Zappos Founder Tony Hseih Died Without a Will

Tony Hseih was an early investor and CEO of a popular shoe and clothes company called Zappos. He died recently, suddenly, and unexpectedly, according to his family. He may have been worth hundreds of millions of dollars according to Forbes.

No Will

It appears Tony Hseih left behind no will or other estate plan.

As I wrote recently about Chadwick Boseman, dying without a will can affect important issues such as: who controls the estate, who receives property from the estate, who will become the guardian for any minor children left behind, and numerous tax, business, and other planning issues.

I wrote a follow up blog entitled: 5 Important Things That Do NOT Happen Without a Will. If you are trying to understand these issues, I encourage you to start there on this blog.

This content in important because these decisions have wide ranging consequences, not just for the decedent who makes the primary choice – but also on those left behinds, in many ways, on many levels. I am going to do some expanding from that post in future blogs.

Other Writings

Tony Hseih also left behind other writings – including writings on walls and sticky notes.

This reminds me somewhat of the Aretha Franklin Estate. It was initially reported she died without a will as well. But later holographic or handwritten wills became huge issues.

I wrote numerous follow-up blogs on handwritten or holographic wills. On this blog, I would start here if you are trying to understand those issues.

Other Administration Issues

One topic I want to expand on in a future blog (or more) is how no will or a handwritten will can affect other administration issues in an estate – using the Tony Hseih estate situation as an example.

If our office may be of assistance to you in these areas, do not hesitate to contact us at (580) 686-4360 or at coryhicks@fieldandhicks.com or using any of our contact information in the profile. You can also visit www.fieldandhicks.com for more information.

This blog contains general information and the opinions of the author – not legal advice; you should seek the advice of competent counsel (attorney/lawyer) when considering any legal issues.