last will and testament

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Aretha Franklin's Sons Battle Over Handwritten Wills

The Queen of Soul passed away 5 years ago

(Newser) - Five years after her death, the final wishes of music superstar Aretha Franklin are still unsettled. As the AP reports, an unusual trial begins next Monday to determine which of two handwritten wills, including one found in couch cushions, will guide how her estate is handled. The Queen of Soul,...

New Twist in Murdaugh Murders Involves Wife's Will
Murdaugh's Wife Left a Will
Behind, but With One 'Oddity'
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Jan 2, 2022 8:00 AM CST

Murdaugh's Wife Left a Will Behind, but With One 'Oddity'

Someone had crossed off name of Maggie Murdaugh's sister as estate handler on 2005 doc

(Newser) - The strange saga swirling around South Carolina's Murdaugh family continues, now involving the supposed final wishes of the late Maggie Murdaugh. NBC News reports the 52-year-old, found shot to death in June in her rural Islandton home along with 22-year-old son Paul Murdaugh, left behind a last will and...

Judge: Prince Philip's Will to Be Kept Under Wraps for 90 Years

Even then, it may not see the light of day

(Newser) - If you've been dying to know who's going to get Prince Philip's hunting apparel, 13,000 books , and autographed pictures of himself, you'll be waiting till around the year 2111. Andrew McFarlane, a judge at London's High Court, has ruled that the will of the...

Epstein May Have Gamed the System From Beyond the Grave

The alleged rapist put over $570M in a trust fund

(Newser) - The will that Jeffrey Epstein signed just two days before his jailhouse suicide puts more than $577 million in assets into a trust fund that could make it more difficult for his dozens of accusers to collect damages, the AP reports. Estate lawyers and other experts say prying open the...

Relative: Teen Fugitives Left a Cellphone Video

RCMP promise an update in 'a couple of weeks'

(Newser) - Two murder suspects believed to have committed suicide following a lengthy manhunt in Canada left behind a cellphone video, which includes their "last will and testament," according to a family member. The unnamed relative tells the Toronto Star that 30 seconds of footage—a goodbye message including the...

'Surprising' Swerve on Aretha's Estate

Franklin may not have left a will or trust, her longtime attorney says

(Newser) - Nearly a week after her death from advanced pancreatic cancer at the age of 76, more details are emerging about Aretha Franklin's assets. One of the more notable tidbits, per her longtime attorney: The legendary performer may have left no will or trust behind. "I was after her...

Edward Albee Left a Controversial Final Wish

Playwright's will instructs executors to destroy all his unfinished manuscripts

(Newser) - When Franz Kafka died, he left instructions for his friend Max Brod to incinerate any incomplete works—a request Brod ignored, which led to the publishing of The Castle and The Trial, among other writings. Edward Albee also wanted to avoid such posthumous publications, and the New York Times reports...

Two Daughters Inherit $20M, Must Follow Some Rules

Real estate magnate Maurice Laboz offers money from the beyond

(Newser) - "Want my money while you're still young? Then you have to play by my rules." That's pretty much what deceased Manhattan real estate landlord Maurice Laboz has posthumously told his two daughters, the New York Post reports. According to his will, 17-year-old Victoria and 21-year-old Marlena...

Oscar de la Renta's Will Not Very Generous to His Only Kid

So apparently he was still upset about ill-fated fashion line?

(Newser) - Oscar de la Renta was not happy when only child Moises, the son he adopted as a newborn from the Dominican Republic, started his own fashion line in 2005. And apparently that grudge persisted right up until de la Renta's death in October , because Moises, 30, was left what...

Woman: Yes, I Dug Up Dad's Grave for 'Real Will'

But Melanie Nash says she only found vodka and cigarettes

(Newser) - A woman who told police she dug up her father's grave in search of his "real will" but found only vodka and cigarettes pleaded guilty today. Melanie Nash, 53, was one of four accused in the plan to open Eddie Nash's vault in Colebrook, New Hampshire, then...

Dead Owner's Live Dog Won't Be Buried With Her

Bela will move to no-kill shelter instead of being euthanized like owner wanted

(Newser) - Connie Ley's will specifically spelled out plans for her dog Bela in the event of her death: Put Bela to sleep and bury him with Ley if a designated friend or a no-kill animal shelter wouldn't take him in. Ley died in November, but when Bela's story...

How the Nazi-Art Hoarder's Secret Will Came to Be

A government official's suggested idea came to life as a 'snub' on Germany

(Newser) - How did Cornelius Gurlitt, who vowed never to let his paintings go willingly, end up cutting a deal with Germany that will see pieces of his Nazi-era art stash returned to their rightful owners? As the Wall Street Journal reveals, it's a story "filled with legal maneuvering, delicate...

Nazi-Art Hoarder Leaves $1.3B in Paintings to 'Sole Heir'

Cornelius Gurlitt wanted museum to sort out ownership

(Newser) - A Nazi-era art hoarder who died yesterday has left his entire $1.3 billion collection to the Bern Art Museum—which now has the unenviable task of deciding who owns which paintings, the BBC reports. Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Adolf Hitler's art dealer, had no close relatives and...

Up for Auction: Napoleon's Will

Copy expected to fetch $160K

(Newser) - History buffs will have to dig deep if they hope to score a rare copy of Napoleon's will at auction tomorrow. The AP reports that the sale at Paris' Drouot Auction house is expected to fetch about $160,000. A few odds and ends about the document, which is...

Christopher Columbus: Secretly Jewish?

Explorer was seeking homeland for his people: Spanish scholars

(Newser) - Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer from Genoa, right? Not according to a recent round of scholarship, which portrays him as secretly Jewish and seeking a new land for his people during the Spanish Inquisition, CNN reports. Evidence suggests that Columbus was a "Marrano," meaning he secretly practiced...

Tony Curtis Didn't Leave Kids a Dime

He disinherited all 5 just months before death

(Newser) - Jamie Lee Curtis eulogized her father Tony at his funeral last year—but just five months before his death , Curtis had disinherited Jamie Lee and his other four children. Inside Edition has a copy of the will, which lists his children by name … then says, “I acknowledge the...

Farrah Left It All to Redmond

(Newser) - Farrah Fawcett left the vast bulk of her estate to her troubled 24-year-old son, Redmond, and nothing to Ryan O'Neal, sources have told KTLA-TV. Most of her $6 million estate was left in trust to Redmond in the will, which Fawcett updated in 2007. The fund will be controlled by...

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