...there's a way

One of my favorite standup comedians was Alan King, who used to appear agitated at all times about everything, f'rinstance:

• "The supermarket sign said Ample Parking. That means there's only one spot left on the lot, and it's reserved for the manager, Irving Ample."
• "There was a kid sleeping in the grocery cart. My kids knew him. He always sleeps in shopping carts. The other kids call him 'Waffle Face'."
• "You only live once, except for Shirley MacLaine."
• "My brother-in-law is a lawyer. He says to me, 'Alan, don't you understand, if you die without a will, you could die intestate.' I looked up the word intestate. It means 'without a will'." 
  


What brings all this up? The news came last week that Chadwick Boseman, the great actor from “Black Panther” and “42,” died without a will. Now his widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, has filed documents in probate court, which is what our survivors have to do in such cases.

He died of cancer two months ago, leaving an estate of around $938,000 for his wife and his parents to settle. I saw friends of my parents go through this mess when one passed on and the other was left to deal with the Registrar of Wills, the MVA, this and that lawyer. It's a mess and it's easily avoided...just by filing a will.

Prince died without a will, which led to any number of lawsuits and actions being filed. Jimi Hendrix left no will either, but these two musicians were not being treated for a deadly disease, as Boseman was for the past four years. 

Aretha Franklin is said to have left three different wills, with some of them outdated, or with illegible handwriting, written out on legal pads. Stan Lee, who created the Marvel Universe that Boseman acted in, left what is called a "messy legal plan" which will take years to untangle, you may be sure.

But the surprise is that these celebrities are not alone! In this crazy year we call "2020," only about a third of us have wills on file. That is way down from 2017, when about half of us did. Surveys are finding that older and middle-aged "adults" are less likely to have their final wishes spelled out. Reasons given include

• "I haven't gotten around to it"
• "I don't have enough to leave anyway"
• "It costs too much"
• "I don't know how to do it"

Here's free legal advice from me, a non-lawyer. Go get a will. Even if you don't have a ton of loot, you have vehicle(s), personal possessions, semi-valuable tools in the shed, all sorts of stuff. Spare your family the mishigas of dealing with people who have a whole carousel of rubber stamps on their counter in the courthouse.

And if saving your loved ones all that hassle doesn't persuade you to do it, just the thought of seeing the cousin you can't stand, driving away in your car, ought to.