12 Truly Wild Inheritance Stories (From Entire Towns to Century-Old Denim)

What do a decaying fruitcake, a pair of 130-year-old jeans, and a no mustache-clause have in common? They were all unexpected legacies left behind by people who clearly didn't do estate planning by the book.

From petty snubs to stunning strokes of fortune, these wild inheritance tales show how unpredictable a final will and testament can be.

While an inheritance can eliminate some money stress, it can also pack a jaw-dropping story. Sit. Read. Gawk. These dearly departed knew how to lay it on thick.

A slice of Queen Elizabeth II's 1947 wedding cake sold at an auction for £2,200 (about $2,700 USD) in 2024. The fruitcake, discovered under a bed in Scotland, had been gifted to the royal housekeeper, Marion Polson, and was still in its original presentation box with a thank-you letter from the Queen.

Polson's heirs expected the cake slice to bring in a fraction of its actual sale price. Despite its moldy appearance, the "time capsule" was a hit with collectors.

You've heard of inheriting a fixer-upper house, but what about a fixer-upper town? That's what happened to John Stawovy's next of kin.

In 1948, Stawovy bought the entire town of Reduction, Pennsylvania, for the bargain price of $10,000. Upon his death, Stawovy's kids sold the town "as is." They listed the town for $1.5 million, eventually dropping the price to $999,900.

Solomon Warner left his family a cedar chest packed with mementos, including a Bible, a horse saddle, and a pair of 1893 Levi Strauss jeans.

When his descendants opened the chest decades later, the jeans were pristine. Levi's offered $50,000 to repurchase them, but the family declined.

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A UK man in the 1960s left £26,000 in his will for Jesus Christ. The catch? Jesus must return within 80 years to claim the inheritance, or the money will return to the Crown. So far, it has remained untouched.

Leona Helmsley, a tough-as-nails billionaire, left $12 million to her pampered Maltese, Trouble. A judge later reduced the dog's trust to $2 million, but it was still enough to cover $100,000 a year for canine care until Trouble's death.

Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral de Camara, a Portuguese nobleman, didn't trust the government to inherit his wealth.

So he did what any spiteful, eccentric rich millionaire would: He selected 70 strangers at random from a Lisbon phone book to receive his fortune.

Australian socialite Valmai Roche left her wealth to a Catholic charity — and a few measly crumbs to her family. Each daughter and her ex-husband received "30 pieces of silver of the lowest denomination," a not-so-subtle reference to the 30 pieces of silver Judas Iscariot was paid to betray Jesus Christ.

Henry Budd liked a clean shave. From the grave, he wanted to ensure his sons kept their upper lips bare.

In his will, he declared that if either son grew a mustache, they'd lose their inheritance — along with any chance of passing it on to future generations.

Harry Houdini left his estate to his wife with one out-of-this-world clause. She was to hold an annual Halloween séance to try to reach him in the afterlife, using a secret code they'd agreed on. Some fans still honor the tradition.

Maria Assunta, a wealthy widow in Italy, left her $8.5 million fortune to Tommaso, a stray cat she had adopted.

Since Italian law forbids direct pet inheritance, she found a trustee to care for Tommaso in luxury for life.

Homeless Hungarian brothers Zsolt and Geza Peladi lived in a cave outside Budapest when they inherited $5 billion from a grandmother in Germany. Charity workers tracked them down and gave them the shock of a lifetime.

William Shakespeare famously left most of his estate to his daughter but only his "second-best bed" to his wife, Anne Hathaway. Some historians now believe the gesture may have been more loving than petty, a sign of marital intimacy rather than an insult.

Inheritance can bring life-changing wealth, petty revenge, or just plain weirdness. Whether it's a spoiled kitten, second-best bed, or post-mortem control clauses, these stories show how unpredictable final wishes can be.

Want to avoid chaos with your own estate? Make a plan early, and get solid financial advice while you're still around to give it.