Post by Rhonda on Nov 27, 2007 5:34:13 GMT -5
Bizarre Wills
Ms. Eleanor Ritchey, the unmarried granddaughter of the
founder of Quaker State Oil, died in 1968 with an estate
worth around $12 million. According to Scott Bieber in
Trusts and Estates magazine: "Under her will, she left over
1,700 pairs of shoes and 1,200 boxes of stationery to the
Salvation Army. The rest of the estate went to the dogs."
Real dogs, he means - a pack of 150 strays that Ritchey
had adopted as pets.
When American patriot Patrick Henry died, everything he
owned was left to his wife - as long as she never married
again. If she did, he forfeited the whole thing. "It would
make me unhappy," he explained, "to feel I have worked all
my life only to support another man's wife!" She remarried
anyway.
Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, tried to
leave his birthday. He willed it to a good friend who'd
complained that since she was born on Christmas, she never
got to have a real birthday celebration.
An attorney in France left $10,000 to "a local madhouse."
The gentleman declared that "it was simply an act of
restitution to his clients."
An Australian named Francis R. Lord left one shilling to
his wife "for tram fare so she can go somewhere and drown
herself." The inheritance was never claimed.
Sandra West, a wealthy 37-year-old Beverly Hills socialite,
left most of her $3 million estate to her brother -
provided he made sure she was buried "in my lace nightgown
and my Ferrari, with the seat slanted comfortably." That's
how she was buried. The Ferrari was surrounded with
concrete so no one would be tempted to dig it up and drive
away.
A woman in Cherokee County, North Carolina left her entire
estate to God. The court instructed the county sheriff to
find the beneficiary. A few days later, the sheriff
returned and submitted his report: "After due and diligent
search, God cannot be found in this county."
Edgar Bergen, famed ventriloquist, left $10,000 to the
Actor's Fund of America - so they could take care of his
dummy, Charlie McCarthy, and put him in a show once a year.
They went along with it.
Ms. Eleanor Ritchey, the unmarried granddaughter of the
founder of Quaker State Oil, died in 1968 with an estate
worth around $12 million. According to Scott Bieber in
Trusts and Estates magazine: "Under her will, she left over
1,700 pairs of shoes and 1,200 boxes of stationery to the
Salvation Army. The rest of the estate went to the dogs."
Real dogs, he means - a pack of 150 strays that Ritchey
had adopted as pets.
When American patriot Patrick Henry died, everything he
owned was left to his wife - as long as she never married
again. If she did, he forfeited the whole thing. "It would
make me unhappy," he explained, "to feel I have worked all
my life only to support another man's wife!" She remarried
anyway.
Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, tried to
leave his birthday. He willed it to a good friend who'd
complained that since she was born on Christmas, she never
got to have a real birthday celebration.
An attorney in France left $10,000 to "a local madhouse."
The gentleman declared that "it was simply an act of
restitution to his clients."
An Australian named Francis R. Lord left one shilling to
his wife "for tram fare so she can go somewhere and drown
herself." The inheritance was never claimed.
Sandra West, a wealthy 37-year-old Beverly Hills socialite,
left most of her $3 million estate to her brother -
provided he made sure she was buried "in my lace nightgown
and my Ferrari, with the seat slanted comfortably." That's
how she was buried. The Ferrari was surrounded with
concrete so no one would be tempted to dig it up and drive
away.
A woman in Cherokee County, North Carolina left her entire
estate to God. The court instructed the county sheriff to
find the beneficiary. A few days later, the sheriff
returned and submitted his report: "After due and diligent
search, God cannot be found in this county."
Edgar Bergen, famed ventriloquist, left $10,000 to the
Actor's Fund of America - so they could take care of his
dummy, Charlie McCarthy, and put him in a show once a year.
They went along with it.