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The most astonishing and extraordinary bequests and last requests found in people's wills.
“This will is uncommon and capricious.” As beginnings go, this opening line shows how our final words don’t need to be written in standard legalese but can instead be creative and individualistic. Will Power tells the stories of big names and ordinary people writing their last wills and testaments who did just that.
There’s the eccentric will that left a mansion and its grounds to 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.
“This will is uncommon and capricious.” As beginnings go, this opening line shows how our final words don’t need to be written in standard legalese but can instead be creative and individualistic. Will Power tells the stories of big names and ordinary people writing their last wills and testaments who did just that.
There’s the eccentric will that left a mansion and its grounds to 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.
Price: $21.99
Pages: 240
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Imprint: Dundurn Press
Publication Date:
03 March 2026
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781459755826
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
HISTORY / Social History, Social and cultural history, HUMOR / Topic / Law & Crime, LAW / Wills, LAW / Estates & Trusts, True stories / true accounts of events, Law: wills, probate, succession, inheritance, Humour collections and anthologies
People speak from the grave and Susan Goldenberg brings their stories to life.
Susan Goldenberg has done a remarkable bit of research to unearth unusual provisions people have written into their wills. Then she's surrounded the facts with legal and historical context, and a dose of human psychology, and the result is an enlightening and entertaining read.
Will Power gives us compelling stories of wills that were questionable, wills that left legacies to communities, and wills that were just plain bizarre in their intent and in their outcome. Who would have thought that legal reading could be so entertaining?
The delightful collection of case studies illustrates the range of wishes by benefactors in distributing their fortunes, from very modest to enormous. Through outstanding research, the author has unearthed stories of charming generosity alongside examples of shocking racism and gender discrimination, as her subjects sought to honour or punish their families and colleagues. At the same time, the reader and future will-designer learns much about legal principles that govern the settling of wills in Canada. This is a timely and entertaining account of the role that wills have played in Canadians’ lives.
Susan Goldenberg has done a remarkable bit of research to unearth unusual provisions people have written into their wills. Then she's surrounded the facts with legal and historical context, and a dose of human psychology, and the result is an enlightening and entertaining read.
Will Power gives us compelling stories of wills that were questionable, wills that left legacies to communities, and wills that were just plain bizarre in their intent and in their outcome. Who would have thought that legal reading could be so entertaining?
The delightful collection of case studies illustrates the range of wishes by benefactors in distributing their fortunes, from very modest to enormous. Through outstanding research, the author has unearthed stories of charming generosity alongside examples of shocking racism and gender discrimination, as her subjects sought to honour or punish their families and colleagues. At the same time, the reader and future will-designer learns much about legal principles that govern the settling of wills in Canada. This is a timely and entertaining account of the role that wills have played in Canadians’ lives.
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.
- Introduction
- 1 The Tractor Fender Will
- 2 Dilemma
- 3 The “Oscars” Will
- 4 Will of Insults
- 5 The Great Stork Derby Will
- 6 Dead Hand Control
- 7 Feud
- 8 Racist?
- 9 The Neo- Nazi Will
- 10 Religion
- 11 Gender Equality
- 12 Moral Obligation
- 13 Four Horses
- 14 McGill University Will
- 15 The Art Gallery of Ontario Will
- 16 Valid or Not?
- 17 The Cemetery Will
- 18 Lock Box
- 19 Louis the Parrot
- Acknowledgements
- Bibliography
- Index