The Wills of famous celebrities can teach us some valuable lessons about what NOT to do….
… because our last posts Weird Probate Issues and More Weird Probate issues were so popular, we have decided to create an entire series …
The Bottom Line – Some people are determined to have their final say in their strange Last Wills and Testaments. Have a smile at their attempts to ‘rule from beyond the grave’.
… because our last posts Weird Probate Issues and More Weird Probate issues were so popular, we have decided to create an entire series …
1. Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid Newkirk is the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the organization that tries to keep humans from eating, wearing or being mean to animals. When Newkirk passes on, she instructs that her corpse be given over to PETA, and then things get weird.
Famous Last Words – Some people try to tell you that “you can’t take it with you,” but that doesn’t mean you have to go quietly into the night. A vital part of pre-death planning is composing a Last Will and Testament that clearly lays out who gets your stuff and your money. But some people also use them as a final “screw you” to the world. These people were determined to have their final say, with their strange Last Wills and Testaments.
… because our last posts Weird Probate Issues and More Weird Probate issues were so popular, we have decided to create an entire series …
Dementia deaths in Australia have steadily increased over recent years. In 2013, dementia became Australia’s second leading cause of death, overtaking cerebrovascular diseases (strokes) for the first time.
In 2014 and 2015 the number of dementia deaths have continued to rise.
Ischaemic heart disease has been the leading cause of death in Australia since early in the 20th century, but while the rate of death from heart disease was at its worst around 1970, it has steadily declined since then.
Dementia is not one specific disease. There are many types, including Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia, which are each collections of symptoms caused by disorders affecting the brain, with severe effects on thinking, behaviour and quality of life. These diseases add greatly to the burden of illness and injury in the Australian community.
Making a Will is a serious business, right? It details how you wish your estate to be distributed, who benefits and by how much.
… because our last post Weird Probate Issues was so popular, here we go again …
But we can still chuckle at the efforts of other people when they outrageously stuff-up their own estate plans. (We’ll suppress our schadenfreude with the thought that this is all educational. ‘Schadenfreude’ is the German term for the guilty pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune.)
Blended families include children form previous relationships (step-children). They are growing quickly in number, but many people do not stop and think about the implications on children from previous relationships if they die without a Will. It is a dangerous assumption that the law will automatically protect your biological and step children, as numerous scenarios can preclude or reduce the amount that they receive after you die if you do not seek the counsel of an experienced Wills lawyer in Adelaide.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will?
South Australian law provides that, depending on the size of your estate, your children from previous relationships may receive nothing if you die intestate. For estates valued at less than $100,000, the entire estate goes to the surviving spouse or domestic partner unless a valid Will is in place. For larger estates, your spouse is entitled to the first $100,000, your personal belongings and half of the estate’s balance. Without litigation, at best your children will receive equal shares of the remaining balance (if any).
