We expect these wills to follow a similar pattern when celebrities leave their fortunes in the millions (or even billions). The wills of some celebrities have been quite unexpected, the most recent being Kirk Douglas, who donated his entire £61million fortune to charity.
Celebrities live differently than we do because of their fame and fortune. Living in the spotlight can lead famous people to make unusual choices, and that includes what they choose to put in their wills. Whether it’s leaving large sums of money to your pets, asking you to donate everything and leaving nothing to your heirs, or revealing a secret job no one knew about, these are the strangest and most mysterious things to be found in celebrity wills. From multi-million dollar chimpanzees to ashes in the Pringles Bank, some of these details found in celebrity wills are downright bizarre.
We don’t necessarily know how the children of these celebrities feel about the situation, but isolated families don’t always take it. A deceased’s will in Illinois can leave a mess, leading to disputes between families. The wills of some famous people have caused great distress in the family. The wills of some celebrities have been quite unexpected, the most recent being Kirk Douglas, who donated his entire £61million fortune to charity.
When celebrities leave property in the millions (or even billions), we expect those wills to follow a similar pattern. But, unfortunately, the reality is that it is possible, and in most cases it will be if you die unexpectedly without a will. If there’s one thing a famous celebrity wants to reveal, it’s that estate planning (whether you’re worth $100 million or $1 billion) is not a topic to be taken lightly. If you’re worried about who gets your property after your death, you should consider making a will.
It does not matter if you verbally express your desire to leave everything you have to your spouse and children, because without a professionally drafted will, the transfer of your property will go to court. Making a will in advance will not only save your family the pain of arguing over your property after you die (and possibly pay thousands of dollars in legal fees), it will also allow you to completely dictate the future of your estate. The very few cases we reviewed above show how important it is to write a will, no matter how rich and famous you are. Also, your will may not get the same attention as some world-famous celebrities when it is filed in a local court.
When Prince died in 2016 at the age of 57, he left no will and no more than $200 million worth of property. While family squabbles over celebrity wills are not uncommon, the case of the prince is less common because she left absolutely nothing in the form of a will or how she wanted her assets to be distributed among her many heirs. After months of court drama, a Minnesota probate judge who oversees the Princes’ defunct estate said in May 2017 that Prince did indeed die intestate and that his sister, Tika Nelson, and five half-siblings are heirs of many millions of dollars, now that he is gone.
Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide said that several potential heirs of the Princes estate whose claims to the estate were denied have filed appeals and nothing will be distributed that could adversely affect the claims of those who filed an appeal.
A complaint was made about the ownership of the children by Morrison’s parents, who argued that Morrison’s will was invalid and that the civil marriage between Morrison and Courson was illegal. Even though her will was very clear about her wishes, her family members started a dispute about how to distribute the property. However, he left a will and most of his remaining fortune went to his family.
