Wills Demand, Have One On Me
Your will is constructed to help your family manage the disposal of your estate when you’ve expired. Whilst yours may be simple, here are one or two with some quirks to them.
Will’s The Last Laugh
It makes sense to make a will. Most of us know that, but actually doing it seems such a bother. How much thought went in these “wills with a difference”?
Even the famous magician and escapologist, Harry Houdini, couldn’t escape death. Having perished from a burst appendix, one of his greatest surprises came with the reading of his will. His magicians equipment went to his former partner Theodore, who was in addition his brother. His conjuring powers fizzled on the next item – his ample array of writings on magic and the occult. He left these to the American Society for Psychical Research, but only on the term that the research officer J Malcolm Bird, who additionally was the editor of their journal, resigned. They refused the terms the compilation was given to the Library of Congress.
The trained rabbits that he used in his act came out of their hats and were divided around the kids of friends. Continuing the wierd theme, his gave his wife ten words, which was a secret code, with the assurance that he would use these words to contact her from the afterlife. Every year for 10 years, following his death, she reliably held séances, but Harry never made contact.
Rock and blues singer Janis Lyn Joplin had a short but memorable career. She wrote many rock anthems and four albums, including “To Love Somebody” and “Me and Bobby McGee”. After years of drug addiction, she died from an overdose, aged twenty seven. Two days prior to her death in 1970 her cheap will the figure of $2,500 to sponsor an all night wake at her favourite pub so that her mates could “get blasted after I’m gone.” It must have been some celebration – that was a large amount of cash back in 1970.
We’ve all read about people that, unexpectedly, donate all their estate to the dogs’ home, much to the dismay of their family. Many family feuds start when a will is read. As long as there is no reason to doubt the sanity and freewill of the person when the will is made, there is often nothing that can be done to object to such a decision.
Quirks aside, if you die without leaving a will, those who you would wish to inherit will not always be the ones that do so. You could have a partner of several years, but if you’re not married or in a legal partnership, he or she won’t get your estate, heedless of your aims and affirmations. This can be problematic when it’s not clearly understood and can cause devastating fiscal results.
The current method to get your will started is to search online and find a will adviser . However basic your aims are, it’s best to have the professionals to make it for you and you can be sure that you’re leaving your estate exactly how you would wish them to be.
