A pair of siblings were shocked to learn that they had been disinherited from their mother’s Last Will and Testament. Their mother, who passed away in July of 2022 did have a Last Will and Testament, but one that left the brother and sister reeling from shock and surprise: not only had they been disinherited, but the executor of their mother’s estate was someone whom neither of them had even met. The family was left in disarray. 

How did the role of the Executor of their mother’s estate land in the hands of Australian Redlands Mayor, KAREN Williams? That question has left the children, Freya and Nils, scratching their heads and trying to figure out what’s going on, and how this happened. 

Being disinherited from a will means that the pair have been excluded from receiving any of the assets or property specified in the will. This can be a difficult and emotional experience. Not only were the pair disinherited, and someone they don’t know has taken up the role of Executor, but the late 85-year-old’s estate, worth $500,000, has all been left to an organization called  called the Redlands Foundation. The Foundation is allegedly involved in philanthropic causes, and has a 12 member board, including, of course, Karen Williams. The siblings may have legal options available to them; they could argue in court that their mother’s will was not validly executed or that it was the result of fraud, duress, or undue influence. Angela, the woman who passed away was suffering from dementia. If you were a dependent of the person who made the will, they may also be able to make a claim against their estate for support.

It’s a truly bizarre case: was Angela manipulated by someone, influenced by something she saw on television? How close was she to her children to have never mentioned something AT ALL to her son and daughter? You can read more about the case, here.

Donald Trump was elected as president of the United States in 2016. He caused a lot of controversy while in office and used Twitter as his primary means of communicating with the public. In 2018, he caused a partial shutdown of the government, due to controversy over funding a wall bordering Mexico. In 2019, Trump was impeached due to allegations of abuse of power. He was acquitted of this in 2020, but he did not win the reelection to the current President, Joe Biden, in January 2020. 

Former President Donald Trump blasted the FBI for raiding his resort Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago on August 8th, 2022. The Mar-a-Lago resort is located in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump often refers to it as his “winter house” in the winter and his “Southern White House.” 

More than 110,000 thousand documents were seized, with 18 of these marked as “top secret.” A document that directs how property shall be distributed upon a deceased person’s death. Was Trump’s Will a secret? Many people are no doubt curious as to what the wealthy billionaire has left behind in his Will. Apparently, Trump’s Last Will and Testament may have been lost in the shuffle of documents. According to Trump, “I think they took my will. I found out yesterday—I said, where is it? I think they took my will.”

 

Actress Anne Heche died on August 5th, 2022, after driving her car head on into a  house in Los Angeles. Heche was declared brain dead on site but her other organs were harvested. Much like other celebrities we’ve written about, Anne Heche didn’t have a Last Will and Testament in place, but she did leave around a roughly (hefty) fortune of around $4 million, two sons, and a mess for her loved ones to sift through (legally). Without a Last Will and Testament, the latest update shows that her 20-year old son is slogging it out in court with his mother’s ex-boyfriend. They’re both fighting over Heche’s estate, which you can read about here. 

Aside from the ensuing legal mess that Heche left behind for her loved ones, there is also the lingering emotional trauma for the victim of the house that Heche rammed into that fateful night in August. Heche slammed her car into the front end of a house and died on impact. The woman,  Lynne Mishele, was working from home when the crash happened: the car slammed into the front of the house, the living room, and the laundry room. According to the lawsuit, the car only stopped “..a few feet away from her.” Both the woman and her three pets survived. Aside from losing all of her physical items, the emotional trauma caused by the crash has caused Lynne to develop (understandably) depression and anxiety. The woman is seeking damages from Heche’s estate for $2 million dollars. You can read more about it here.

 

Messy breakups can be particularly hard on common-in-law relationships, particularly when there is no Last Will and Testament in place. While several provinces offer common-law couples the same legal protections as married couples, other provinces (such as Ontario) are lacking in the same arena of legal provisions for common-in-law couples. There is the added problem if one partner has an updated Will and the other half is just blowing it off. Perhaps the common-in-law spouse isn’t properly communicating about his/her wishes, or just doesn’t see the need to update (or start) a Last Will and Testament.   In a study published by the Journal of Marriage and Family  in August of 2022, Dr. Pugliese and her colleagues found many striking differences among common-in-law couples in several provinces: several provinces have certain legal protections for common-in-law couples should their spouses pass on. There are a few provinces lacking in this area: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Yukon and Newfoundland and Labrador do not guarantee anything if the common-in-law spouse dies. All the better to have a Last Will in place. Laws may take some time to be updated throughout every province, so a Will and other proper documentation (a Power of Attorney and a Living Will) is always good to have. A power of attorney is a legal document that allows an individual (the “principal”) to appoint another person (the “agent” or “attorney-in-fact”) to act on their behalf in financial and legal matters. A Living Will allows an individual to specify the types of medical treatment they do or do not want to receive, such as life-sustaining treatment or artificially administered nutrition and hydration. 

The study also found that 22 percent of couples in common-in-law relationships would disperse their assets to their partners, compared with 86 percent of married couples, who would leave their spouses something. Common-in-law couples may be in big trouble if they a) don’t communicate their wishes to their partners, and b) don’t have an updated Last Will and Testament. You can read more about the study, here.