It seems prudent to make a will. The majority of us understand this, but actually doing it seems such a hassle. How much consideration went in these “wills with a difference”?
Even the legendary conjurer and escape artist, Harry Houdini, couldn’t trick death. Having perished from a ruptured appendix, one of his biggest shocks came with the will reading. His magicians equipment went to his former partner Theodore, who was also his brother. His magical skills failed on the next term – his bountiful array of tomes on magic and the supernatural. He left these to the American Society for Psychical Research, but with the condition that the research officer J Malcolm Bird, who also was the editor of their journal, resigned. They turned down the conditions the compilation was given to the Library of Congress.
The stage rabbits that he utilised in his performance vacated their hats and were distributed amongst the children of friends. Continuing the unusual style, his left his spouse 10 words, which was a secret code, with the avowal that he would use these words to contact her from the afterlife. Every year for 10 years, following his death, she faithfully held séances, but Harry never made contact.
Kozmic Blues and rockl singer Janis Lyn Joplin had a brief but memorable history. She recorded many rock anthems and four albums, including “To Love Somebody” and “Me and Bobby McGee”. After years of substance abuse, she passed away from an overdose, aged 27. Two days before her death in 1970 she willed the sum of 2,500 dollars 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 heard of people that, randomly, leave all their estate to the dogs’ home, much to the dismay of their family. Lot’s of family feuds start when a will is read. As long as the person who made the will is of sound mind and not under duress when the will is made, there is often little that can be done to object to such a decision.
Quirks apart, if you pass on without leaving a will, the people whom you would want to inherit wont always be the ones that do so. You might 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, in spite of your designs and promises. This can be sad when it’s not clearly stated and can result in terrible financial consequences.
The current way to get your will under way is to go online and source a will writers. However basic your aims are, it’s advisable to get 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.