Reclusive Man Leaves His Estate To Actors He Never Met

Ray Fulk of Illinois had no friends or family left at the time that he died and so when it came time to write his will he decided to leave $5,000 to his favorite charity and the remainder to his two favorite actors. In the end, he left $1,000,000 to Kevin Brophy and Peter Barton. Fulk was a reclusive who lived on a farm. He was so isolated that he would often bathe in a creek when he had no water during the winter. He was not married and had no children or other close relatives. Based upon Illinois intestacy law, Fulk’s estate would have likely gone to relatives that he did not know. Fulk wanted to ensure that that would not happen so he wrote a will “leaving $5,000 to the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago and the rest to these two strangers, whom he called ‘my friends.'”

See Stephanie Moll and Alan Singer, Recluse Leaves Estate To Actors, Bryan Cave: Live, Death and Taxes, Feb. 21, 2013.