How early should you write your will? 5 famous mistakes to learn from

Many people aren’t ready to process their complex feelings around family, death, and their estate. This could be one of the reasons why dying without a will is a surprisingly common occurrence in the UK.

Indeed, the Money & Pensions Service notes that 53% of UK adults aged 50 – 64 don’t have a will.

Dying without a will, or “dying intestate”, can make administering your estate challenging for your loved ones, as the law will decide who inherits what based on intestacy rules.

This is particularly evident in the complex cases of celebrities and historical figures who passed away with no will, leaving behind a minefield of legalities for their families to navigate. These situations beg the question: How early should you write your will?

I want to use the following examples as case studies to explain why writing your will sooner rather than later is important. So, here are five lessons we can learn from famous cases.

1. Jimi Hendrix, famed guitarist, died without a will at 27 years old

Jimi Hendrix is a tragic member of the 27 Club, an informal list made up of artists, actors, musicians, and other celebrities who died at the age of 27.

At the time of his death in 1970, his estate was worth around $400,000. According to Finance Monthly, when adjusted for inflation, it would be worth roughly $3.2 million, or around £2.3 million, today.

Seeing as Hendrix died without a will, his whole estate went to his father, who took control of Hendrix’s music, licensing deals, and image rights. He later also gained full rights to his son’s music and business affairs, which meant he was able to form a family-run company designed to oversee Hendrix’s legacy.

Whether this was what Hendrix would have wanted, we can’t know, but Musiclipse reports he had a strained and often challenging relationship with his father.

It also led to his brother, Leon, being excluded from the estate completely, and he has since been locked in legal battles in an attempt to access some of Hendrix’s posthumous wealth.

2. Billie Holiday’s estate went to her estranged third husband

In 1959, famous jazz singer Billie Holiday died without a will at the age of 44. Though Yahoo Finance reports that she had little money in her bank accounts, she had a substantial amount in assets, including royalties, images, and publishing rights.

Sadly, without a will, her estate went to her estranged third husband, Louis McKay, who treated her poorly during their marriage. When McKay died, Holiday’s estate went to his widow, who later sold it to a publishing company.

This meant that Holiday’s estate was controlled by someone who treated her badly, followed by a person who had no connection to her.

3. Pablo Picasso’s $250 million estate took 6 years to distribute

Pablo Picasso, who is known for co-founding the Cubist movement and was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, died without a will at the age of 93. He reportedly left behind a fortune in assets, which included:

• Hundreds of artworks
• Five homes
• Cash
• Gold
• Bonds

At the time of his death in 1980, his estate was valued at $250 million, but it was likely still worth more.

Because Picasso died intestate and left no will, it took six years to settle his estate, which cost $30 million. Yahoo Finance reports that Picasso was a superstitious man and that he never wrote a will because it was “a way of avoiding death”.

While he did have a long and illustrious life and career, he could have saved his loved ones a great deal of time and money if he had organised his financial affairs.

4. Abraham Lincoln died without a will, despite being a lawyer

Abraham Lincoln may be a surprising addition to this list, considering he was a lawyer himself, but America’s 16th president died without a will in 1865.

He left behind his wife, two sons, and an estate worth $110,000. In today’s law, his whole estate would pass to his wife, but according to Lin Law, it had to be divided according to the Illinois Probate Act. This stated that his property must be administered through a court-supervised probate process.

Under this law, his widow and children would receive equal portions of his estate, but the matter was made more complicated because Lincoln had real estate in multiple states as well as assets held in Washington, D.C.

His story goes to show that, even if you have the expertise to manage your financial affairs, important processes can still slip through the cracks.

5. Howard Hughes had no formal heirs, so his estate took 34 years to process

Howard Hughes was a billionaire entrepreneur, engineer, investor, philanthropist, and film producer. He died in 1976 with an estate worth around $2.5 billion. However, he never made a will, despite having the financial acumen to accumulate such large amounts of wealth.

He also had no immediate family, so following his death, a slew of claimants came out of the woodwork, including a notorious, handwritten will that was later declared a forgery.

Finally, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press, the case was officially settled in 2010, and Hughes’ estate was distributed among some of his cousins and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

While we can’t know how Hughes would have wanted to distribute his estate, without a will he would have had no control over his financial legacy.

Outlining your wishes could make your loved ones’ lives easier

Dying intestate can make for a challenging situation for those you leave behind. Even if you have a will, if it’s not updated regularly, it may not accurately reflect your current circumstances.

Writing a will that accurately reflects your wishes is key to preserving your financial legacy. This is something I can help with, from the initial draft to annual reviews. Remember, it’s never too early to start.

Email Marnel.Stafford@fosterdenovo.com or call 07305 970959 or 0207 469 2800 to find out more about how we can work together.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate estate planning or will writing.