Not sure of how to tailor your will? Devises and
bequests in wills and other testamentary instruments can be custom-made to the
testator’s wishes, regardless of how eccentric and controversial they could be.
A popular one that still shocks many people is leaving
thousands of dollars for the care of pets, like the famous designer Alexander
McQueen, who left 50,000 pounds for the care of his dogs. But testamentary gifts
can be as conventional as “I devise all
my property to my children in equal parts” and as creative as “I give my property with the condition that
my ashes are put on a space shuttle and released among the stars.” The
first I see every day in practice, the latter was the last will of Star Trek
creator, Gene Rodenderry.
The fact is that testamentary conditions, or the testator’s
dead hand, as some legal experts call them, can be tailored to anyone’s taste. At
the end, it is your money; you worked for it; so you should make sure it works
to serve your wishes, even the posthumous ones.
