What if I Die without a Will?
When Diego Maradonna passed away, he hadn’t made a Will.
That means arguments, fees, taxes and a lot of time and money spent for his heirs to receive any share of his estate.
Maradonna’s not the only famous individual to die intestate.
In a recent survey, of those who haven’t yet put their Will in place, 60% indicated they simply haven't gotten around to making one yet.
If you have assets or dependents, you need to put your Will in place - it secures your family and stops arguments.
And it’s not expensive - SCI charge a standard fee of just P2,500 for the full Will drafting service: Consultation, Drafting, Signing Ceremony and Registration with the Master of the Court in Botswana.
Prince
The artist known as Prince died in 2016, leaving an estimated $ 200 million estate and no Will. A judge ruled that his six siblings should inherit his fortune. However, in the wake of Prince's death more than 45 other people are said to have come forward claiming to be his wife, children and other relatives and sought a portion of his estate. The claims are still pending, and his siblings are yet to receive any money from his estate.
Sir Peter Ustinov
The estate of the famous actor Sir Peter Ustinov was dragged through the courts for years, resulting in most of his multi-million-dollar assets being swallowed up by legal fees.
He wrote his will in pencil 36 years before dying in 2004, aged 82.
This led to a court ruling that he had died Intestate. He was married three times and had four children, but the bulk of his wealth went to his last wife, Lady Helene Ustinov. His children claimed that trusts he allegedly set up should have gone to them, but no one could successfully prove their existence. From the last accounts in relation to his estate in 2017, the feuding family lost his entire estate to the lawyers’ fees, as their nine-year battle over his money continued.
John Seward Johnson
One of the heirs of the founder of Johnson & Johnson, John Seward Johnson died in 1983 of prostate cancer. He left almost the entirety of his fortune to his third wife, Barbara Piasecka, a former maid 42 years younger than him. Johnson's children immediately contested this, claiming that she abused their father and "terrorized" him into leaving her all of his money. Three years and $10 million in legal fees later, a judge found that Johnson had not been mentally competent when he signed his will and ordered Piasecka to pay Johnson's children $160 million
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln, the nation's 16th president, has the distinction of being the first president to be assassinated (1865) as well as the first president to die without a Will—despite being a lawyer himself.
This proves the old adage about “Cobbler’s shoes”, but also goes to show that we can’t predict the time of our death.
Jimi Hendrix
One of the greatest guitar players of all time, Jimi Hendrix died in 1970. the battle over his estate raged on for more than 30 years for one simple reason: Hendrix left no will regarding the distribution of his estate.
To complicate matters, the estates of musicians and other artists often continue to generate money long after their deaths.
Famous or not, everyone should have a Will.
It's simple to do, and it saves your family a lot of money and headaches.
And, as illustrated by the stories above, you're never too young (or too smart or too powerful) to put your Will in place - today.
If you live in Botswana, or have assets in Botswana, our Will Drafting service costs just P2,950. Come for a discovery session today - face-to-face or online.
SCI Wealth are Botswana Licensed Investment Advisers and Certified Financial Planners. We help people in Botswana do sensible things with their money - save and invest for the future - and become financially more successful.
Our first ‘discovery session’ is entirely free of charge - contact us now and start your journey to financial success.