Yahoo Lifestyle Lawyers Are Sharing The Absolutely Wild Things People Have Actually Put In Their Wills, And I'm Speechless
People can leave behind some pretty *interesting* things, even after death. Reddit user sour_patch_kid__ asked, "Lawyers who put together wills, what is the craziest/oddest thing someone wanted to put in theirs?" Here are the wildest responses people shared:
1."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 to join her."
2."I'm in my early 20s and was forced to write a will due to the health insurance I get at work. Amongst sensible stuff, the in-house lawyer said it was totally OK to add this clause: 'My funeral wishes are that I will 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 too costly, I'd be cremated and have my ashes scattered in a specific place."
3."My great-grandmother left most of her money to a local donkey sanctuary."
4."I'm not a lawyer, but my grandpa put a chocolate bar for every one of his grandkids in his will. I have 12 cousins, and it's tough to track down where a couple of them went. All these estates and money he had in his will were at a standstill for months because they couldn't find a couple of my cousins. We had to show the court the effort we put to hire someone to track them down, etc. The lawyer helping execute the will was blown away this other lawyer allowed this, and why he would highly suggest not to do it. But I'm not complaining because I got a Toblerone out of the deal!"
5."Just last week I handled a matter where parents left millions in artwork to various people and wads of cash to charities. They only left their kids the family cats. They did it because the kids got the cats to comfort the parents in their old age. They hated the cats but the kids wouldn't let them get rid of them."
6."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 the books and who would get what based on her choosing. So, 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 the law partner, her list is about 2,000 books to be divided among about 30 people. She is very specific and comes back at least once a year to add all the new books she's gotten."
7."I'm not a lawyer, but I work at a law firm. One client left $100k to his two cats so they could maintain their current lifestyle."
8."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."
9."My vindictive grandmother left my aunt $20 as a reminder of the $20 my aunt stole from her once."
10."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."
11."A Furby collection from models collected in the late '90s. They were convinced they would retain future value. This was 2011."
12."I'm not a lawyer, but my mom put in her will that if she dies under suspicious circumstances, my sister and I won't be left anything. She watches a lot of true crime."
13."My grandma left a penny and a nasty comment to almost every person in the will, all of her sons and daughters, even a few grandchildren, except for me. I got $1k. Thanks, grandma."
14."Client wanted her ashes spread at the restaurant on the beach where she met her husband."
15."I work in probate. The oddest thing I've seen in a will is to euthanize their beloved horse, have it cremated, and its ashes scattered with the decedent. Lucky for her horse, she named a horse that was already dead, so the one she got afterward lived to see another farm."
16."I'm not a lawyer, but an aging woman my family knew left her large house in a very affluent neighborhood and estate to family friends for so long as her cats were alive and cared for in the 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."
17."Not a will, but a deed. The city I work for was renovating a small park donated to the city in the 1910s. We looked through the handwritten deed for easements or other restrictions. We 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."
18."Lots of people send their friends and family on trips around the world to spread their ashes. Pet trusts are a fun one: leaving a whole whack of money in a trust to be used for the care of a pet during their life. However, my favorite ever (that I 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."
19."Lawyer here. I wrote in my own will that I wish to be cremated and my funeral shall take place three miles offshore. My ashes are to be placed in a small wooden boat. Members of my funeral party will then compete for a $10k prize from my estate by shooting flaming arrows at my remains. Crossbows are prohibited."
20."I got some rock my grandpa really liked."
21."I'm the executor of my grandmother's will. I get the house and everything in it, and a share of life insurance split between myself, my sister, and my mom. My mom has always said that all my dad (my grandmother's son-in-law) would want is a table. A whole paragraph in the will states how my dad gets nothing. He doesn't lay a finger on anything in the house or any money. How my dad is worthless, deserves nothing, how he was a crap dad, and that she begrudgingly has my mom in the will. Thanks, grandma. I'll appreciate the awkwardness."
22."I am a qualified solicitor, my favorite two are: A lady wanted to create a trust fund of £100k 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 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."
23."I'm not a lawyer, but my grandfather saved his kidney stone so that he could leave it to my cousin. They never really got along."
24."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. 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."
25."My friend's mother had in her will that her cat gets to live in her house alone until it expires. The cat lived there for a few years alone with a caregiver checking on it. Yes, she was rich."
26."My grandfather passed a few hours ago, but my grandmother came to me after with a navy blue tie featuring pink elephants. She said 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."
27."My grandmother was drafting her will about 15 years ago and requested that when she dies, her cat is to be put to sleep and buried with her. My sister was 12 and asked her, 'So if the cat dies first, should we put you to sleep to bury with the cat?'"
28.And finally, "A good clause is always 'for reasons known to them' which is will speak for 'you've gone and f--ked up, asshole. 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.'"
What's the wildest thing you've ever seen on someone's will? Share your story in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
