will news stories on Newser

William's 30th Birthday Present: $16M

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:00:56 CDT

Life will soon be even sweeter for Prince William and his popular Princess Kate. Wills is about to inherit as much as $16 million from the estate of his late mother. "It will be quite a handy sum if he wants to buy his and Kate’s first family house," a...

New End-of-Life Planning: Social Media Wills

Matt Cantor — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:01:10 CDT

Social networking has already changed our lives; now, officials want us to consider its implications after our death. On its blog, the US government is calling on Americans to create "social media wills," which detail our wishes for the future of the huge range of online accounts we all have...

Italian Leaves Home— and Pets—to Boston

Matt Cantor — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:45:48 CDT

Boston just got a new piece of real estate—in Italy. An Italian man whose mother and aunt lived in Boston left his estate to the city, the Boston Globe reports. But if Beantown wants it, it's going to have to do some petsitting. “The City of Boston, MA, USA,...

Hairdresser Must Return $600K Tip

John Johnson — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:01:00 CDT

It was almost one of the greatest tips of all time. A judge has ruled that a UK hairdresser must return the approximately $600,000 she inherited from two elderly sisters who were customers. The sisters' family successfully challenged the validity of the will, which had been revised by the...

Chihuahua at Center of $29M Estate Battle

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:36:51 CDT

A dying heiress leaves her $8.3 million mansion and a $3 million trust fund to her chihuahua, so little Conchita can continue to live in the diamond-wearing, spa-going manner to which she is accustomed. Sounds like just another tale of the eccentric rich, right? But Gail Posner's son thinks...

Fortune of Asia's Richest Woman Goes to Charity

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:25:00 CST

Following a twisted series of sometimes bizarre court battles dating back to the '90s, a Hong Kong court today ruled that the $4.2 billion estate of Asia's richest woman will go to a charitable trust—and not to her feng shui master lover. Tony Chan claimed Nina Wang carried...

The Strange Story of Jack Kerouac's Estate

Kevin Spak — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:30:02 CDT

When Jack Kerouac died, wallowing in alcohol and obscurity, the bank estimated his estate’s value at $1. He left everything to his mother, and when she died, she left it to Kerouac’s third wife, Stella Sampas—or so everyone believed. Recently a Florida court ruled Gabrielle Kerouac's will a forgery....

Jackson's Mom Gets $86K a Month

Nick McMaster — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:30:00 CDT

Michael Jackson’s estate pays his mother $86,804 every month, the LA Times reports. Estate administrators set up the allowance because the pop singer’s estate—worth an estimated $500 million—is so vast that settling it in court could take years. The allowance pays Katherine Jackson $26,804 every month...

DJ AM Left $1M, No Will

Rob Quinn — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:32:35 CDT

DJ AM died without leaving a will or any instructions on what should be done with his fortune, E! Online reports. The late DJ's mother has asked a court to name her as his sole heir, since he had no spouse or children. The 36-year-old DJ died with assets of...