The Importance of a Comprehensive and Current Estate Plan in Texas: Estate of Ted Williams as a Cautionary Tale

Every client who engages the Newill Law Firm for a Family Legacy and Wealth Planning Package gets a plethora of documents which cover all of their estate planning needs.  Many people mistakenly believe they can execute an estate plan and never re-visit the documents.  An estate plan is not static.  The plan must change when your wishes or life circumstances change.  Not only is it important to have a complete and comprehensive estate plan, it is critical to update your plan if your wishes change and to implement an attorney to make those changes to ensure they are done correctly. 

 

One optional document we offer is an "Appointment of Agent to Control Disposition of Remains."  This document states who you want to make decisions regarding your remains once you pass away.  Most people think they do not need this document...and hopefully they never do.  More often than you would anticipate families, especially blended families, fight over who gets to decide whether the deceased family member is cremated, buried, frozen, or launched into space like Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek.

Sometimes simply stating how you would like your remains handled is not enough, you also need to specify who controls the remains.  A very strange case which illustrates this point arose in the Estate of Ted Williams, a famous Boston Red Sox player and baseball manager.  Williams died in 2002, leaving a Will executed in 1996, which stated he wished to be cremated.  Daughter, Bobby Jo Williams Ferrell, called for cremation of Williams's remains.  His children from another marriage, Claudia Williams and John-Henry Williams, presented a note allegedly signed by Williams in 2000, which stated he wished to be cryogenically frozen, along with his children, so they could all potentially be reunited in the future.  The executor of the Estate supported the position Williams wished to be cryogenically frozen.  A legal battle over the remains ensued.  After spending substantial sums on litigation, Bobby Jo Williams Ferrell eventually withdrew her objection to cryogenic preservation of Williams.  Ultimately, Williams was cryogenically frozen and remains frozen today.  The issue of how Williams truly wanted his remains treated has never been resolved. 

Writing an update to your estate plan on a napkin, scrap of paper, or bathroom stall is unlikely to produce quality results.  As illustrated in the Estate of Ted Williams, not only is it important to have a comprehensive estate plan, it is critical to update your plan if any of your wishes change or if your life circumstances change and to use an attorney to make any changes to your estate plan.