Celebrity Estate Lessons – Princess Diana

It was a shock to the world when Princess Diana died unexpectedly on August 31, 1997. Luckily, she had written a Will in 1993 and updated it just the year before her death. And, considering that the beneficiaries of the majority of the Will were the princes of England, it was written very well. However, her final wishes were followed to the letter as one might expect.

In addition to her Will, Princess Diana penned a ‘Letter of Wishes’ which stated that she wanted all of her jewelry and three quarters of her personal possessions to go to her sons and the remaining quarter divided between her seventeen godchildren. This was to happen when they reached the age of 25.

However, the Trustees of her estate, Diana’s mother and sister, successfully petitioned the court to change the age of inheritance to 30. They also only gave one personal item, chosen by the Trustees, to each of her godchildren which some described as a “tacky memento.” If the original instructions had been followed, they would have received about £100,000.

You might wonder why no one objected to this. Well, no one knew about the existence of the ‘Letter’ until it came out in later court proceedings.

Diana also established a fund which now owns all of her clothing (some of which has been displayed at Kensington Palace). This is part of her estate that eventually went to the Princes when they turned 30. The proceeds from the fund are distributed to them as well as several charities.

Diana's estate is again proof that unless it's written in a legal document, your wishes may not be followed. No matter your wishes, your loved ones may just ignore anything not written in those documents. It’s best to talk to an attorney to make sure everything is written out so it happens just as you want. Give us a call today and we can help.