People Reveal the Craziest Wills They Ever Saw
People have included a wide range of unexpected things in their wills that are only disclosed to their family members after their passing, from disowning a child to surreptitiously leaving everything to a stranger. This final act has frequently been utilized by people as a means of exacting revenge on their loved ones.
As people get older, many of them start to consider what will happen to their loved ones when they pass away. The realization that there isn’t much they can do to help them prompts them to consider drafting a will. What would happen to their possessions and assets once they pass away is determined in the final contract.
A will is often written by someone who is well and in good health, although some people create their will when they receive a terminal diagnosis. Some write something unexpected that surprises their family, while some divide their assets into pieces and leave them for their loved ones.
Some of the strangest and most absurd things that people have written in their wills were published by Reddit users. Many of their relatives were unaware of what was about to happen to them.
Grammar and clarity have been improved in the comments.
- The Unexpected Trust Fund
Scarlett Pimpernel, u/ I’m a licensed attorney. A woman wished to set up a £100,000 trust fund for her pet fish. She confirmed that it was just a regular goldfish when I questioned if it was a specific kind of fish.
After her death, she wanted it to be cared for by a neighborhood dog walker and fed fresh avocado every day. She meant business.
- Nobody Is Aware of Her
u/scarlett_pimpernel: Another woman acknowledged having a secret daughter and wished to conceal from the rest of her family the presence of the daughter’s assets, including money and pictures. Not even her spouse is aware of it. When she’s gone, that will be a great talk.
- The Fortunate One
u/mommy5dearest: A little older woman who worked at the attorney’s office where I worked gave her house and possessions to a bus driver.
Because he was kind to her and would support her, she did it. When her family found out, we were all waiting for hell to break out.
Her family is able to dispute it. I saw the signing take place. As far as we could determine, she wasn’t experiencing mental health issues because she appeared fine and knew the answers to the questions.
- The Fascinating Section
u/WanderCold: Because of the health insurance I had at work, I was required to prepare a will while I was in my early twenties. After talking it over with the in-house attorney, I was able to get this particular condition incorporated to my will.
The phrase said, “My funeral wishes are that I should 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 how my ashes would be strewn in a particular location if this is too expensive.
- Remember My Horse!
u/gabberrella24: I am employed in the probate field. The most bizarre will I’ve ever seen calls for the deceased to put their pet horse to sleep, have it cremated, and scatter its ashes alongside them.
She named a horse that was already dead when she died, which was fortunate for her horse because the one she acquired later survived to see another farm.
- An Odd List of Wills
u/PirateRobotNinjaofDe: Many people leave money for friends and relatives to go and disperse their ashes worldwide, or they send them on strange errands.
Pet trusts are entertaining. Many leave large sums of money in a trust to be used for their pets’ lifetime care.
My all-time favorite, though, which I certainly did not draft, included a lawyer who bequeathed the majority of his inheritance (millions of dollars in today’s currency) to the Toronto-area woman who, at a later date, had the greatest number of children. The winner, I seem to remember, had ten.
- The Wish of My Grandfather
u/snoboreddotcom: My grandmother gave me a navy-blue tie with pink elephants on it a few hours after my grandfather passed away.
It was ridiculous-looking, but she claimed he wore it to scare business associates since someone who would wear a tie that ridiculously disregards the opinions of others. People are afraid of that. So that I might follow suit, he wanted me to have it.
- Distinct Desires
u/A Paler Shade of Purple: I assist a wills lawyer at work. One of our clients’ adult sons received his portion when he went to the dentist, and her other son received it if he shed seventy pounds. This was included in the client’s will.
An additional woman specified in her will that she wanted her cats cremated alongside her upon her passing. We assured her it wouldn’t occur because animal and human remains aren’t incinerated together. She ultimately decided to have them both cremated individually, joined, and buried together.
- The Extended Will
u/A Paler Shade of Purple: A typical person’s will is ten pages lengthy, however there was a woman who wrote 56 pages.
She told people EVERYTHING about her home. She typed, “Magazine basket to , toilet paper holder to , wooden ladle to __,” for instance. She took this approach with every single thing in her home.
- Her desire was to be with her spouse.
u/A Paler Shade of Purple: One woman advised us to include in her will the request to be buried alongside her spouse on her land. Her home was a modest rural homestead.
The interment of human remains there is strictly forbidden. She stated that she did not want to be cremated and would not tell us if her husband had been cremated or not.
Edit: Five or six years ago, her husband had passed away. Therefore, it’s not as if such topics were somewhat disregarded fifty years ago.
- A Few Reputable Individuals
u/A Paler Shade of Purple: A man who was buried that day specified in his will that his family would visit the zoo right away. We found that to be incredibly touching.
In addition, we work with a large number of members of a specific religion. At least 90% of the estates of many of the persons for whom we draft wills go to the church rather than their relatives.
- The Actor Who Replicates Elvis
u/whatshisfaceboy: I don’t practice law, but I have this uncle who is wealthy. When we were young, he would come see us perhaps once every ten years. He took us to a Denny’s the previous time he did that.
He had no friends when he passed away. In addition, he was the reason for his wife’s drug-related death. An Elvis impersonator received his entire estate from him. Everything.
- The Sole Recipient
u/AnotherIntoxicatedCanadian I was employed in the estate department of a bank once. As an administrator, it was my responsibility to oversee the files, including any encroachment on capital, such as “Please take some money out now.”
I owned a multimillion dollar trust with just one beneficiary, the deceased man’s son. Before I found out the youngster was responsible for his parents’ deaths and had claimed insanity, everything about the story appeared to be in order.
Every year, while incarcerated, he would phone the bank and ask for $50 to be sent to the commissary to buy gum and chips.
The calls were always weird. Although the call seemed to be coming from a distant location, he was quite courteous.
- They Were Seeking Retribution
u/Dr_BrOneil: I dealt with a case last week where the parents bequeathed millions of dollars to numerous charity and millions of artwork to different individuals. As retaliation, their children ended up with the household cats.
It came out that they did it because the children had given them the cats as a way to ease their parents’ aging. The kids wouldn’t allow their parents get rid of the cats, even though they detested them.
15.He desired to provide them with something.
u/gaurddog: Following two unsuccessful attempts to seize his land for the construction of a new water treatment plant, my great uncle’s official will stipulated that the contents of his outhouse would be given to the City Council of a nearby town.
He wanted to give them something back after fighting eminent domain claims for several years. His children joked that they would package up every book and magazine in the outhouse and deliver them to City Hall.
- The Man Had No Idea
u/[deleted]: While I work for a UK company that specializes in wills and trusts, I am not a lawyer. I am now pursuing my TEP.
Recently, one of our previous clients passed away. It turns out that the man she bequeathed practically everything to—including a sizeable portion of her estate—was her frequent taxi driver.
He was to serve as her executor as well. He was clueless. Understandably shocked, the woman who had been a close friend for many years and listed as her principal beneficiary and executor in her previous two wills challenged the will.
We complied with her solicitor’s request under Larke v. Nugus, notified Mr. Taxi Driver (who was unaware that our client had died away), and the will was maintained.
If my memory serves me correctly, the acquaintance who was mentioned above received a legacy of £5,000, but she was obviously out of sorts.
Bonus observation: Families are not likely to turn against one another when far less than £ 5,000 is at stake. It can get really nasty. In the brief time I’ve spent in this industry, this is among the most shocking things I’ve discovered.
- Mysterious Prosperity
Deleted user: Well, my grandma, God bless her, spent years living in this dilapidated trailer. You wouldn’t realize my spouse was dirt poor from the way he behaved.
He was waiting for her to go, like a cat on a hot tin roof. He had this crazy idea that when granny passed away, he would inherit a ticket to Easy Street and that she was sitting on a hidden treasure. Cut to the day of Will’s reading.
My spouse is encouraging me, “Sugar, put on a smile, we’re about to be rolling in dough,” as he almost rubs his hands together. When we arrive, the attorney is all business, inquiring as to “Who is the ‘husband’ there?” My partner approaches: “That’s me. Is something wrong?
My jaw then fell on the ground. The Attorney: Absolutely not…According to her final will and testament, grandmother possesses a secret wealth. The husband will only inherit it, though, if he satisfies three requirements. If not, the whole estate is donated to the nearby animal sanctuary.”
He must first survive in her ancient trailer for a year without any modern amenities or outside assistance. Second, for the next two years, he must volunteer at the animal shelter every weekend.
Lastly, he has to compose a personal essay that will be read aloud at the shelter’s yearly fundraiser about the importance of kindness and humility.
My husband’s expression changed from avaricious expectation to complete shock. Grandma had a great talent for imparting wisdom from the afterlife!
These Redditor stories demonstrate how joining someone’s will may either improve or permanently ruin your life. If someone chooses to include them in their will, it only takes a few words to make a huge difference in someone’s life. What is the most weird thing you have ever heard of or read about in a will? We would be thrilled to hear about it.
