of paying taxes is, according to you, morally and ethically 100% right. In the US only 10% of the population would agree with you.
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#53
Not a lawyer, but I work at a law firm. One client left $100,000.00 to his two cats so they could "maintain their current lifestyle".
#54
Here’s one from one of my dad’s law partners. He had a lady come in with an itemized list of books and wanted her will to contain all of the books and who will get what based on her choosing. So basically she decides who gets what specific book instead of letting her beneficiaries decide. The truly astonishing thing is how many books and how specific they get. According to dad’s law partner her list is at about 2,000 books to be divided among about 30 people. She is apparently very specific and comes back at least once a year to add all the new books she’s gotten.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
This is kind of cool instead of bequeathing money she's actually bequeathing knowledge.
#55
Me and a friend from middle school have an agreement that he gets 10 bucks out of my estate I also want all beneficiaries notified by a mysterious man in a dark suit preferably on a dark rainy day.
Alexander Smith 3 years ago
With either pale skin or maybe even his face veiled or covered so they can't recognize him!
#56
My old landlord took 2 years to boot me out because her mother who owned the place died and she wanted to sell the place. But her mothers carer said the mother verbally promised the house to her. Even though it was not written in the will it still took 2 years of fighting in court to clear things up. No, the carer didn't get it in the end even after all the appeals.
Alexander Smith 3 years ago
I love this phrase! If it isn't sealed in ink or blood it never happened.
Load More Replies... The Starsong Princess 3 years ago
The carer will almost always lose but they are generally hoping they’ll get a settlement to walk away without anything drawn out.
#57
Had a friend who had a toxic relationship with his uncle. When his uncle passed he was surprised to find he was in the will. Turns out there was a handwritten IOU that read “I’m leaving you 15k BUT you have to come get it from me. I’ll see you in hell!” My friend laughed.
#58
My own grandmother specified which of the children and grandchildren should get which of the family recipes, and somehow felt the need to include commentary about why certain decisions were made. One recipe was this Prohibition era recipe for beer which I knew my uncle, also a home brewer, wanted, but she left it to me, with the comment that "I know you wanted it, Teddy, but she has the second-best penmanship of the girls and will make you a copy." And then like eight pages later, in among the specific descriptions of her vast collection of romance novels (really,) was a line: "And [specific Jude Devereaux title] to Spidey, who will please subtract about half the hops before she copies the beer recipe for her Uncle Teddy so that any of us can drink it. Our Jon had his IPA last summer and just about died." Uncle Jon just about burst into tears laughing and Uncle Teddy had long since left the room because he has no f**s whatsoever to give about romance novels. Uncle Jon, of course, was still in the room because there was also still Yuengling. And no, I have no idea how she got this will done. My guess is she wrote it herself and the law students who come to her independent-living building signed off on it. It was...elaborate, that's for sure. Total value of the estate was well under eight thousand dollars, so it was mostly a funny last letter from Grandma.
#59
I work in probate. The oddest thing I’ve seen in a will is to euthanize their beloved horse, have it cremated and it’s ashes scattered with the decedent. Lucky for her horse, she named a horse that was already dead so the one she got afterwards lived to see another farm.
Samantha Lomb 3 years ago
This isn't as wierd as it sounds. My mom has in her will the horses will be put to sleep as well. The youngest is 20 and several have health problems and she is terrified old horses will neglected or abused after her instructor dumped a 30 year old horse on us that got confused in his new surroundings panicked, got down and died scared and alone.
Otter 3 years ago
It's only non-weird if the horse in question is over 20, and I sincerely hope that the instructions were meant to prevent cruelty to an elderly animal, and not give the deceased a Dothraki Funeral.
Load More Replies... Jeff Christensen 2 months ago
The late Queen Elizabeth II of England stopped getting more of her beloved corgis when she reached a certain age so they wouldn't be left behind when she died.
#60
Random question, could i just pick a random name in the phone book and add them to my will? It would be funny to have part of my will portioned out with odd requests for random strangers.
Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
Been done.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jan/16/gilestremlett.mainsection
#61
Worked with a client who wanted language that her cats would be euthanized and buried with her. We had to explain why legally we couldn’t do that. The moral part just went over her head. One of the few clients who ever got under my skin.
meowgie catster 3 years ago
I can get it if the cats were old and it was an old person nearing the end of their life, and didn’t want the cats to die confused and alone, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here
#62
My estate planning professor told us about a guy who had two families, neither of which knew about the other until it was time to read the will. This wasn't like a love child/mistress type scenario, both were nuclear multi-kid families. Both families showed up for what had to be one of the most awkward will reading in history. I don't really know how he pulled it off other than that he was away on "business" frequently.
Kanuli 3 years ago
Sounds weird. Like no bite marks ever? No slip of tongue? No irregularities at bank account or papers? Weird. Also how did he have so much energy? I have just enough for 1 wife.
Bobby 3 years ago
And if we're being honest, some days I barely have the energy for myself, let alone anyone else
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Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
As another lawyer has pointed out in comments, will readings don't happen. So whilst the situation isn't actually that unusual, they probably didn't find out at a will reading.
#63
Oh dear, my first "not me but a friend post." Someone had left an entire golf course that he owned and managed in secret to his son. They were avid golfers, but always went to another course. I still don't know why someone would lie about owning a golf course.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
To avoid being harassed by family and friends to let them use the course for free so they could rack up enormous bills and pester the staff because "They know the owner."
Bobby 3 years ago
Yeah, I mean it's bad enough when you get people saying that to you that are lying through their teeth. Imagine how bad when it's true
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#64
My friends mother had in her will “that cat gets to live in my house alone until it expires” the cat lived there for a few years alone with a caregiver checking on it. Yes she was rich.
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
That's just sad. The cat's not going to be happy or grateful for living there alone. It wants attention, love, pets!
TKA 3 years ago
My parents had a friend do this. My parents got the cat & house and wanted the cat to live there until he passed away. My Dad or I would stop every few days to take care of him, give him wet food & part of a rotisserie chicken (by request). We felt horrible for him, they guy had already been in a nursing home fir a few. Tiger got to live out his days in a very nice home with 2 other cats and my parents, and was still spoiled.
#65
Well, my father's an attorney...not an estate attorney. But anyway. In my boyfriend's living will, he has instructions that his ashes be shot out of a cannon.
Sinkvenice 3 years ago
Darn, you beat me to it. Hunter S Thompson was great :-D
Load More Replies... Tim Douglass 3 years ago
I may be wrong, but I don't think a living will includes burial instructions.
#66
Had a very attractive woman with terminal cancer try to get herself stuffed by a taxidermist and given to some rich guy that had been basically a sugar daddy to her for a few months. She said "He would give me a million dollar a week allowance as long as it was in an official will that he could see." I sent her to a lawyer who I knew that would do about anything for a buck because I didn't want to end up in the news when she died. That was 2 years ago, no clue what happened to her.
#67
I had a Russian client. Son of an oligarch. His father created a trust which provided dispositive provisions for if he was kidnapped and not found within a certain number of months. Freaked me out. I believe the will had similar language too, but I can’t remember now.
#68
I once had to tell the son of the deceased that his mother's priceless "Boy with Apple" painting was willed to a hotel concierge.
3 years ago
Ummmm this painting is worthless and a made up one at that featured in the movie grand Budapest hotel as a made up fictional priceless painting ... painted in 2014
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago (edited)
The concierge did more for her during her stay in the hotel than the son did in all of his life.
#69
I know you're looking for lawyers and whatnot, but here, have my mediocre will story anyway: My great grandmother left her daughter "just one dollar and not a single penny more so help me god." This was before I was born, but my grandmother (not the daughter with the dollar) said that when they all read the will her sister had a full blown temper tantrum and no one heard from her since. I guess she had it coming.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
In the Netherlands you can't completely disinherit a child. You always have to give them their "legitimate portion" of the inheritance. It is a percentage of the inheritance depending on the number of children. But on the plus side: no one is legally obliged to inform estranged children that their parent has died.
Bobby 3 years ago
I'm sure there has to be a way for extenuating circumstances. Anything that would cause the parent to need a protective order against the child for example
Load More Replies... #70
I was working as a legal secretary and had to leave someones cats to various people (fine) but I also had to leave money in the cats' name to various organizations. One of them was named Mr. Bobo. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
I mr Bobo leave $100k to the society for the prevention of catnip addiction
#71
One summer I worked as an administrative assistant to a lawyer who worked in wills and estates. Most of it was the usual petty arguing about percentages of money, but one couple was deeply concerned about which of their children would receive the urn with the ashes of the family's long deceased cat. "Wouldn't want to play favorites."
#72
I had the first son so my dad decided to leave me more. Except he did the math wrong and it came out to 105%. He had dementia.
Kanuli 3 years ago
I hate this first son thing. My brother is the first. And he always got bigger presents from my grandma, more attention and help in general. Also some money when a life insurance cashed out. (I got nothing, anyway). But who calls her regularly? Who understands her and partly lives her values? It doesn’t matter just because I was born 2 years later... But it’s fine. I earn my own money and my family in general was always quite broke, so I never expected anything to begin with.
#73
Not me but my friend's father's father died and he said when the guy reviewed the will with his lawyer (and his sister) it said to give 100% of the assets to his sister. He said he had no idea why his father did that, he wasn't on bad terms or anything. It was shocking to him. The sister didn't share anything with him either, and they were on pretty good terms (before that).
I Just Changed My Name 3 years ago
Ew, that is foul. Dad and sis are birds of a feather. Even if you somehow were the included, leaving someone unnecessarily excluded, how could you not split it? So wrong.
#74
"Not a lawyer" but I worked with plenty of estates and trust accounts over the years. This particular scenario isn't so much about the will itself being strange, but the circumstances that led up to the trust account being opened: I used to work at a bank in the estates department. I was an administrator who had to manage the files including encroachments upon the capital (i.e. "I want to take some money out now, please"). I had this one account - multi-million dollar trust for one single beneficiary - the son of the deceased. What's interesting is that the son killed the parents... with a hammer in grotesque and brutal fashion. He plead insanity. He would call once a year from the penitentiary / mental hospital, requesting $50 for commissary (to buy chips and gum). The call was always strange. He was very polite, very doped up. The quality of the call was always very "tinny" like he was far away from the phone.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
Isn't there an American law that says that you can't profit from your crime? So killing someone would immediately cut you out of their will.
Donkey boi 3 years ago
Isn't there a law about 'profiting from murder' or some such? I think it's called a forfeiture rule in the UK. In Ireland it extends to 'attempted to murder' (so even if you make up afterwards you get sweet FA).
#75
Lady wanted her small dog to be buried with her. If the dog happened to be alive when the lady passed, she wanted the dog put down and then join her.
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Just commented above. I have a crazy roommate that asked us to do this. We said sure but no intention of really killing her dog. Rest assured if anything happens to her we will take excellent care of her dog.
#76
Saw someones mom's will get read to them. Her ex-lover got all of her money and she gave her mansion to her son and gave her daughter nothing and said she was a disappointment and a mistake. The kicker was though the kids were twins
#77
i got some rock my grandpa really liked
#78
In my Mums will, which I have seen, she has left me the kitchen table and chairs. She lives on a South Manchester council estate. My brother gets the sideboard.
Donkey boi 3 years ago
Didn't Brian May allegedly have a guitar made from his kitchen sideboard?
#79
Not a lawyer, work for a will writers / trusts specialist in the UK, currently studying toward my TEP. One of our earlier clients passed recently. Turns out the man she left almost everything to, including the residue of her estate--which was considerable--was her regular taxi driver. She had also named him as her executor. He had no clue. The woman named as her executor and main beneficiary on her previous two wills, a close friend of many years, was understandably flabbergasted and contested the will. We responded to her solicitor's Larke v Nugus request, informed Mr Taxi Driver (who didn't even know our client had passed) and the will was upheld. Aforementioned friend was left a legacy of £5000 if I remember correctly, but her nose was clearly out of joint. Bonus observation: it takes a lot less than £5000 being up for grabs to make families turn against each other. Can get really nasty. One of the most startling things I've learned in my short time in this business.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
Families will fight to the death over 25 cents. If you ever want yo get rid of your junk in a fast way, pretend you have died and let your "heirs" clean out your house.
Robert Trebor 3 years ago
I feel incredibly happy that my two brothers and I have been through two probate causes (parents and an aunt) and we are still friends.
#80
Not a lawyer (yet), but one interesting case in inheritance law that I came across was the one of a super rich owner of a private bank, who left his shares to his sons under the condition and restraint that they will act as managers of the private bank, but with a personal liability concerning the bank's debt. So what he did was giving them the money and commit them to lifelong work in the bank, while putting their own assets at risk. So when one of the sons decided to sell his shares because he was old and sick, the courts had to decide whether he gets any money from the will - the condition was NOT fulfilled anymore as he gave up the manager position. One other son wanted to sell his shares, of course that would not have been allowed under the condition either.
#81
I don't remember enough of the story but there was a guy in the 1800s that left his estate to his great grand children because he didn't want his actual children to benefit at all. I think they only recently received the money.
#82
My father in law was an accountant for some rather wealthy people. One of them was asking him to assist with writing up his will worth millions. The final addition he suggested was that if the children contested it, they get nothing. They contested it, for years!
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
How can you contest a will for years when the will says that you lose all your rights when you contest it.
An Co 3 years ago
If you succesfully convince the judge that a) the will is a fake, or b) it is superseded by a later will, then you get money.
Load More Replies... #83
An ancestor of mine in the rural UK in the 1700s died and left his farm and everything to his nephew (no children), with his surviving wife only getting "the second best bed" and a provision her to receive 3lbs of butter per week for the rest of her life. We thought this was incredibly mean, but we wonder whether this butter was meant as an income, I mean who can eat 3lbs of butter?!
Auntriarch 3 years ago
Probably yes to the butter. Clothing used to be bequeathed because it was expensive, so even second hand had value that we wouldn't expect today
Brandy Dor 3 years ago
Shakespeare left his wife the second best bed as well, usually the best bed was for guests and the second best was for the owner, so it would have been the best she shared with her husband
#84
Client wanted her ashes spread at the restaurant (on the beach) where she met her husband.
Bec Jac 3 years ago (edited)
My grandparents wanted to be spread at their house which they built and lived in pretty much their whole lives together. So, we did it...in front of two trees that they had planted in front of their house. Later we sold the house and we would drive by once in awhile, ya know for the memories. Well, those new owners tore out the trees :(
Load More Replies... Isabel Care 3 years ago
If you wait a long time to spread the ashes, they set into one big solid lump. Take them back to the crematorium to be put through the macerator again.
#85
Not a lawyer but my grandmother’s will stated that my father had to outlive her by a certain amount of time (I honestly don’t remember exactly how long, I was 15). My father died less than a month after she did, so instead of things going to my father the next step was the estate being divided between me, my sister, and two cousins. It was so bizarre!
Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
That's a standard clause in a will. The beneficiary/ies have to survive for 30 days after the death of the testator.
#86
Not a Lawyer, but helped drive a dear elderly friend of mine to his appointments to have his will redone after his wife died. He was a member of a VFW, that was very badly mismanaged, to the point they were coming to him to bail them out of debt for thousands every other month. At the same time this was happening, the commander of that VFW had his wife begging to 'borrow' money for their personal account as well. He tried to have it put in his will that while he had planned on leaving the majority of his money to the VFW, he could not in good faith leave the money, knowing it would be so badly mismanaged, and probably used to offset the addictions of people in charge. Attorney would not allow that, but he did agree to hold a letter with the man's explanation for after his death. I am assuming the attorney did send it, because I know the commander and his awful wife have been stirring up trouble with the man's family, trying to have his will contested.
Queserasera423 3 years ago (edited)
Veterans of Foreign War. Local groups usually have some sort of meeting facility with banquet hall for events.
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Robin Roper 3 years ago
VFW is far more than a social club, or at least it should be. In my area, they do a lot to support veterans who are having financial, mental, housing, food insecurity issues.
#87
When my great grandad died in his will he stated that his coin collection be split equally across his family. There was like 8-9 of us and 3 potato sacks full of coins. So we all gathered round a table and each took one coin each until nothing was left. Among the coins was an Iron Cross, which was quiet odd as the only person on that side of the family that went to war was his dad, and he served with the ANZAC’s in WW1.
Donkey boi 3 years ago
Taking 'one coin each until nothing was left' isn't going to be split equally. Someone would definitely be better off than the others.
Lally’s Maid 3 years ago
I shall use it in a sentence. You, Sue, are quite rude and unnecessarily so
Load More Replies... #88
Lawyer here. I once amended a will for a doctor in which he disinherited his son by removing everything he had intended to bequeath and replacing it with a "manure spreader". I didn't ask any questions because changing a will is an easy thing to do. But one day, that doctor will die and his son will have essentially be told to "eat s**t".
#89
I once wrote a will for a guy who thought he could get away from giving his ex-wife half his assets by putting them in a will for his kids. Doesn’t work like that, buddy boy.
Leodavinci 3 years ago
Since when do ex spouses have to receive anything? Wouldn't they have already gotten their half of "community" property when they divorced?
M 3 years ago
I think this may have been during the divorce settlement. So instead of giving away half the "community" property during the divorce he wanted to instead "save it" for his kids when he dies. At least this is the only way it makes sense.
Load More Replies... #91
A furby collection from models collected in the late 90’s. They were convinced they would retain future value. This was 2011.
Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
Hahaha. That's why you see heaps of, for instance, spoon collections and doll collections in op shops (as we call them in Australia. Otherwise known as thrift or charity shops).
#92
A lot of people want there ashes spread at Disneyland
Desiree McKinnon 3 years ago
The saddest thing is, the ashes just get vacuumed up when the janitorial staff is cleaning up AFTER they catch you.
Robin Roper 3 years ago
And it's common enough that they have a special code "HEPA Cleanup." So, folks if you scatter someone's ashes at Disney, they come and suck them up in a vacuum. You don't get to stay there. And they know because they have cameras everywhere plus people watching for this.
#93
My moms father left her and her 3 sisters one dollar out of spite. ONE DOLLAR. Just don't leave anything you f**ing d**k.
T. D. Bostick 3 years ago
As we learned above, you have to leave something, or the benefactors can contest the will as though the deceased had forgotten about them.
clive apps 3 years ago
My mother's aunt who was a very pleasant lady and had not much lived in a small apartment alone after the death of her husband of many years. They had no children and as she got to the age where she didn't need things she would call the extended family children in one at a time and ask if they wanted any of her possessions. After she gave almost everything away her sister locked her up for being incompetent even thought she was healthy, able to drive, took care of herself and functioned well. She totally avoided having any wills or lawyer involvement this way and there were no arguments about items received. We never found out where they locked her away but we would have gone to visit anytime if we knew. The other sister that put her in facility became partly estranged from the family at that point with the only contact at wedding and funerals etc. Another revenge ploy is to bequeath basically derelict high maintenace items like a large boat, cottage, or classic car etc. to someone.
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Walking On Sunshine 3 years ago
I had a client once that was very eccentric. She had a Masters, quite educated, but at this point, a cat lady who lived in a homeless shelter. We did her will, very basic, leaving everything to Feed the Children. Nothing to her daughter who left her in the shelter. Guess what? When she died, it turned out she had a quarter of a million. The daughter immediately sued. And this is the only time I had to testify in a case like this. Because the lady had told me that her daughter didn't want anything to do with her and dropped her at the homeless shelter. The daughter said she was crazy and not in her right mind. I told them on the stand that there was nothing wrong with her mother. She was clearly competent at the time of the will. Daughter lost. I'll never forget the rage on her face, or the satisfaction on mine.
Troux 3 years ago
Imagine going to court to try to take food from starving children.
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Ka Se 3 years ago
At least in Austra and Germany it would not be possible to exclude children, husband and so on from the inheritance. There is a forced share everyone, depending of the circumstances, gets something. There are only very rare reasons you can exclude your family from the inheritance.
Signe Manat Hansen 3 years ago
We have "forced inheritance" in Denmark as well. I think the only way for someone to be completely disinherited is if they were complicit in the death of the relative.
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Pezor Zass 3 years ago
Honest question, if you were left a large sum and the rest of your family got very little, would you be tempted to even it out after the fact? This is assuming that there wasn't a very good reason for it, no major assholery involved.
Bug 3 years ago
Immediate family such as brothers and sisters? Yeah I'd split it evenly but not with random cousins I haven't seen in years
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Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
This reminds me, we need to get our wills in order. We have no children, but 6 pets that need to be taken care off should we die soon.
kim morris 3 years ago
To anyone planning on writing a will. NEVER have a family member be executor of your will. Hire a professional, preferably someone in the lawyer's/solicitor's office, someone who knows the proper legalese to effectively execute the will. No bad feelings to the person will bleed into the family, at least from the execution of the will.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Not in a will, since the dumba** didn't leave one, even knowing he had cancer... But my dad asked me to mix his ashes into paint and use that paint on the ceiling of the bedroom he'd shared with my mom. "So she'll never feel okay having sex with anyone else in there," he said to me. We did not obey his wish. He's in an urn. And, as he was atheist, my mom drapes it in rosaries, surrounds it with figurines and heaps on saints' medals. Next to a cup of coffee grounds, b/c he hated coffee. And under the urn of her favorite cat, which he did not like in life. If anyone asks whY i don;'t hold grudges? That's a lot of effort o say "eff you" to a dead guy!
Signe Manat Hansen 3 years ago (edited)
Good for you for respecting the living people over a dead toxic person. And good for you for recognizing how shitty and controlling your dad was. The effort put in to flip off the dead guy sounds like a source of comfort and amusement for the surviving family members, so I wouldn't even call it petty. Your mom probably has some trauma to process if he was that sexually manipulative towards her while he was alive as well.
Load More Replies... Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
I frequently tell the law students I have on placement with me that criminal law is far more decent and you meet nicer people than you do if you specialise in family law or wills and estates.
Candi Cabaniss 3 years ago
My will has my children inheriting, along with sums for long time family friend and my husband's daughter. My daughter gets the dogs and a sum of money to take care of them
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Wow there is a lot of bitterness here. It's sad how inheritance or lack thereof causes such a schism in the family. I can only be glad no one in my family has had anything really worth passing on to fight over. We lost out on some property because my aunt who was executor sold our share and kept it. My grampa trusted her to do the right thing and look after us but greed was a better motivator.
Bobby 3 years ago
I only want one thing of my moms when she passes. She had this gold ring that looked like 2 dolphins. I just remember being a little kid and laying in her lap playing with that ring. It's kinda cheesy looking and probably not worth anything to anyone else, but it was my favorite piece of her jewelry and every time I see dolphins it makes me think of her
Walking On Sunshine 3 years ago
I had a client once that was very eccentric. She had a Masters, quite educated, but at this point, a cat lady who lived in a homeless shelter. We did her will, very basic, leaving everything to Feed the Children. Nothing to her daughter who left her in the shelter. Guess what? When she died, it turned out she had a quarter of a million. The daughter immediately sued. And this is the only time I had to testify in a case like this. Because the lady had told me that her daughter didn't want anything to do with her and dropped her at the homeless shelter. The daughter said she was crazy and not in her right mind. I told them on the stand that there was nothing wrong with her mother. She was clearly competent at the time of the will. Daughter lost. I'll never forget the rage on her face, or the satisfaction on mine.
Troux 3 years ago
Imagine going to court to try to take food from starving children.
Load More Replies... Ka Se 3 years ago
At least in Austra and Germany it would not be possible to exclude children, husband and so on from the inheritance. There is a forced share everyone, depending of the circumstances, gets something. There are only very rare reasons you can exclude your family from the inheritance.
Signe Manat Hansen 3 years ago
We have "forced inheritance" in Denmark as well. I think the only way for someone to be completely disinherited is if they were complicit in the death of the relative.
Load More Replies... Pezor Zass 3 years ago
Honest question, if you were left a large sum and the rest of your family got very little, would you be tempted to even it out after the fact? This is assuming that there wasn't a very good reason for it, no major assholery involved.
Bug 3 years ago
Immediate family such as brothers and sisters? Yeah I'd split it evenly but not with random cousins I haven't seen in years
Load More Replies... Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
This reminds me, we need to get our wills in order. We have no children, but 6 pets that need to be taken care off should we die soon.
kim morris 3 years ago
To anyone planning on writing a will. NEVER have a family member be executor of your will. Hire a professional, preferably someone in the lawyer's/solicitor's office, someone who knows the proper legalese to effectively execute the will. No bad feelings to the person will bleed into the family, at least from the execution of the will.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Not in a will, since the dumba** didn't leave one, even knowing he had cancer... But my dad asked me to mix his ashes into paint and use that paint on the ceiling of the bedroom he'd shared with my mom. "So she'll never feel okay having sex with anyone else in there," he said to me. We did not obey his wish. He's in an urn. And, as he was atheist, my mom drapes it in rosaries, surrounds it with figurines and heaps on saints' medals. Next to a cup of coffee grounds, b/c he hated coffee. And under the urn of her favorite cat, which he did not like in life. If anyone asks whY i don;'t hold grudges? That's a lot of effort o say "eff you" to a dead guy!
Signe Manat Hansen 3 years ago (edited)
Good for you for respecting the living people over a dead toxic person. And good for you for recognizing how shitty and controlling your dad was. The effort put in to flip off the dead guy sounds like a source of comfort and amusement for the surviving family members, so I wouldn't even call it petty. Your mom probably has some trauma to process if he was that sexually manipulative towards her while he was alive as well.
Load More Replies... Oopsydaisy 3 years ago
I frequently tell the law students I have on placement with me that criminal law is far more decent and you meet nicer people than you do if you specialise in family law or wills and estates.
Candi Cabaniss 3 years ago
My will has my children inheriting, along with sums for long time family friend and my husband's daughter. My daughter gets the dogs and a sum of money to take care of them
Who Panda 420 3 years ago
Wow there is a lot of bitterness here. It's sad how inheritance or lack thereof causes such a schism in the family. I can only be glad no one in my family has had anything really worth passing on to fight over. We lost out on some property because my aunt who was executor sold our share and kept it. My grampa trusted her to do the right thing and look after us but greed was a better motivator.
Bobby 3 years ago
I only want one thing of my moms when she passes. She had this gold ring that looked like 2 dolphins. I just remember being a little kid and laying in her lap playing with that ring. It's kinda cheesy looking and probably not worth anything to anyone else, but it was my favorite piece of her jewelry and every time I see dolphins it makes me think of her
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