Your will is your opportunity to leave a lasting legacy, ensuring that your wishes are honoured, and your loved ones are provided for after you’re gone.
However, not everyone uses this opportunity in conventional ways.
From childbirth competitions to unexpected gifts to strangers, history is filled with peculiar examples of wills from eccentric individuals. Their final wishes not only illustrate the unique ways people want to be remembered, but also highlight the importance of drafting and regularly updating your will.
Read on to discover five strange will requests and what they reveal about the importance of estate planning.
1. William Shakespeare left his wife his “second-best” bed
William Shakespeare signed his last will and testament just a month before he died. In it, he famously bequeathed his wife, Anne Hathaway, his “second-best” bed.
Beds were valuable at the time, with many less fortunate people sleeping on piles of straw laid on the floor, so leaving a bed to a loved one wasn’t unusual. But the fact that Shakespeare left his second-best bed to his wife has bemused historians for centuries. It has even been the subject of poems and fanciful fiction imagining what lay behind his decision.
We can only hope and assume that Anne Hathaway and Shakespeare knew the sentimental value of their second-best bed and that, unless it was a bitter act, they understood its significance, even if no one else did.
If Anne Hathaway anticipated receiving the best bed, she would have been left disappointed. However, if she had known in advance what Shakespeare had actually left her and the reasons behind it, it might have brought her greater satisfaction and peace of mind.
So, Shakespeare’s odd decision speaks to the importance of discussing your will with your beneficiaries to manage their expectations.
2. Charles Vance Millar and the importance of guardianship
Charles Vance Millar was a wealthy Canadian man who had no children of his own and no other immediate heirs.
So, with an estate worth over $10 million in today’s money, Millar requested that his fortune be given to the Toronto mother who had “birthed the greatest number of children” in the decade following his death. He did so as he thought that this woman would be the one who would most need his wealth, having so many children to care for.
However, word of his will got out and led to what the local press dubbed the “Stork Derby”, as multiple families vied to earn the estate. Sadly, it reached the point where more than two dozen families had eight babies in ten years, many of whom could not afford to look after so many children.
Eventually, six families were awarded shares of Millar’s estate, with a few more receiving small settlements.
Millar had wanted his money to support a mother and their children after his death, but he likely caused more insecurity and hardship than he helped.
As you consider how your estate will be divided, remember that you can also use your will to specify the future guardianship of your children and provide clear, practical support for those you leave behind. But try to be more specific than Millar, otherwise there could be very strange consequences!
3. Keith Owen’s charitable donation
Millionaire Keith Owen decided to leave the entirety of his £2.5 million fortune to his favourite place in the world, Sidmouth in Devon.
Owen donated his estate to the Sid Vale Association charity, requesting that a portion be spent on no fewer than 1 million flowers to keep the town bright and colourful. He further specified that the interest on his remaining capital – about £125,000 a year – be used to maintain the town and two nearby villages.
Charitable donations from wills are not liable for Inheritance Tax (IHT), so the Sid Vale Association is able to use the full value of Owen’s estate.
Moreover, if you give at least 10% of your taxable estate to charity, the IHT rate for the rest of your estate drops from 40% to 36%.
So, while Keith Owen may have gone a few steps further than most with his offering, his act of generosity reveals the value of making charitable donations in your will.
4. Luis Carlos, Inheritance Tax, and ensuring your estate goes to who you want
Luis Carlos was a wealthy but lonely Portuguese aristocrat, with few friends and no family of his own. He was determined that nothing he owned should go to the Portuguese state, which he loathed for making him pay taxes.
So, instead of dying intestate and leaving his worldly goods to the taxman, Luis Carlos randomly selected 70 strangers from the Lisbon phonebook to inherit his wealth. Many of his beneficiaries thought they were part of some cruel joke, but after much persuading, they realised they had been given considerable sums of money from a complete stranger.
This unusual decision underscores the importance of drafting and regularly updating your will to ensure your chosen beneficiaries inherit your estate. Of course, Luis Carlos wanted it to go to people he didn’t know, but you may feel differently.
The story also illustrates the lengths to which some individuals will go to avoid their estate being taxed. Again, Luis Carlos undoubtedly went to the extreme, but there are several perfectly normal steps you can take to ensure your IHT bill is limited and your beneficiaries are best supported.
5. Jimi Hendrix and the value of making a will early
In 1970, Jimi Hendrix joined the infamous “27 Club” when he died in a London hotel.
In his short life, the guitar legend had accrued an estate worth an estimated $80 million, but given his young age, he never made a will.
The battle over his estate pitted his family against one another, until 25 years after his death, his father sued for the right to his son’s music.
While this does not fall into the category of strange will requests, it highlights the importance of making a will – no matter how strange – at any age, to ensure your wishes are met and your beneficiaries looked after.
Get in touch
Whether you’re looking to draft a straightforward will with standard provisions or explore something a bit more unconventional, we can help.
Email us at hello@vwmwealth.com or call us on 0141 229 4004.
Please note
This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning, tax planning or will writing.
