Ten Bizarre Will Requests
1. Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926. Prior to his death, Houdini became infatuated with the afterlife and made plans with his wife, Bess, to visit her after his death. To ensure regular opportunities to visit his wife from the grave, Houdini’s will stated that his wife should hold a séance every year on the anniversary of his death.
2. The will of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry contained a request that his ashes be taken into and scattered throughout space by a satellite. In 1977, his request was carried out.
3. Charles Vance Miller, a Toronto attorney, passed away in 1926. In life, Miller was known as a practical jokester, and he “lived” up to his reputation even in death. Miller’s will promised a large sum of money to any woman in Toronto who could produce the most children in the ten years after his death. The four winners of the “Great Stork Derby” produced nine children each and each received around $125,000.
4. Leona Helmsley, a real estate investor and hotel owner (better known as the “Queen of Mean”), left instructions in her will for the establishment of a $12 million trust for her Maltese dog. In contrast, she left her two grandsons only $5 million each with the stipulation that they make yearly visits to their father’s gravesite.
5. Heiress Eleanor Ritchey’s will left $14 million to 150 stray dogs. Following the death of the last dog, the remaining funds went to the Auburn University Research Foundation where the money was to aid in the research of canine disease.
6. Thomas Shewbridge, a California prune rancher, made his two dogs the owners of his 29,000 stock shares in the local electric company following his death. Both dogs attended the board of directors’ and stockholders’ meetings regulary.
7. Nina Wang, an Asian woman who was dubbed the richest woman in Asia, left her $12.8 billion estate to a charity she and her late husband founded in 1988. After her death, her lover, Tony Chan, disputed Wang’s will. Chan, a married man and a fortune teller, was later accused of creating a fake will in his attempt to get his hands on Wang’s money.
8.The will of Dusty Springfield, a British singer, instructed that her cat be serenaded by Springfield’s songs, fed imported baby food, and marry the cat of his new guardian.
9. Doris Duke, the daughter of the founder of the American Tobacco Company and Duke University, created a $100 million trust for her dogs through her will. For four years, the matter was disputed in court. In the end, the judge awarded the two former servants who had been caring for the dogs $20,000.
10. Mark Gruenwald, Executive Editor of Captain America and Iron Man, requested that his ashes be mixed with the ink used to create the Marvel Comics. His request was carried out following his death.
See 10 Strange Will and Testaments, Forbes, Apr. 12, 2011.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this article to my attention.