5 Famous Will and Estate Contests

If your estate plan isn’t orderly, you could be setting your heirs up for a messy fight. Don’t let your estate be fought over like these five famous cases.

Anna Nicole Smith

Disregarding Smith’s questionable career, she has been at the center of two different major will problems. First, she was married to J. Howard Marshall, who died without including Smith in his will. Since Marshall’s estate was a total of $1.6 billion, Smith certainly fought hard to get the half that she claimed her deceased husband had promised to her.

Smith’s will contest went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2006, where the Court ended up deciding in Smith’s favor. But the matter didn’t end there. The case was remanded to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to handle the remaining issues. With Smith’s death in February of 2007, her will contest remains unresolved. Although perhaps her surviving daughter will carry it on.

Which brings me to Smith’s second will issue. Her will specifically omitted any children not living at the time of executing the will. Her only child at the time of the will died before Smith. The only child to survive Smith wasn’t born yet when she executed the will. What a mess! As my Chicago colleague, Joel Schoenmeyer, puts it, ” the attorney who drafted it has some serious explaining to do.”

Daniel B. Fayerweather

Who? Fayerweather died in 1890, but the resulting fight over his estate is the subject of numerous articles in the New York Times archive. Certainly this case fits into a list of famous will contests.

Daniel B. Fayerweather died in New York, leaving an estate worth $5 to $6 million. Adjusted for inflation, that is $114 to $136 million. No wonder people fought over it.

Fayerweather’s will divided $2.1 million among twenty different colleges. The will then gave the residuary of Fayerweather’s estate to his executor. His widow and three nieces (his only heirs at law) objected to the will and its codicils.

Instead of keeping $3 million for themselves, the executors gave away everything under a lengthy deed of gift. As the New York Times reported in 1891, the heirs finally withdrew their will contest. They ended up being happy with increased gifts out of the huge estate.

Heath Ledger

When Heath Ledger died earlier this year, his will wasn’t updated. It was executed before the birth of his daughter, and the will left Ledger’s estate to his parents and siblings. His young daughter was completely left out.

Due to this issue, the family was divided over the proceeds of Ledger’s estate. Even though everyone claimed they were just looking out for Ledger’s daughter, it was still a bit of a fight. Fortunately, the family agreed to give everything to the daughter.

Howard Hughes

When this reclusive billionaire passed away in 1976, he left no will. A purported will was brought forward. However, it was proven to be a fake.

Hughes’ estate was finally distributed under intestacy laws in 1983. His 22 cousins split $2.5 billion. That’s certainly a great pay day for them, but Hughes probably would’ve wanted some alternate distribution, if he had legally set forth his choices.

This estate mess dragged on for at least 20 years, with an IRS battle still pending in 1997. Look what happens when you don’t have a valid will.

Cassius Clay

While Howard Hughes died with no will, General Cassius Clay left no less than five wills. Sadly for his heirs, they all conflicted with each other.

General Clay was a famous abolitionist and author of the 19th Century. President Lincoln selected Clay as the U.S. Minister to Russia in 1861.

When Clay died in 1903, his heirs brought forward five different wills. The latest will was proffered by the girl Clay married when she was only thirteen-years-old and he was eighty-nine. Under that will, Clay’s former young wife would take $10,000 in U.S. bonds and Clay’s land in Clay County, Kentucky.

Another will was offered by one of General Clay’s sons: Brutus J. Clay. Under that will, Brutus would inherit Clay’s entire estate.

After almost a year of court battles, all of Clay’s wills were thrown out as invalid. The judge determined that General Clay did not have the proper capacity to create any of the wills. This is no surprise, since his children had him decreed insane shortly before his death.