#25. Mother England Comes First
An anonymous British fellow was apparently a huge patriot and decided he was fed up with his nation's growing debt. The man wanted to collaborate with paying England's owed money, so he took matters in his own hands by using his will. When he passed in 1928, the unknown man left a large sum of money to England with the instructions for it to be strictly used in order to pay his country's national debt.
The fund began at £500,000, and due to compound interest, eventually grew to £350 million. Sadly, that amount of money isn't nearly enough to pay England's debt, which stood at £1,786 trillion as of 2017. The company that administers the fund has requested permission to donate it, but unless the national debt decreases, this patriot's money will remain unused.
#24. Who's A Good Girl?
Some people are obsessed with their pets, even treating them like their own children. So, it comes to no surprise that a tiny Maltese dog is to inherit her owner's fortune. Bella Mia, the adorable four-legged heiress, would inherit a million-dollar fortune alongside a vacation and trust fund, and fancy jewelry following her owner's passing.
Despite having a rather high standard of living, the beloved pupper puts on the work in order to earn her money. Apart from being absolutely adorable, Bella Mia works as a therapy dog. According to her owner, they went into the Ronald McDonald House, with the puppy wearing a Cinderella outfit, and a girl began to shed tears of joy. Such a wholesome encounter!
#23. Real Life Schitt's Creek
While the thought of a family inheriting a small town may immediately remind us of the hilarious sitcom Schitt's Creek, for these siblings this is a reality. David Stawovy's father originally purchased the small village of Reduction, Pennsylvania in 1948 when it was an old, abandoned company town.
As for now, the small town has around 60 full-time residents enjoying the quiet, relaxed life Reduction provides them. Unfortunately, the siblings are not happy with the idea of owning a town and are thinking of selling it. The Stawovy siblings are asking for an amount of approximately 1.5 million for their village, which will probably end up being demolished.
#22. The Most Expensive Jeans Ever
It's very common for people to inherit goods such as properties or large sums of money, but Arizona man Jock Taylor can't relate. Instead, he inherited something much more surprising and unexpected —a pair of 124-year-old Levi's jeans. Taylor's great grandfather was the owner of a general store back in the day, and after his death all his belongings were put on a chest which was then passed down through the family.
When the mysterious chest eventually landed on Taylor's hands, he was amazed by how well preserved the jeans were. Apart from its condition, the jean's size was also quite surprising, having a 44-inch waist and a 37-inch inseam to fit Taylor's ancestor. Luckily for him, Levi's have offered a generous amount of $50,000 to buy the old jeans.
#21. Revenge From The Grave
Some people hold grudges for years, even taking them to their grave. Such is the example of Lady Valmai Roche, an Australian socialite whose anger towards her daughters was well established in her will, which she used to lash out against them. Roche left a $3,5 million estate behind, however her daughters were to receive “30 pieces of silver of the lowest denomination currency”.
Additionally, the woman stipulated that, in order to acquire some of her jewelry, the daughters had to read her diaries and later take a quiz. According to one of her daughters, Roche was delusional and believed that her offsprings had plotted to kill her mother. The daughters took the case to court and eventually gained access to the estate.
#20. A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned
A Vermont man by the name of Ronald Read worked as a janitor and gas station attendant. The man was known to be thrifty, since he drove old used cars and even chopped his own firewood. So, after he passed away, the community was astonished to find that Read left a shocking $8 million estate behind.
Admiringly, he donated $6 million to Vermont's Books Memorial Library and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. But how did such a modest man acquire that amount of money? According to The Motley Fool, Read expanded his wealth by spending the least possible and saving up for many years.
#19. Bolt From The Blue
Most people leave their possessions to loved ones, but Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral de Camara (yes, that’s his real name) , who was famous for being quite an eccentric fellow, wrote his final will and chose quite the unusual method to select his heirs.
Instead of going by the book and leaving his fortune to close family members or friends, the solitary aristocrat and millionaire randomly picked names out of a phonebook. In the 1980s, the Portuguese man selected 70 names out of the Lisbon phonebook and left them with a portion of his wealth. Reportedly, each heir received a sudden amount of several thousand euros.
#18. Girl-Free Zone
In 1930, Iowa lawyer T.M Zink passed away and left $50.000 to build the library of his dreams. He requested that the money remained unused for 75 years, then be used it to build a woman-free library, with specific orders of not letting any women enter the library ever.
Not only that, but women's books or works would also be prohibited in the library, leaving only men to read the works of other men. Thankfully, Zink's descendants efficiently stopped their ancestor's outrageous and misogynistic plan, and the library was, thankfully, never built.
#17. To Will Or Not To Will
For centuries, intellectuals have thought of renowned playwriter and poet William Shakespeare's will to be some sort of evil strike at his wife, Anne Hathaway. The writer (in)famously left his wife nothing but his second-best bed. However recent studies suggest that, in the 16th century, this was a loving gesture.
Researchers at the National Archives and British Library have used new technology to analyze the ink and paper in the writer's will, allowing them to determine when additions were made. It seems like Shakespeare added Hathaway somewhat late to his testament, and since she could not inherit the house, the second-best bed was the most outstanding good she could get.
#16. It's All In The Family
Real estate millionaire Maurice Laboz wasn't going to let his passing prevent him from keeping his daughters in line. The man died in 2015 and left them with a $10 million fund, but it could only be received after they turned 35. The girls do have the possibility to get early access to the money, as long as they follow certain rules.
Laboz strictly demands that his daughters graduate from accredited universities, don't have children outside of marriage, and marry good men who commit to staying away from Laboz's fund. According to estate lawyers, it's actually rather usual for wealthy clients to use inheritances to control their family from beyond the grave.
#15. Indiana Jones' Dream
A couple from North Carolina by the names of Moon and Irene Mullins, spent nearly half a century collecting Native American arrowheads. The couple were so fond of their collection that they refused to sell them, even with legendary actor John Wayne was an attempted buyer.
When Moon and Irene passed away, they chose to leave the archaeological wonder to their caretaker, Jerry Williams. As stated by Native American historian and Pascua Yaqui tribe member Joe Candillo, the Mullins' collection is incredibly vast and breathtaking. Thankfully, Williams kept the collection and displayed it in a roadside museum.
#14. A Rose A Day
Some people, such as comedian Jack Benny, are proof that romance will never die. Benny passed in 1974 and left a florist the task of delivering a single red rose every day to his widow. The man was a popular radio host from the 1930s to the 50s, where his wife Mary Livingstone frequently joined him.
Despite reportedly being unbelievably cheap, Benny’s romantic gesture goes to show that he was also very much in love with his wife. Livingstone continued to receive roses from her late husband everyday up until her death in 1983.
#13. Pour One For Me
It can be truly devastating to lose a close friend, but this man made sure to provide for his best buddies in a rather strange way. Roger Brown was a British man who died of prostate cancer in 2013 and left £3.500 to his closest friends with the specification that they spent it on a weekend partying and drinking in a nearby European city.
The group spent a weekend in Berlin, and Brown's best buddy Roger Bees jokingly said he'd like to apologize to Roger's two sons for "taking away some of their inheritance”, and stated that they spent most of the money on beer, but reportedly wasted the rest.
#12. Keep Spring Alive
Keith Owen was a Canadian investment banker who intended to retire to Sidmouth, a small, whimsical English town. Owen regularly visited the town to see his mother and adored Sidmouth's natural beauty. Sadly, the man discovered that he had terminal cancer at the age of 69 and was told he had just a few weeks to live.
Knowing that his time was unfortunately running out, Owen decided to write in his will that his retirement money must be donated to a countryside conservation society in Sidmouth. Because of Owen’s donation the society has planted thousands of native species such as daffodils and snowdrops.
#11. The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
Heinrich Heine was a German poet from the Romantic period, however what he stated in his will regarding his wife's inheritance was far from romantic. The poet left all of his wealth to his wife, but with one petty condition: she had to remarry so at least one man would mourn his death.
Although Heine and his wife Mathilde had a somewhat tumultuous marriage, she cared for him during his lifelong struggle with illness. The writer spent most of his last years confined to his bed due to lead poisoning. Mathilde eventually remarried and inherited his late husband's money but it's unknown whether the new husband regretted Heine's death.
#10. Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
Wellington Burt was a lumber magnate from Michigan who passed away in 1919. As per usual, it was expected that the millionaire's children inherited his fortune, however, for reasons only known to Burt himself, he added an atypical clause to his will.
The man commanded that his wealth be kept in a fund until 21 years after the last of his remaining grandchildren had died. It wasn't until 2011 that Burt's fortune could finally be touched, having grown to over $110 million. Unfortunately, the heirs feel rather uneasy about the windfall, since they witnessed the problems it caused to the family.
#9. From The Other Side
Harry Houdini is world-wide famous for his audacious escapes and highly crafted illusions, and remains as one of the most celebrated magicians of all time. Houdini was also known to be somewhat of an oddball, who became increasingly interested in the occult, and his will is proof of this statement.
The magician promised his wife that he would communicate with her from 'the other side', and he requested in his will that she perform a séance once a year in order to contact him. Houdini even gave his wife a secret password that he swore he would use so she knew it was truly him. Although his wife never managed to contact him, some fans attempt to reach him once a year.
#8. Original Prankster
Toronto-based Charles Van Miller was a wealthy lawyer and a truly dedicated prankster. He passed away in 1926, but saved one last prank that he added to his will. Miller was known to play pranks that usually involved people's greed, and this one was no exception.
In his testament, Miller expressed that he would provide the generous amount of $500.000 to the married Toronto woman that could give birth to the most children in the ten years following his death. Miller's request ended up spawning a birth race that came to be known as the Stork Derby. The prize was eventually split between four women who gave birth to nine children over the course of the decade.
#7. Going Out In Style
Sandra West was the glamorous wife of a wealthy Texas oil mogul, and she was also the best at writing wills. West wasn't contempt with leaving this Earth in an ordinary way, so she added a few very particular —and honestly, quite amusing— stipulations to her will.
The woman asked to be buried wearing provocative lingerie in the front seat of her Ferrari with the seat reclined at a comfortable angle. In 1977, the eccentric lady was buried alongside her beloved sportscar, and the grave was unsurprisingly large: 19 feet long, 10 feet wide and 9 feet deep. West also left behind two other Ferraris and a golden fishing reel.
#6. Literal Man-Made Drums
Eccentric people have existed in every age and period, and one of the best examples is Milliner S. Sanborn, who died in 1871. The man donated his body to science but left some rather macabre specifications. Sanborn demanded that two drums were made using his skin and later given them to a friend. But that's not all.
The friend had to then play 'Yankee Doodle' on the drums every June 17th at Bunker Hill, commemorating the Revolutionary War battle. What about the rest of his body? After it was studied, Sanborn commanded that his remains were "composted for a fertilizer to contribute to the growth of an American elm, to be planted in some rural thoroughfare". Seems like a well-adjusted human being to us!
#5. Happy New Birthday
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote two of the best works in British literature, Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, so it comes as no surprise that the writer used his creativity even when writing his will. One particular clause held the most interesting —if not strange— instruction.
Stevenson asked for his birthday to be transferred to a friend. While Stevenson's birthday was on November 13th, his friend's fell on Christmas. The pair used to complain about the birthday being overshadowed by the holiday, and the writer even stated that he had "no further use for a birthday". So, of course, in Stevenson's mind, transferring his birthday to his friend was the best course of action.
#4. A Marvel-ous Request
Mark Gruenwald was one of the top Marvel Comics editors and only 42 when he died of a heart attack in 1997. Gruenwald was very fond of his own work and the Marvel universe altogether. So when he wrote his will, the editor added a request that fell in line with his love of comics.
Gruenwald pleaded to be cremated, and stated that his ashes be mixed into ink and then printed into a comic book. In honor of his amazing work, Marvel printed a reissue of the 1985 comic 'Squadron Supreme', one of Gruenwald’s works, with his ashes mixed into the ink.
#3. Cat Lover
Singer-songwriter Dusty Springfield loved her cat more than anybody. She was so fond of her furry friend that, when she passed in 1999, the 'Son of a Preacher Man' singer left some very specific requests for the protection of her feline companion, Nicholas.
According to Springfield's will, Nicholas had to be fed a diet of imported baby food, but that's not nearly all. The singer also demanded her cat to be serenaded with her songs after she died, and the animal's bed was also to be lined with the last nightgown she wore. As for the cat himself, he had to be wedded to her friend's female cat.
#2. Live Long And Prosper
Gene Roddenberry's genius and active imagination can be appreciated by almost everyone, not only trekkies. The man who created, wrote and produced the beloved Star Trek franchise also had dreams of leaving Earth and venturing into the universe after his death.
Roddenberry asked that his ashes be scattered in space, and in 1997 a satellite containing his ashes was launched. While thousands of people watched it on TV, the craft spread his remains into orbit. This, of course, wasn't the ashes first time going to space, since a portion of Roddenberry's remains were taken to space in the space shuttle Columbia, a few years prior.
#1. A Haunting Tale
John Bowman was one of the richest people in all Vermont, back in the 1800s. Sadly, his boundless fortunes was not enough to protect him from life's tragedies. Bowman's wife and children all died in a rapid succession due to illness, leaving him heartbroken and alone. While heavily grieving, Bowman came up with a bizarre plan to meet his family in the afterlife.
The man built an intricate and large mausoleum to hold his family's remains and set up a mansion for his family nearby. Bowman would spend every night in the mausoleum, reading and longing for the day he could finally join them. He even left instructions for the servants to set the table for the family's ghosts to enjoy supper together every night.