Celebrity Fever
Audrey Jean Knauer, who died in 1997, left $300,000 to her favorite celebrity, Charles Bronson, whom she had never met in person. Her family contested the legality of the will, but in the end, Bronson ended up taking $150,000 from the stranger he had never met before, claiming that he planned to donate it to charity.
“Beam Me up, Scotty”
When Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the original Star Trek series, died, his ashes were flown into space on a Spanish satellite and shot out as the satellite orbited earth, per his request.
(Wo)man’s best friend
Carlotta Liebstein, a German citizen who died in 1991, left 139 million Deutschmarks to her dog Gunther III and his heir, Gunther IV.
Inanimate Heir
Leo Tolstoy, the famous Russian Novelist who died in 1910, left all of his possessions to the stump of a tree in his will.
Pringles
Frederic Baur, the creator of Pringles who died in 2008, requested through his will that his ashes be interred in an empty Pringle container. His children were wary of the request but followed their father’s wishes.
What weird things would YOU put in your will?
Leave a comment or email us. We’ll post the best answers next month.
