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The adversity of not having a will
William Jennings
The richest commoner in England died on 19th June, 1798, leaving an estate of £2 million, worth anywhere between half a billion dollars and one billion dollars today depending on how you measure it.
He died without a Will and the courts decided on an heir, a descendent of his aunt, who was not a close relative. This heir died soon after, however, and then the problems started. The administrator of the Will made some legally questionable decisions regarding who should benefit from the estate and, lo and behold, lawyers appeared. Legal actions, many and varied, followed.
One of William’s relatives had been an officer in the British army in North America during the Indian Wars of the late 18th century and he married and had a family there. However, the legal links to William were a bit opaque so lawyers began prospecting for anyone with a Jennens or Jennings connection and legal action to gain a share of the estate commenced from a cohort of Americans about 50 years after the saga began.
Throughout this time the assets and monies of the estate were held in trust, overseen by the courts, for the benefit of the legal heirs. The only payments approved were for LEGAL EXPENSES and that allowed action to continue for a long time. The claimants had to fund their side of the action but the lawyers defending were under no obligation to preserve the estate. In reality they were defending no-one – they were there simply to “represent” the estate against all claimants to ensure no undeserving party was paid anything. AND they succeeded. No heirs were ever found by the courts and all legal action ceased around 1915 WHEN ALL THE MONEY RAN OUT.
Yes, the lawyers had received the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars between 1798 and 1915 and all because William Jennens, who must have been very aware of the implications, died without a valid Will.
Famous people who died without a Will
Avicii
Avicii died by his own hand in 2018, with assets in Sweden and the US but no will. He had been a huge charitable donor but none of his estate went to good causes.
His parents inherited in Sweden but it cost millions in legal fees and taxes in the US to finalise his affairs.
Avicii
Stieg Larsson
Another Swede was Stieg Larsson, author of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Dying will-less meant his partner got nothing from his estate. Legal action followed and the conflict between Eva and the family was never resolved, given Swedish law did not recognise her as his legal partner.
Stieg Larsson
Heath Ledger
When Heath Ledger died his will was out of date and left nothing to his daughter, living with his estranger partner in the US.
Fortunately in this case the families amicably agreed a settlement, but that friendliness is missing more often than not when lucrative inheritances are at stake.
Heath Ledger
Pablo Picasso
Picasso's estate was more complicated than his paintings, taking $30m to settle in the 1970s which, given inflation, might be a record in legal costs.
Dying will-less, he left 5 children by 4 different mothers, and disputes over title on $250m in assets.
Not a great legacy.
Pablo Picasso
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin did leave a will... in fact FOUR of them, one even found under cushions on her couch.
The legal actions are still going on today though she died in 2018.
A genuine Queen of Soul, she did no favours for her family when she passed on.
Aretha Franklin
Bob Marley
Bob died in 1981 with no will due to his personal beliefs. He had eleven children with seven different women and his wealth was passed on under intestacy law.
Some of his family challenged the distribution and decades of legal action followed. Today some of his children manage the estate and its income.
Bob Marley
Peter Brock
Peter Brock had 3 wills when he died, but the final one was unsigned. As usual legal action ensued and Brock's view was revealed that a will was not a priority for him as he would no longer be around.
Another case of leaving a mess for loved ones to clean up.
Peter Brock
Marin Luther King
Over 40 years after his death two of King's children took legal action against a sibling to gain possession of his Nobel Prize and his personal bible.
MLK died intestate but this example shows that gifting heirlooms by will can be essential to avoid disputes - even those years after death.
Martin Luther King
Prince
Prince died will-less in 2016. It took 6 years, millions in legal fees and dozens of court visits to settle the estate - in August 2022. Some of his siblings will reputedly never talk to each other again.
Family conflict is often the result of intestacy, for both superstars and normal people .
Prince
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Here are a few instances that will put into perspective the need for a will.
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“ For as long as we know, writing a will has been a tedious and expensive process that usually involves the services of a lawyer. This is probably one of the reasons that around 50% Australians do not have a valid will. We, at WillHQ, are here to help you change that by enabling you to make, edit, and legalise your will online. Not having a will in place can lead to complications, feuds, and even repossession of assets. ”
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