When my aunt died a few years ago, she bequeathed one and a half desks to me, and half a desk to my sister.
Yes you read that correctly. I don’t know what she thought either of us would do with half a desk, or why I deserved a whole desk as well. It’s not as if we could share the desk as we live sixty miles apart. But that’s what she wrote in her Will. I wonder what the solicitor who took her instruction thought of her wishes?
The desk in question was a mahogany bureau with a glazed bookcase on top. As a child I thought it was the most glamourous piece of furniture and desperately wanted it. We discussed at length how we should divide it, deciding that a chainsaw would probably be useful. Should we cut it horizontally? Diagonally? Vertically? Would we end up with two legs and a drawer each? Or two half drawers and a pile of broken glass? This could get messy. The possibilities were endless. Who knows what was going through our aunt’s mind when she came up with that idea for her bequest?
Luckily an outbreak of woodworm solved the problem and both halves of the desk went to the dump. We’d tried our best to follow her wishes but some things aren’t so straightforward. At least we had a laugh about it. We didn’t call her Crazy Aunt for nothing!
It’s really important to write a Will, so that those you leave behind know what your wishes are. It doesn’t have to be complicated, nor involve sawing furniture in half, but get it done. It saves so much heartache, delay and expense for your nearest and dearest once you’re gone. It makes life easier for everyone involved. Speak to a solicitor and make sure your final wishes are written down properly. Even if your wishes are a bit mad.
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