Huguette Clark passed away in 2011 at the age of 104, leaving in her will $300 million of her estate to charities, her nurse, her hospital, attorney and accountant. The last known picture of her was from 1930, and she lived a reclusive life as an heir to a family fortune.
Now, Ms. Clark's estate is embroiled in litigation with no end in sight. She had no close family members, only distant relatives. She wrote two wills, only a couple of months apart. The first one left part of her estate to the distant relatives, and the second will cut out the relatives.
Although Ms. Clark left a large estate of $300 million, we can all learn from the mistakes she made. For more information about the estate planning mistakes she made, check out this New York Times article here.