Valentine’s Day is here again!
It’s time for overpriced greeting cards, last minute rushes to the grocery store for picked over flowers, and displays featuring images of tiny babies shooting bows and arrows with heart shaped tips.
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, Streeter Law Group has decided to submit for your approval, two estate planning tales of amore’ …
One story illustrates the usefulness of an estate plan, the other story, well … you’ll see …
Heinrich Heine was a German poet, journalist and essayist who lived between 1797 and 1856. Heinrich, whose views on religion and politics made him a rather controversial figure in his day, married Crescence Eugenie Mirat in 1841.
The two shared what was believed to be a very rocky marriage, but never divorced. As a matter of fact, it was believed they grew closer in Heinrich’s final year, as he suffered from and eventually succumbed to what was believed to be a venereal disease.
In his Will, Heinrich left his entire estate to his wife on one condition; that she remarry. As the legend goes, Heinrich told his friends the condition was included, “because then there will be at least one man to regret my death.”
Crescence Eugenie did in fact remarry … the same year she buried Heinrich. It remains unknown whether her new husband ever regretted the former’s death.
Robert Louis Stevenson was a famous Scottish novelist and poet. Stevenson is famous for writing Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and was born November 13, 1850 (a fact which will prove quite significant to this story).
Stevenson died of what was believed to be a stroke on December 3,1894.
In his Will, Stevenson bequeathed something very special to his good friend, Annie H. Ide …
Ide, who was born the 25th of December, once complained to Stevenson about the inconvenience of being born on Christmas day. Therefore, Stevenson bequeathed to her his birthday to be used with “moderation and humanity,” due to the birthday “not being so young as it once was.”
Stevenson also used his Will for more practical purposes.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
