The following story is a lesson and cautionary tale on why you should always have at least a basic will.
Walter Samaszko Jr., aged 69, lived as a recluse in Carson City, NV before his body was found in June at his home having died at least a month earlier of heart problems. At the time of his death he had only $200 in his bank account. And no will. You may be thinking, ha $200 and no will, what's the big deal? Well, turns out he also had at least $7 million worth of gold coins and bars stashed away inside his home! And in addition to that, stocks worth over $165,000 and $12,000 in cash were found.
But still, no will. And he also had no close relatives. Authorities were able to track down a first cousin who attended the funeral of his mother in 1992, but have not been able to make contact with her about the newly discovered assets that she would inherit under intestacy laws.
Would Walter have wanted this cousin to get all of his wealth? Well, we'll never know that for sure because he didn't have the very very basic of estate litigation despite having such an abundance of valuable assets.
Don't be like Walter! Control your wealth and who benefits from it after you die by consulting with a professional estate litigation Attorney as soon as possible.
*This blog entry was not written by an Attorney and should not be constituted as professional legal advice.