Famous Wills
We have included some Famous Wills here because I believe they provide us with insight into our own history and the lives of these rich and famous people. These Famous Wills also provide us with a better understanding about the types of Wills that people have created over the years, and most importantly, the mistakes which The Levin Law Firm can help you and your family to avoid. Links below will take you to the related article at http://www.livingtrustnetwork.com and will open in a new window.
The former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court left this 176-word Will. As you can see, the Will said nothing
about taxes, nor did it give any specified powers to his executors. It is speculated that his failure to elaborate his wishes cost his estate thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Warren Burger. [Famous Wills 01]
Princess Diana died in a tragic automobile accident in France at the age of 37. Her Will distributed her estate to her two children, with specific bequests to her former butler. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Princess Diana. [Famous Wills 02]
The “Yankee Clipper” left a fairly sophisticated Will and one that included state-of-the-art language for many of its provisions. In addition, it makes gifts in trust to a number of beneficiaries, including a number of great-grandchildren,but
he left no property to his son, who he was estranged from for most of his life. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s
biography of Joe DiMaggio. [Famous Wills 03]
Walt Disney left ½ of his wealth to his family and the other ½ to a charitable foundation for the arts. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Walt Disney. [Famous Wills 04]
Doris Duke was a tobacco heiress and a philanthropist who left a $1.2 billion estate upon her death in 1993. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Doris Duke and theage.com.au’s article entitled “For sale: a million-dollar
baby’s baubles.” [Famous Wills 05]
Ben Franklin’s Will (dated July 17, 1788) and codicil (dated June 23, 1789) are wordy and typical of his work in those days. Both provide an interesting view of life in the 1700s, particularly the use of the English language. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Ben Franklin. [Famous Wills 06]
Clark Gable is best known for his role as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. His Will, which he signed on September 19, 1955, distributed all his property to his former wife, Josephine Dillon and his current wife, Kathleen G. Gable. He died on November 16, 1960 in Los Angeles, California. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Clark Gable. [Famous Wills 07]
The leader of the Grateful Dead died on August 9, 1995. His estate is still open over twelve years after his death.
His Will bequeathed personal items, including his guitars, to his family and friends. For more information, please
see Wikipedia’s biography of Jerry Garcia.[Famous Wills 08]
Harry Helmsley was a real estate mogul whose ownership interests, at one time, included the Empire State Building in New York City. Mr. Helmsley died on January 4, 1997, leaving an estate valued at over $1.7 billion. His Will left the bulk of his property to his wife, Leona Helmsley, who was also named as executrix of his will. For more information, please see
Wikipedia’s biography of Harry Helmsley. [Famous Wills 09]
This is a PDF of “The King of Pop”‘s last Will and Testament.
“Shoeless Joe” Jackson (1888 – 1951)
“Shoeless Joe” Jackson was one of the greatest-hitting major league baseball players of his time. He was one of eight players banned from baseball for life for his alleged involvement in the Black Sox scandal. For more information about “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, please see Wikipedia’s biography of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson. [Famous Wills 10]
Henry Fonda was a higly-acclaimed, Academy-Award winning actor, whose career spanned nearly six decades. For more
information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Henry Fonda. [Famous Wills 11]
This is a very interesting Will, not only because it is John F. Kennedy’s Will, but because it contains most of the types of provisions one would expect to find in a modern Will. First, it makes specific bequests of tangible personal property and devised real estate to various individuals. Second, the residue (remainder) of his estate is “poured-over” to a revocable living trust established by John F. Kennedy, prior to his death. Third, it included a provision for the appointment of a guardian for his minor children. This is a classic example of a “pour-over” Will. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of John F. Kennedy. [Famous Wills 12]
John F. Kennedy, Jr. (1960 – 1999)
John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife, Caroline Bessette-Kennedy, died in a plane crash in July of 1999. Since Caroline did
not survive him and he had no surviving children, his Will gave his property to the children of his sister, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, and a trust he established in 1983. His estate is estimated to be worth around a $100 million.
For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of John F. Kennedy, Jr. [Famous Wills 13]
John Lennon left almost all of his estate to his wife, Yoko Ono. It is interesting to note, however, that he, too, created a revocable living trust during his lifetime and his Will “pours-over” the bulk of his probate estate to his living trust. In John Lennon’s case, as with John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley, and others, the use of a living trust has kept the bulk of their estate plan totally secret from the world. While the Will is a public document (which is why it can be posted on our site), their living trusts are not. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of John Lennon. [Famous Wills 14]
Among other reasons, Linda McCartney’s Will is interesting because she uses testamentary trusts to virtually eliminate federal estate taxes, at least while her husband, Paul McCartney, is alive. Since Paul McCartney is not a U.S. citizen, Linda
McCartney’s Will created a Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) for him. A QDOT trust is one that allows for the unlimited marital deduction, even though the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen. Linda McCartney’s Will recites the various requirments for a QDOT under federal estate tax laws. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Linda McCartney. [Famous Wills 15]
Marilyn Monroe committed suicide in 1962. Her Will leaves most of her estate to her family and friends. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Marilyn Monroe. [Famous Wills 16]
President Nixon’s Will is extremely detailed and precise as to the disposition of his property, including his papers and other “work product” of his presidency. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Richard Nixon [Famous Wills 17]
Jacqueline Onassis (1929 – 1994)
Jackie Onassis’ Will makes reference to many personal artifacts collected from her husband, John F. Kennedy, and her years in the White House. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Jackie Onassis. [Famous Wills 18]
Upon his death in 1996, David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, left the majority of his $6.6 billion estate to THE DAVID AND LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION, which he created under his Will. As a result of his testamentary bequest, THE DAVID AND LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION is one of the wealthiest charities in the world. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of David Packard. [Famous Wills 19]
Elvis Presley died with a considerable fortune, which he left to his family. His Will is particularly interesting because he makes use of testamentary trusts to provide for his family long after his demise. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Elvis Presley. [Famous Wills 20]
Babe Ruth was known as the “Sultan of Swat.” His Will is interesting because it references a living trust that he established during his lifetime and because it gifted certain property to the Babe Ruth Foundation, which he established. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Babe Ruth. [Famous Wills 21]
Affectionately known as “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and the “Chairman of the Board,” Frank Sinatra’s Will is interesting simply because it’s Frank Sinatra’s Will. While the Will gives us a great deal of information about how Ol’ Blue Eyes disposed of a portion of his property, please note that the largest bequests under his Will were to various trusts that he established during his lifetime. Since these trusts are not public documents, there is no way to know what those trusts provide and who are the beneficiaries. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Frank Sinatra. [Famous Wills 22]
Anna Nicole Smith (1967 – 2007)
Vickie Lynn Marshall is better known under the stage name of Anna Nicole Smith. Her death on Februay 8, 2007 has resulted in a firestorm of controversy over, first, her buriel place, second, the custody of her daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, born September 7, 2006, and, third, the beneficiaries of her estate, which is believed to include a potential inheritance from her deceased husband, J. Howard Marshall, in the neighborhood of $450 million. The Will of Anna Nicole Smith, which was signed on July 30, 2001, leaves her entire estate to Howard Stern, Esq., to be held in trust for the benefit of her son, Daniel Wayne Smith. Unfortunately, her son predeceased her and her Will makes no provision for other heirs. For example, the Will specifically disinherits her spouse (she was not married) and other heirs, including
future spouses and children. In addition to a lack of clearly determined beneficiaries, her Will was badly written and
sure to result in years of litigation, that may consume a significant portion of her estate. While we have reproduced her Will here, so as to provide greater readibility, you may also view the faxed photocopy of Anna Nicole Smith’s Will that is available. For more information, please see Wikipedia’s biography of Anna Nicole Smith. [Famous Wills 23]
George Washington (1732 – 1799)
George Washington’s Will is of particular interest, not only because he was the first president of the United States,
but because it contains detailed instructions for the disposition of his real and personal property. For more information,
please see Wikipedia’s biography of George Washington. [Famous Wills 24]
