2nd Feb 2021

Whether you are Tony Hseih (an early investor and CEO of popular shoe and clothes company Zappos), Aretha Franklin, or an Average Joe like most of us, if you die without a will, there are certain basic consequences you should be aware of. These issues are frequent topics on this blog, but they are always worth repetition and review, because they are important.

Here are a few key items to revisit in light of the recent Tony Hseih matter:

-If you have children and a spouse, everything will not pass to your surviving Spouse. (Under Oklahoma law.)

-If you have minor children, you will not have left written wishes about who their Guardian should be.

-Your estate will not benefit any Charity, no matter how important to you.

-Your estate will not benefit a Non-Relative, no matter how important to you.

-You will not be able to do important Planning regarding things like taxes or business continuity.

-You will likely not have other important estate planning Documents which can affect you during life and end of life, as well as in death.

I have written about these before on this blog. I will likely expand on some of these in the future.

This blog basically covers the “No Will” section in my prior blog on Tony Hseih. The next couple of blogs will cover the two other sections: “Other Writings” and “Other Administration Issues” to dig just a bit deeper on these issues of no will.

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