Will Power: The Most Baffling Bequests, Ludicrous Last Wishes, and Daft Declarations in Final Testaments
The most astonishing and extraordinary bequests and last requests found in people's wills.

“This will is uncommon and capricious.” These words actually began a will, which shows that our final words needn’t be standard legalese but instead creatively individualistic. Will Power tells the riveting stories of big names and “ordinary people” who did just this.

There are eccentric wills, in which a mansion and its grounds are inherited by a parrot. Developers could do nothing until it died — and parrots have long lives. There are cautionary tales of family conflict, including the one-page will fought over for two decades by three generations. Want to write a parting shot? Read about the will that mocked the beneficiaries, such as the bequest that said “for my sister because she is married to a minister who (God help him) she hen pecks.” Or the contested will that ordered the deceased’s horses to be killed by a police firing squad; the bigoted will that bequeathed everything to a neo-Nazi organization; and the will that left far more money to sons than daughters, sparking a landmark gender discrimination case.

These stories and many more will amuse, entertain, and inform — for your consideration when you write or revise your will.
1147394329
Will Power: The Most Baffling Bequests, Ludicrous Last Wishes, and Daft Declarations in Final Testaments
The most astonishing and extraordinary bequests and last requests found in people's wills.

“This will is uncommon and capricious.” These words actually began a will, which shows that our final words needn’t be standard legalese but instead creatively individualistic. Will Power tells the riveting stories of big names and “ordinary people” who did just this.

There are eccentric wills, in which a mansion and its grounds are inherited by a parrot. Developers could do nothing until it died — and parrots have long lives. There are cautionary tales of family conflict, including the one-page will fought over for two decades by three generations. Want to write a parting shot? Read about the will that mocked the beneficiaries, such as the bequest that said “for my sister because she is married to a minister who (God help him) she hen pecks.” Or the contested will that ordered the deceased’s horses to be killed by a police firing squad; the bigoted will that bequeathed everything to a neo-Nazi organization; and the will that left far more money to sons than daughters, sparking a landmark gender discrimination case.

These stories and many more will amuse, entertain, and inform — for your consideration when you write or revise your will.
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Will Power: The Most Baffling Bequests, Ludicrous Last Wishes, and Daft Declarations in Final Testaments

Will Power: The Most Baffling Bequests, Ludicrous Last Wishes, and Daft Declarations in Final Testaments

by Susan Goldenberg
Will Power: The Most Baffling Bequests, Ludicrous Last Wishes, and Daft Declarations in Final Testaments

Will Power: The Most Baffling Bequests, Ludicrous Last Wishes, and Daft Declarations in Final Testaments

by Susan Goldenberg

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Overview

The most astonishing and extraordinary bequests and last requests found in people's wills.

“This will is uncommon and capricious.” These words actually began a will, which shows that our final words needn’t be standard legalese but instead creatively individualistic. Will Power tells the riveting stories of big names and “ordinary people” who did just this.

There are eccentric wills, in which a mansion and its grounds are inherited by a parrot. Developers could do nothing until it died — and parrots have long lives. There are cautionary tales of family conflict, including the one-page will fought over for two decades by three generations. Want to write a parting shot? Read about the will that mocked the beneficiaries, such as the bequest that said “for my sister because she is married to a minister who (God help him) she hen pecks.” Or the contested will that ordered the deceased’s horses to be killed by a police firing squad; the bigoted will that bequeathed everything to a neo-Nazi organization; and the will that left far more money to sons than daughters, sparking a landmark gender discrimination case.

These stories and many more will amuse, entertain, and inform — for your consideration when you write or revise your will.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781459755840
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Publication date: 02/03/2026
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 232

About the Author

Susan Goldenberg is the author of ten books and has won both a Canadian Author’s Award and a Canadian Business Press Editors’ Award. She has written for Canadian and American newspapers and currently pens articles for Canada's History magazine. She lives in Toronto.

Susan Goldenberg is the author of ten books and has won both a Canadian Author’s Award and a Canadian Business Press Editors’ Award. She has written for Canadian and American newspapers and currently pens articles for Canada's History magazine. She lives in Toronto.

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