Women’s wills and last testaments provide a more nuanced picture of life in the Middle Ages than medieval stereotypes allow, such as that depicted in “Death and the Prostitute” by Master of Philippe of Guelders.
Gallica/Bibliothèque nationale de France/Feminae
European women’s rights expanded in early medieval cities, though they were still limited. Last wills and testaments were some of the few documents women could dictate themselves.
Legal expert on the obscure law that makes King Charles and Prince Williams the heirs of people who die without wills or close relatives in Lancashire and Cornwall.
A battle over the superstar’s estate landed in court.
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Death creates grief and sometimes grief overwhelms good sense and creates greed leading to disputes. Making a will is the best way to smooth the process of transferring your estate once you die.
Paper copies of wills haven’t gone extinct yet, but online estate tools have brought will preparation into the 21st century.
Bradshaw79/Wikimedia
What happens to our online data after we die? From memorial Facebook pages to password security, a project at Deakin University is exploring the pitfalls and possibilities of “data after death”.
Joan Kroc gave much to charity during her life and in her will after inheriting the McDonald’s fortune.
AP Photo/Bill Cramer
Far fewer Americans include plans for bequests to nonprofits in their wills than give to charity on a regular basis. The pandemic could be a good reason to change that.
More and more states are allowing people to use Zoom to finish their wills.
LeoPatrizi/Getty Images
Dying without a will can cause all sorts of problems for families.
In 1948, as Cecil George Harris lay dying after a tractor accident, he scratched a final message into the vehicle’s fender.
illustration supplied by: Impact Studios/Dinalie Dabarera.
Courts have had to consider whether an eggshell, a tractor fender, a petticoat hem, graffiti on a wall, and a poem might be valid wills. They’ve shown surprising flexibility in judgment.
When Facebook accidentally listed millions of users as “dead” in an embarrassing glitch it was a reminder that everyone needs to plan for their own digital death.
With the election result almost certain to be close, preferencing will play a key role, leaving the progressive parties in particular in a difficult bind.
Anthony Albanese has well-honed political skills, displayed both within the Labor Party and electorally.
Paul Miller/AAP
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is not the only senior politician having conniptions about his seat. Anthony Albanese was in his New South Wales electorate of Grayndler on Monday, the first full day…