When people think about wills, they usually picture tidy bequests to spouses or charities. But the top 10 weirdest last‑will demands ever recorded prove that some beneficiaries prefer a dash of drama, a splash of absurdity, or outright mischief. From canine fortunes to post‑mortem percussion, these eccentric instructions show that death can be just another stage for a grand finale.

Top 10 Weirdest Last Will Demands Unveiled

10 Seventy Names From the Phone Book

Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral de Camara, a Portuguese aristocrat, lived a life of relative comfort but with very few personal ties. He owned a well‑stocked bank account, a twelve‑room flat, a house and several cars, yet he was a lifelong bachelor with no close family or friends. In a whimsically generous (or perhaps eccentric) move in 1988, he decided to split his modest fortune among seventy complete strangers plucked straight from a telephone directory.

Thirteen years later, when Luis Carlos finally passed away, the courts set his will in motion. Lawyers reached out to each of the seventy Lisbon residents, informing them that they would each receive one‑seventieth of the estate. Even divided, each share amounted to several thousand euros. Unsurprisingly, many recipients initially suspected a scam, noting the familiar “Nigerian Prince” vibe. Yet the calls were genuine, and for those seventy lucky Lisboans, an unexpected windfall arrived from a man they never met.

9 Eighty‑Million‑Dollar Dog

Karlotta Leibenstein, a German countess, inherited a colossal sum but had no children or close relatives to inherit it. Instead, she chose an unusual heir: her beloved pet, a Labrador‑Retriever named Gunther III. In 1992, the dog became the beneficiary of an $80 million trust, an amount that would soon dwarf the fortunes of many humans.

Because a dog cannot legally own money, a team of caretakers was appointed to manage the trust. They provided Gunther III with a life of opulent indulgence, while also investing the capital wisely. By 2019, the original $80 million had swelled to nearly $400 million. Although Gunther III has since passed, his offspring, Gunther IV, continues to enjoy the pampered lifestyle that only a millionaire canine could afford.

8 Make Me a Frisbee

“Steady” Ed Headrick, a World War II veteran and deep‑sea welder turned toy designer, is best known for inventing the modern Frisbee and pioneering disc golf. True to his playful spirit, Headrick’s will stipulated that his cremated remains be mixed into the plastic of a limited series of Frisbees.

His son, Daniel, recalled Ed joking for years about “living on as a Frisbee,” a quip that turned out to be a genuine wish. After Ed’s cremation, his ashes were incorporated into a special batch of discs. Some were gifted to family and friends, while others were auctioned for charitable causes, ensuring that Headrick’s legacy literally took flight.

7 Beam Me Up… Twice

Gene Roddenberry, the visionary creator of Star Trek, harbored a lifelong fascination with the cosmos that extended beyond storytelling. In his will, he requested that a portion of his ashes be launched into space, allowing his remains to drift among the very stars his shows celebrated.

In 1997, a Celestis rocket carried part of Roddenberry’s ashes into Earth orbit. Unfortunately, the satellite’s orbit decayed, and by 2002 the payload re‑entered the atmosphere, burning up on its fiery descent. NASA has pledged to send another payload containing more of his ashes, but as of now, that second celestial journey has yet to take off.

6 Display Me, Sir

Philosopher Jeremy Bentham, a towering figure of utilitarian thought, left explicit instructions for the handling of his corpse. He demanded that his body be preserved, seated in his familiar pose, clothed in one of his suits, and placed within a wooden box fitted with a glass front so that it could be displayed publicly for posterity.

Since his death in 1832, Bentham’s preserved form—dubbed the “Auto‑Icon”—has resided in various locations around University College London. Over the years, the display has suffered from poor preservation techniques and mischievous pranks, culminating in the replacement of his original head with a wax replica, which now remains securely locked away.

5 Keep It Warm for My Return

John Bowman, a 19th‑century tanner, amassed a sizable fortune and cultivated a loving family. After the tragic loss of his wife and both daughters, Bowman resolved to honor his kin even beyond the grave.

He commissioned a $75,000 stone mausoleum that doubled as a shrine, installing statues of his late wife and daughters inside, while a statue of himself ascended the steps, flowers in hand. Believing in reincarnation, Bowman anticipated that his family would someday return to their mansion.

To prepare for this imagined reunion, he set aside $50,000 for a custodian tasked with keeping the mansion ready. For six decades the caretaker kept the fireplace alight, placed a nightly dinner on the table, and ensured the house remained warm, awaiting the family’s spectral comeback.

4 The Ol’ Skin Drums

Solomon Sanborn, a proud Massachusetts resident who died in 1871, was deeply patriotic about his state’s Revolutionary‑War heritage. While he consented to donate his body to science, he made a singular request regarding his skin.

Sanborn had fashioned his own skin into two drums and gifted them to a close friend who was a drummer. He stipulated that each year on June 17th—the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill—the friend should travel to the historic site and perform “Yankee Doodle Dandy” on the skin drums, keeping his patriotic spirit alive.

3 Ashes in Your Comic

Marvel stalwart Mark Gruenwald, a prolific writer, editor, and artist, was a lifelong comic‑book aficionado. In keeping with his devotion, his will directed that his cremated remains be mixed into the ink used to print a comic.

Following his wishes, the production team incorporated Gruenwald’s ashes into the ink for the first collected edition of his favorite series, Squadron Supreme. Those copies have become coveted collector’s items, regularly fetching high prices on secondary markets such as eBay.

2 Mandatory Seances

Harry Houdini, the legendary escape artist, spent much of his later years debunking fraudulent spiritualists. He and his wife Bess devised a post‑mortem test: whichever of them died first would attempt to send a coded message to the other via a séance.

Houdini’s will explicitly instructed Bess to hold annual seances in hopes of receiving the hidden message, thereby proving the existence of an afterlife. Bess faithfully conducted the sessions until her own death, yet no coded communication ever emerged, leaving the mystery unresolved.

1 The Great Stork Derby

Charles Vance Millar, a Toronto entrepreneur with a sizable fortune, died without close relatives. In a final act of mischievous generosity, he crafted a series of bizarre bequests designed to stir the city.

Among his eccentric clauses, Protestant ministers were granted shares in his brewery—a Catholic‑owned enterprise—and his Jamaican vacation home was bequeathed to three men who despised each other, on the condition they lived together. The most infamous stipulation, however, became known as the Great Stork Derby: the bulk of his estate would go to the Toronto woman who bore the most children within ten years of his death. This sparked a decade‑long baby‑making race that ended in a four‑way tie, each woman having given birth to nine children.

Death can be messy. Not like blood-splattering, flesh-eating zombies, but rather something much, much worse: lawyers. At some point, we all have to die. However, before the big sleep, it’s best to have prepared a legal testament to ensure your final wishes are carried out, thus avoiding any post mortem mayhem.

10. Janis Joplin

For some people, the party never stops — even after they’re dead. In her will, singer-songwriter Janis Joplin designated $2,500 for one last shindig to be held at The Lion’s Share pub in Northern California. The celebration served as a proper send-off, honoring the bluesy Hell-raising songstress, who died from a heroin overdose in 1970.

Originally from Port Arthur, Texas, Joplin burst onto the music scene in the late 1960s with hit songs such as “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Mercedes Benz.” She dazzled audiences with live performances at the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock before joining the infamous ’27 club’ (celebs who died at age 27). 

After her death, most of Joplin’s estate was willed to her parents and siblings. But she also stipulated that some friends, especially any former female roommates, would receive her personal effects and household furnishings. 

9. Howard Hughes

Mogul. Playboy. Aviator. Howard Hughes wore several hats throughout his fascinating — and often bizarre — life. When he died intestate (without a valid will) in 1976, numerous claims were made by those hoping to cash in on his $2.5 billion estate. 

One of the more creative attempts involved a gas station owner named Melvin Dummar, who alleged Hughes gave him a handwritten will after picking up the eccentric billionaire on a desolate Nevada highway. The document, which endowed $156 million to Dummar, was later deemed a forgery. The story was later adapted into the 1980 film, Melvin and Howard.

Hughes’ fortune was later split among several cousins. In 1984, the heirs agreed to an undisclosed financial settlement with actress Terry Moore, who claimed she and Hughes had secretly married on a yacht in international waters off Mexico in 1949 and never divorced. Her book, The Beauty and the Billionaire, became a bestseller.

8. Prince 

On the morning of April 21, 2016, the artist formerly known as Prince was found dead inside an elevator of his Paisley Park complex near Minneapolis. A report from the local medical examiner’s office later revealed that the 57-year-old musician had died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a powerful opioid used to treat chronic pain. Because no will had been found, a mad scramble ensued over an estate valued at an estimated $500 million.

As one of the best-selling music artists of all time, Prince had a wide range of assets that included real estate, stocks, and royalties from both publishing and studio recordings. Shortly after his death, more than 700 people claimed to be descendants. DNA testing would eventually result in a court ruling which recognized his sister, Tyka Nelson, and five half-siblings qualified as the rightful heirs. 

After being cremated, the entertainer’s ashes were placed into a custom, 3D printed urn shaped like the Paisley Park. His legal problems, however, remain unsettled. In the absence of a clearly defined executor, a fight for control of his brand, music, legacy, and image is expected to drag on for years to come. 

7. Gene Roddenberry

Although commercial space travel is still years away from becoming mainstream, that didn’t stop Gene Roddenberry from boldly going where… well, you know the rest. As the Star Trek series creator and the first TV writer to ever receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he requested that his ashes be scattered in the final frontier. 

During his lifetime, Roddenberry played an integral role in pioneering the sci-fi genre. The wildly popular Star Trek franchise would ultimately spawn blockbuster movies, TV spinoffs, and even an annual Trekkie Convention. Naturally, outer space beckoned as his final resting place that involved two separate missions. 

In October 1992, NASA astronaut James Weatherbee carried a portion of Roddenberry’s ashes on board Space Shuttle Columbia. Five years later, a Pegasus XL Rocket transported more of his cremated remains along with those of 23 others, including LSD guru, Timothy Leary — but this time a trip only orbiting earth.

6. Jim Morrison

Another member of the ’27 club’, Jim Morrison, personified the live-fast-die-young creed as the lead singer for The Doors. After several high profile arrests and drunken shenanigans, Morrison’s wild ride came to a screeching halt in 1971 after being found dead in the bathtub of a Paris apartment. The cause of death was listed as an accidental heroin overdose. Although his assets were only modest at the time, the frontman’s 25% stake in the band would later generate millions in royalties. 

Consistent with his life while he was alive, Morrison left behind a will that resulted in chaos and protracted legal battles. Having long been estranged from his family, Morrison’s girlfriend, Pamela Courson, inherited the entire estate. But when she died intestate three years later (also at age 27), a court ruling awarded the fortune to her parents. Not surprisingly, this didn’t sit well with Morrison’s mother and father, who claimed their son’s will should have been ruled incompetent. 

A probate court later confirmed that Courson indeed qualified as Morrison’s common-law spouse, and therefore, his rightful heir. In the end, however, the two families settled the matter between themselves and divided everything equally. 

5. George Bernard Shaw

The playwright and literary icon George Bernard Shaw was renowned for his acerbic wit and a sardonic sense of humor. As the foremost dramatist of his generation, Shaw’s prolific achievements included works such as Man and Superman, The Doctor’s Dilemma, and Pygmalion. Furthermore, the Irishman won the Nobel Prize for Literature and an Oscar (the only person to receive both awards), and when he died in 1950 at age 96, he left behind money to fund the development of a new alphabet. 

The Dublin-born writer instructed in his will to hold a competition to create a different writing system. The script had to be phonetic, at least 40 letters long, and distinct from the Latin script. In 1958, Kingsley Read was chosen as the winner and received a prize of £500. Each ‘Shavian’ character in the new variant required only a single stroke when written, allowing for faster writing. 

4. Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury loved to perform, captivating audiences worldwide with his charisma and rare, four-octave vocal range. He also loved his cats — and made sure they would be well taken care of following his death in 1991. 

Born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar, Mercury would become a rock and roll legend as the frontman for Queen with hits such as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” and “Somebody to Love.” While on tour with the band, he frequently spoke to his brood of felines on the phone and doted on them as though they were his children — replete with individual Christmas stockings and specially prepared meals. 

In 1985, Mercury dedicated his solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, “to my cat Jerry—also Tom, Oscar, and Tiffany, and all the cat lovers across the universe—screw everybody else!” He later wrote the song Delilah about one of his favorites, appearing on the Queen album, Innuendo. He left the majority of his estate to his ex-girlfriend, Mary Austin, with specific instructions to continue pampering his cats. Additionally, he also requested that Austin bury his cremated remains in a secret location.

3. Harry Houdini

As a master of escape and spellbinding illusionist, Harry Houdini was known for his death-defying stunts. He even planned to work his magic in the afterlife, creating a secret code so he could visit his wife Bess from beyond the grave.

The Hungarian-born performer died from a ruptured appendix on October 31, 1926. At the time, Houdini was one of the most famous and highest-paid entertainers in the world. Prior to his death, he and his wife had agreed on using a spelling code — known only to themselves — to communicate the message “Rosabelle believe.”

For ten years after Houdini’s death, Bess held séances every Halloween but without any luck. She later stated, “ten years is long enough to wait for any man.” However, the tradition of summoning Houdini continues today by fans and magicians throughout the world. 

2. Frank Sinatra

Few entertainers who ever breathed achieved as much success, notoriety, and power as Frank Sinatra. The son of Italian immigrants from Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra would become a global icon as a chart-topping singer, movie star, and de facto leader of the Rat Pack. And when he died in 1998, the crooner left behind a will that let the world know that “Ol’ Blue Eyes” was still in charge. 

Sinatra included a clever provision that stipulated that if anyone contested his will, they’d be automatically disinherited. Since he had married four times and fathered three children (possibly more), he knew that there would be disputes over his estate worth over $100 million. 

In 1998, Sinatra died at age 82 after suffering a heart attack. He was interred at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California, and buried with assorted mementos, including a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, a pack of Camel cigarettes, and a Zippo lighter.

1. Anna Nicole Smith

Like her idol, Marilyn Monroe, Anna Nicole Smith lived a fairytale life that ended in tragedy with an overdose of prescription drugs. As a result, Smith’s death would result in two highly publicized estate disputes: the will of her late billionaire husband, J. Howard Marshall, and later, her own. The controversy also generated speculation about the reality star’s demise, in which the toxicology report listed nine different kinds of medication in her system.

Smith rose to fame in the early 1990s, appearing in ads for Guess and being named Playboy’s Playmate of the Year. Although she later dabbled in acting and starred in her own reality show, she became the subject of relentless tabloid fodder because of her 1994 marriage to Marshall, a Houston-based oil tycoon. He was 89. She was 26. Shortly after tying the knot, Marshall died, triggering a legal tsunami between the alleged gold digger widow and her stepson, E. Pierce Marshall.

According to J. Howard’s will, he left most of his loot to E. Pierce. However, Smith claimed that her husband had promised her half of his fortune — but neglected to revise the document before he passed away. Adding to the family feud, Smith joined forces with Marshall’s other son, J. Howard Marshall II, who had been previously disinherited.

A series of nasty court battles followed, including two separate U.S. Supreme Court decisions. But by the time of the second ruling, both Smith and E. Pierce had died — as well as Smith’s son, Daniel, her sole beneficiary. Confused? It gets even crazier. 

In 2006, five months before being found unconscious in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida, Smith gave birth to a baby girl, Dannielynn. A cast of characters soon emerged, claiming to be the father — despite Howard K. Stern (Smith’s attorney and executor of her will) being named on the child’s birth certificate. 

Eventually, DNA testing declared Smith’s ex-boyfriend/freelance photographer, Larry Birkhead, as Dannielynn’s dad and received full custody. Although Smith never received the financial windfall she had hoped for, her daughter is entitled to pursue the legal fight as the rightful heir. To be continued…