What Can We Learn From Sean Hughes?

The British stand-up comedian, Sean Hughes died in 2017 leaving behind an estate worth $4M and a last will that he drafted via an online platform without professional legal advice (we know where this is going…). The last will left his “three houses to Shelter” (a nonprofit organization he was involved with). However, at the time of his passing, he only owned one property in his name. The other two referenced properties were owned by a private company of which he was the sole shareholder (you can’t give what you don’t have).  Technically, “my houses” did not automatically mean the shares in the company that owns the houses so the houses were not included in the specific gift to the non-profit organization and were left to his 2 other beneficiaries as part of the residue “everything clause” in the last will.

Needless to say, even though the other beneficiaries to his estate, his family and the charity ALL agreed to give all 3 properties to the non-profit, it took almost 10 years for the Courts to sort it all out and for the non-profit to get the properties.

So, what can we learn from this DYI last will debacle?

We can talk all about how to list a non-profit in your estate plan documents. Whether the charitable gift is a part of the trust or the last will, it’s important to articulate a statement that gives the assets for the charity’s “general use and purpose.”  We want to give the charity the ability to apply the gift to anything that makes sense and leaving it open ended is a good practice. Additionally, we want to include the language “should the charity be in existence at the time of my passing,” to avoid a gap if the charity merged with another entity or is no longer a thing (stuff happens – even to non-profits!). 

So, there you have it. We learn that leaving a bequest to a charity does require a little know-how and doing your own last will is like filling your own cavity. Can you do it? Sure. Should you do it? Probably not.