Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson's associates all faced years of court battles and legal costs after dying without a clear, valid will in place. Their estates show that even famous, wealthy people with access to top lawyers can leave their families without a plan if they never sign one, or if the one they sign is unclear.
Roughly half of American adults have no will at all, a pattern that has held steady in surveys for decades. When you die without one, lawyers call it dying intestate, and it means your state's intestate succession law, not your own wishes, decides who inherits.
Prince: 700 Claimed Heirs and a Six Year Fight
Prince died in April 2016 without a will. Roughly 700 people came forward claiming to be relatives, and a judge eventually ordered DNA testing to sort legitimate claims from false ones. It took about six years before the probate court and confirmed heirs agreed on how to divide an estate valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, an outcome a signed will could have avoided entirely.
Michael Jackson: An Unclear Will Still Led to Years of Disputes
Michael Jackson did have a will when he died in 2009, naming his mother Katherine as guardian of his three children. But disputes over his estate and his children's care continued for years, including a period when Katherine was temporarily removed as guardian, the court-appointed role responsible for a minor's care. His case is a reminder that having a will is necessary but not sufficient; the document also has to be clear and current.
Aretha Franklin: Two Handwritten Wills and a Five Year Court Fight
Aretha Franklin died in 2018, and for a while her family believed she had left no will at all. In 2019, relatives cleaning her Michigan home found two handwritten documents: one locked in a cabinet and dated 2010, another stuffed under a couch cushion and dated 2014, each naming different amounts for her sons. Because Michigan allows properly executed handwritten wills, both documents went before a jury, and in July 2023, nearly five years after her death, jurors sided with the 2014 note found under the cushion, according to NPR's coverage of the trial. The dispute strained her sons' relationship for years over a question one clear, dated, properly prepared will could have settled immediately.
The State Decides When You Do Not
When someone dies intestate, a local probate court applies the state's default succession rules, which usually favor a surviving spouse and children first, followed by more distant relatives if none exist. The court does not know or consider what you would have actually wanted for your bank accounts, your home, or even your pets; it simply follows the statute. Learn more about the specific downstream effects in our article on the consequences of dying without a will.
Imagine a parent of two young children who dies suddenly without a will, survived by a spouse. Depending on the state, the spouse does not always inherit the entire estate outright; part of it can be required by statute to pass directly to the children, sometimes leaving the surviving spouse with less control over jointly built assets than either of them would have expected. A signed will lets that same parent decide exactly how much goes to the spouse, how much goes into a trust for the children, and who manages that money until the children are old enough to receive it directly.
Unmarried Partners and Stepchildren Are Often Left Out
Intestate succession laws typically only recognize spouses and blood or legally adopted relatives. A long-term partner you never married generally has no automatic right to inherit, and stepchildren who were never legally adopted usually are not recognized either, no matter how close the relationship was in life.
The Handwritten Will Myth
One persistent myth is that a handwritten note is good enough to serve as a will. In reality, many states do not recognize a fully handwritten, or holographic, will at all, and even in states that do, unclear or informal notes create the same kind of dispute a missing will would. See our full explanation in beware of the handwritten will.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to die intestate?
It means dying without a valid will. Your state's default intestate succession law then decides who inherits your property, typically starting with a spouse and children.
Why did Prince's estate take six years to resolve?
Prince had no will, and hundreds of people came forward claiming to be heirs. The court had to verify legitimate claims, including through DNA testing, before it could finalize the estate's division.
Does having any will guarantee a smooth estate settlement?
No. A will still needs to be clear, current, and properly executed. Michael Jackson had a will, but ambiguity around guardianship led to years of continued disputes.
Can an unmarried partner inherit without a will?
Generally not. Most states only recognize spouses and blood or legally adopted relatives under intestate succession law, leaving long-term unmarried partners with no automatic inheritance rights.
Do I need to be wealthy for this to matter to me?
No. The same default rules apply regardless of estate size. Anyone with a bank account, a home, or minor children benefits from having a clear, valid will.
Did Aretha Franklin have a will?
Yes, but nobody knew that at first. Two handwritten wills surfaced in 2019, a year after her death, and a jury did not decide which one was valid until 2023, nearly five years later.
Do Not Leave It to a Court
These celebrity estates show what happens when a plan is missing or unclear, regardless of how much money or how many lawyers were involved. Write a clear, valid will with FastWill so your own wishes, not a court's default formula, decide what happens to your estate.
