From disowning a child to secretly leaving everything to a stranger, people have written many unexpected things in their wills that are only revealed to their family members after their demise. Many times, people have used this closing act to take revenge on their loved ones.
With age, many people tend to think about what would happen to their loved ones after death. They know there’s only much they can do to support them, and with that comes the thought of writing a will. The final document decides what would happen to their assets and property after their death.
A document with the title “Last Will and Testament” | Source: Shutterstock
Many people write their will when they are healthy and doing fine, but others do it after the doctors tell them they don’t have much time to live. Some divide their assets into parts and leave them for their close ones, while others write something unpredictable that shocks their family.
Netizens on Reddit shared some of the craziest and most bizarre things people wrote in their wills. Many of their family members had no idea what was coming their way.
Comments have been edited for clarity and grammar.
1. The Unexpected Trust Fund
A fish in a fishbowl | Source: Pexels
u/scarlett_pimpernel: I am a qualified solicitor. A lady wanted to create a trust fund of £100,000 for her pet fish. When I asked if it was a particular type of fish, she confirmed it was just an ordinary goldfish.
She wanted it to be fed fresh avocado daily and looked after by a local dog walker after she died. She was absolutely serious.
2. No One Knows about Her
An older woman looking at a young girl | Source: Shutterstock
u/scarlett_pimpernel: Another lady confessed she had a secret daughter and wanted to leave the daughter some money and photographs without the rest of her family finding out. Even her husband does not know. That will be a fun conversation when she passes away.
3. The Lucky Man
A bus driver | Source: Shutterstock
u/mommy5dearest: I worked at an attorney’s office, and a little older lady gave her house and belongings to a bus driver.
She did it because he was nice to her and would help her. We were all waiting for hell to break loose when her family found out.
Her family can contest it. I was a witness to the signing. She seemed fine and knew the answers to the questions, so she wasn’t having mental problems as far as we could tell.
4. The Interesting Clause
A lawyer talking to a man | Source: Shutterstock
u/WanderCold: I was in my early twenties when I was forced to write a will because of the health insurance I got at work. I discussed it with the in-house lawyer, who approved this specific clause to be added to my will.
The clause read, “My funeral wishes are that I should be buried in a coffin which has been springloaded, such that opening the coffin would cause alarm to future archeologists.”
Then, a bunch of stuff about if this is too costly, I’d be cremated and have my ashes scattered in a specific place.
5. Don’t Forget My Horse!
A woman riding a horse | Source: Shutterstock
u/gabberrella24: I work in probate. The oddest thing I’ve seen in a will is to euthanize their beloved horse, have it cremated, and its ashes scattered with the decedent.
Lucky for her horse, she named a horse that was already dead when she passed away, so the one she got afterward lived to see another farm.
6. A List of Strange Wills
A dog sleeping on a bed | Source: Shutterstock
u/PirateRobotNinjaofDe: Lots of people send their friends and family on weird errands to spread their ashes (leaving money for people to take trips and spread their ashes around the world).
Pet trusts are a fun one. People leave a whole whack of money in a trust to be used for the care of their pets during their life.
However, my favorite ever (that I obviously didn’t draft) was a lawyer who left the bulk of his estate (millions in today’s dollars) to whatever Toronto-area woman had the most children at a specific date some years later. I recall the winner had 10.
7. My Grandfather’s Wish
An older woman standing near a window | Source: Shutterstock
u/snoboreddotcom: A few hours after my grandfather’s death, my grandmother came to me with a navy-blue tie featuring pink elephants.
Ridiculous looking, but she said he wore it to intimidate people in business, as someone willing to wear such a ridiculous tie doesn’t care about what people think. That scares people. He wanted me to have it so I could do the same.
8. Different Wishes
A woman signing a documents | Source: Shutterstock
u/ALighterShadeOfPale: I work for a lawyer who does wills. We’ve had a lady put in her will that one of her adult sons would receive his share when he visited a dentist, and the other son would get it if he lost 70lbs.
Another lady put in her will that she wanted her cats cremated with her when she died. We told her that would not happen since human and animal remains are not cremated together. So, she settled on cremated separately and joined together, then buried together.
9. The Long Will
Close-up of a document with the title “Last Will and Testament” | Source: Shutterstock
u/ALighterShadeOfPale: Typically, wills are about ten pages long (for an average person), but a woman once wrote 56 pages.
She detailed EVERYTHING from her house to people. For example, she wrote, “wooden ladle to ____, toilet paper holder to ____, magazine basket to ____.” She did this for every single item in her house.
10. She Wanted to Be with Her Husband
A small house between trees | Source: Pexels
u/ALighterShadeOfPale: A lady told us to put in her will that she wanted to be buried on her property next to her husband. She lived on a small rural property.
It’s totally illegal to have human remains buried there. She refused to tell us whether her husband was cremated or not and said she did not want to be cremated.
Edit: Her husband had died 5 or 6 years prior. So, it’s not as though it was 50 years ago when things like that may have been a little overlooked.
11. Some Good People
A person signing a document | Source: Shutterstock
u/ALighterShadeOfPale: We had a man put in his will that his family was to go to the zoo immediately after his burial (that day). We thought that was heartwarming.
Besides that, we work with many people from a particular religion. Many people we write wills for leave at least 90% of their estates to the church instead of their families.
12. The Elvis Impersonator
A young man smiling | Source: Shutterstock
u/whatshisfaceboy: I’m not a lawyer, but I have this story of my rich uncle. He would visit us when we were kids, maybe once every ten years. The last time he did, he brought us to a Denny’s.
When he died, he had no friends. Besides that, his wife died due to substance abuse, and that was because of him. He left his entire estate to an Elvis impersonator. Everything.
13. The Only Beneficiary
A person holding money | Source: Shutterstock
u/AnotherDrunkCanadian: I used to work at a bank in the estate department. I was an administrator who had to manage the files, including encroachments upon the capital, i.e., “I want to take some money out now, please.”
I had this one account – a multi-million-dollar trust for one single beneficiary – the son of the deceased. Everything about the account looked fine until I learned the child was behind his parents’ death and pleaded insanity.
He was in a mental hospital and called the bank once a year requesting $50 for commissary (to buy chips and gum).
The call was always strange. He was very polite, but the quality of the call made it sound like he was far away from the phone.
14. They Wanted to Take Revenge
A cat sitting behind a curtain | Source: Pexels
u/Dr_BrOneil: Last week, I handled a matter where the parents left millions in artwork to various people and wads of cash to various charities. Meanwhile, their kids got the family cats as revenge.
It turned out they did it because the kids got them the cats to comfort the parents in their old age. The parents hated the cats, but the kids wouldn’t let them get rid of them.
15. He Wanted to Give Them Something
An older man walking on a street | Source: Shutterstock
u/gaurddog: My great uncle’s official will stated that the contents of his outhouse would go to the City Council of a nearby town after they had tried to take his land twice to build a new water treatment plant.
He spent several years fighting eminent domain claims and wanted to give them something in return. As a joke, his kids boxed up all the books and magazines in the outhouse and dropped them off at City Hall.
16. The Man Was Clueless
A man leaning against a taxi | Source: Pexels
u/[deleted]: I am not a lawyer but work for a will writers/trusts specialist in the UK, currently studying toward my TEP.
One of our earlier clients passed away recently. Turns out the man she left almost everything to, including the residue of her estate–which was considerable–was her regular taxi driver.
She had also named him as her executor. He had no clue. The woman named as her executor and primary beneficiary in her previous two wills, a close friend of many years, was understandably flabbergasted and contested the will.
We responded to her solicitor’s Larke v Nugus request, informed Mr. Taxi Driver (who didn’t even know our client had passed), and the will was upheld.
The friend mentioned above was left a legacy of £5,000 if I remember correctly, but her nose was clearly out of joint.
Bonus observation: It takes a lot less than £ 5,000 being up for grabs to make families turn against each other. It can get really nasty. This is one of the most startling things I’ve learned in my short time in this business.
17. Hidden Fortune
The last will and testament | Getty Images
Deleted user: So, my grandma, bless her heart, lived in this old, run-down trailer for years. Dirt poor, but you wouldn’t know it by the way my husband acted.
He was like a cat on a hot tin roof, waiting for her to pass. He had this wild notion in his head that grandma was sitting on a hidden fortune and that he’d inherit a ticket to Easy Street when she kicked the bucket. Cut to the will reading day.
My husband’s practically rubbing his hands together, telling me, “Sugar, put on a smile, we’re about to be rolling in dough.” We get there, and the lawyer’s all business, asking, “Who’s the ‘husband’ there?” My guy steps up: “That’s me. Is there a problem?”
Then my jaw hitting the floor. The Lawyer: Not at all…The last will of grandma states that the grandma has a hidden fortune. However, it’s to be inherited by the husband only if he fulfills three specific conditions. Otherwise, the entire estate goes to the local animal shelter.”
First, he must live for a year in her old trailer, maintaining it without any modern upgrades or outside help. Second, he’s required to volunteer at the animal shelter every weekend for the next two years.
And finally, he must write a personal essay on the value of humility and compassion, to be read publicly at the shelter’s annual fundraiser.
My husband’s face turned from greedy anticipation to utter disbelief. Grandma sure knew how to teach a lesson from beyond the grave!
A man signing a document | Source: Pexels
These stories shared by Redditors prove that being a part of someone’s will can make your life better or destroy it forever. It only takes a few sentences to change people’s lives if one decides to mention them in their will. What’s the most bizarre thing you have ever read in someone’s will or heard about? We would love to know about it.
These 5 Jokes Are the Ultimate Mood Boosters—You’ll Thank Us Later
Life can be really busy, and we often feel stressed about deadlines. But laughter is a wonderful way to lift our spirits. So, take a break, relax, and enjoy these jokes.
In today’s fast-moving world, it’s easy to get lost in the chaos. However, just taking a moment to laugh can really improve your mood and well-being. That’s why we’ve put together this list of funny jokes that are sure to make you smile and boost your spirits.
1) The Cowboy Knew What He Was Doing
One night, an old, blind cowboy accidentally walked into an all-girls biker bar. He found a bar stool and ordered a cup of coffee.
After sitting there for a while, he called out, “Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?”
The bar went completely silent.
Then, a woman next to him said in a deep voice, “Before you tell that joke, cowboy, I think you should know five things:
The bartender is a blonde woman with a baseball bat.
The bouncer is a blonde woman.
I’m a 6-foot-tall, 175-pound blonde woman with a black belt in karate.
The woman beside me is a blonde professional weightlifter.
The lady to your right is a blonde professional wrestler.”
After a moment, she asked, “Now, do you still want to tell that joke?”
The cowboy thought for a second, shook his head, and said, “Nope… not if I have to explain it five times.”
—
2) Too Good to Be True
One day, Arnold was scrolling through Facebook and saw an ad for a black SUV. The price looked too good to be true.
“Mom!” he shouted. “Can I buy a car? I’m old enough to drive now and saw this awesome ad. Someone’s selling an SUV for just $25!”
“Oh, Arnold,” his mother sighed. “It must be a mistake. Who would sell a car for that little?”
“Can we go see it, Mom? Please?” he begged. “It’s just a few blocks away.”
“Alright,” she agreed.
The next day, Arnold and his mom went to the address. There it was—a brand new black SUV in perfect condition, with only a few hundred miles on it.
A woman came out of her house and asked, “So, you’re interested in buying the car?”
“Yes!” Arnold replied. “It’s so nice! How much is it? The ad said $25 but…”
“The price is still $25,” she said. “I can lower it if you think it’s too high.”
Arnold quickly paid and signed the papers. But his mom wanted to ask one last question.
“Why are you selling such a nice SUV for so little?” she inquired.
“Well,” the woman said, “my husband left me and ran away with his secretary. He called from Hawaii and said, ‘Sell my car and send me the money.’ So, that’s what I’m doing.”
—
3) The Lazy Employee
A company hired a new CEO named Richard, hoping he would improve things.
On his first day, Richard wanted to find and get rid of all the lazy workers. He left his office to walk around and saw a young man leaning against a wall.
Richard thought this was his chance to show everyone he wouldn’t tolerate laziness. He walked up to the guy and asked, “How much do you make in a week?”
“$200, sir,” the young man answered. “Why?”
Everyone in the office was now watching Richard. He pulled out his wallet and handed the guy $200.
“Here’s a week’s pay. Now get out! This place isn’t for lazy people!”
Richard felt good about firing someone. When the guy left, he turned to the others and asked, “Can anyone tell me what the slacker did here?”
Then a senior employee said, “Sir, that was the pizza delivery guy.”
—
4) The Big News
One day, Peter’s parents told him they wanted to discuss something very important.
“What happened, Dad?” he asked.
“Son, we need to tell you that you’re adopted,” his father replied.
“What?” Peter was shocked.
“We wanted to wait for the right time to tell you,” his mother explained.
“I knew it! I always felt different! I want to meet my real parents!” Peter said.
“We are your real parents,” his father said. “Now pack up; your new ones are coming to get you in 20 minutes.”
—
5) The Unusual Interview
A young woman was interviewing for an entry-level job. After a few minutes, the interviewers realized she wasn’t very smart.
They didn’t want to cut the interview short, so they asked her simple questions to fill the time.
“How old are you?” one interviewer asked.
The woman started counting on her fingers.
“27 years, sir,” she said after a minute.
The interviewers exchanged glances before the second one asked, “How tall are you?”
The woman took out a measuring tape from her bag, stood up, and measured herself.
“Five feet, three inches,” she replied.
Then the first interviewer asked, “Okay, can you just tell us your name?”
To their surprise, the woman chanted something quietly and then said, “Neha!”
One of the interviewers, unable to hold back, asked, “What took you so long to say your name?”
“I was just recalling that song,” she replied. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Neha…”
So, which joke did you like best? Don’t forget to share these jokes with your loved ones. You might brighten their day!
Feeling down or just need a boost? You’re in luck! We’ve gathered seven of the funniest jokes to make you smile and lift your spirits. From forgetful seniors to clever kids, these stories are sure to make you chuckle.
So grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy some fun humor!
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