Wills and Estate Planning Forms

Download a free copy of the Last Will and Testament of Darius I (550BCE-486BCE), king of Persia.

• Darius I (also known as Darius the Great) was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire. Darius held the empire at its peak, then including Egypt, and parts of Greece. The decay and downfall of the empire commenced with his death and the coronation of his son, Xerxes I.
• Darius ascended the throne by assassinating his predecessor Gaumata with the help of six other Persian noble families; Darius was crowned the following morning. The new emperor met with rebellions throughout his kingdom, and quelled them each time.
• A major event in Darius' life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria and subjugate Greece - an attempt which failed.
• Darius expanded his empire by conquering Thrace and Macedon, and invading the Saka, Iranian tribes who had invaded Medes and even killed Cyrus the Great.
• Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and installing governors to govern each region. He organized a new monetary system, and made Aramaic the official language of the empire. Darius also worked on construction projects throughout the empire, particularly in Susa, Babylon, and Egypt. Darius created a codification of laws for Egypt.

Biographical information taken from Wikipedia.org

Download a free copy of the Last Will and Testament of David Packard (1912-1996).

• Packard, an American electrical engineer and entrepreneur, was a co-founder of the computer giant, Hewlett-Packard.
• The majority of his holdings were donated to the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, which provides grants to nonprofit organizations.

Request that shares in a Canadian company owned by a deceased shareholder be transferred to their estate with this Declaration for Transmission of Shares on Death.

• This is a statutory declaration form that must be completed by the executor of the deceased's estate.
• The shares must be transferred into the deceased's estate so that they can be distributed to the beneficiaries.
• This statutory declaration template is a free form provided for the convenience of estate executors.
• Governed by Canadian laws and intended for use only for the administration of estates in Canada.

Download this free copy of the Last Will and Testament of heiress Doris Duke.

• Doris Duke (1912-1993) was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector and philanthropist.
• When Doris was just 12 years old, her father died and left her a fortune estimated at about $100 million. At the age of 14, she took her mother to court and successfully prevented her from selling the family's 2,700 acre estate.
• When Duke came of age, she used her wealth to pursue a variety of interests, including extensive world travel and the arts. During World War II, she worked in a canteen for sailors in Egypt, taking a salary of one dollar a year. She apparently spoke nine languages.
• In 1945, Duke began a short-lived career as a foreign correspondent for the International News Service, reporting from different cities across the war-ravaged Europe. After the war, she moved to Paris and wrote for the magazine Harper's Bazaar.
• While living in Hawaii, Duke became the first woman to take up competition surfing. A lover of animals, in particular her dogs and pet camels, in her later years Duke became a wildlife refuge supporter, an environmental conservationist, and a patron of historic preservation.

Biographical material taken from Wikipedia.com.

Learn about the Duties of an Executor with this free downloadable summary of the responsibilities of the executor of an estate.

• The executor (sometimes called a personal representative) is responsible for such things as:
  • reviewing the will,
  • arranging probate,
  • taking inventory of the assets,
  • preparing the final tax return,
  • distribution of the assets to the beneficiaries (heirs).
• 'Duties of an Executor' is a free downloadable PDF checklist and guide.

Elizabeth Edwards (1949-2010), best-selling author and US health care activist, was also the wife of North Carolina Senator John Edwards. This is a copy of her Last Will and Testament.

• Elizabeth obtained a law degree from UNC and practiced law until 1996.
• Edwards was well known for her support of universal health care and gay marriage, and her opposition to the war in Iraq, which were points of disagreement between her and her husband. She was a staunch advocate for women's health, especially cancer patients.
• Senator Edwards' revelations about his extramarital affair caused many Americans to rally around in support of his wife. She separated from him in 2010, and died of cancer later that year.

Download this free copy of the Last Will and Testament of Elvis Aaron Presley, the King of Rock and Roll (1935-1977).

• Elvis dominated the popular music charts for decades, until the coming of the Beatles in the 1960s. His unique blend of blues, country and folk combined with his smooth sexy delivery and pelvic gyrations made him a superstar.
• Elvis' first single, 'Heartbreak Hotel' released in 1956, was also his first number 1 hit. He went on to have a string of hits, accompanied by television appearances before swooning audiences of screaming crazed female fans.
• Elvis made his film debut in 1956's Love Me Tender.
• After his army stint, he returned to recording and making movies. In 1968 he returned to live performance with a highly successful television special, a long-standing Las Vegas stint and numerous tours.
• Presley was the first to broadcast a concert globally via satellite, the 'Aloha from Hawaii' special broadcast in 1973.
• Elvis' death as a result of prescription drug abuse robbed us of one of the most important cultural icons of the 20th century. He remains the best-selling solo artist in the history of pop music. Today, millions of Elvis fans still mark the anniversary of his death with candlelight vigils at his mansion at Graceland.

Biographical information taken from Wikipedia.com.

This is a copy of the Will of Epicurus (341 BC-270 BC).

• Epicurus founded one of the major philosophies of ancient Greece, helping to lay the intellectual foundations for modern science and for secular individualism.
• Many aspects of his thought are still highly relevant some twenty-three centuries after they were first taught in his school in Athens, called 'the Garden.'
• Epicurus's philosophy combines a physics based on an atomistic materialism with a rational hedonistic ethic that emphasizes moderation of desires and cultivation of friendships.
• His world-view is an optimistic one that stresses that philosophy can liberate one from fears of death and the supernatural, and can teach us how to find happiness in almost any situation.
• His practical insights into human psychology, as well as his science-friendly world-view, gives Epicureanism great contemporary signficance as well as a venerable role in the intellectual development of Western Civilization.

The above taken from www.epicurus.net

Download a free copy of the Last Will of American novelist Ernest (Papa) Hemingway (1899-1961).

• The works of Ernest Miller Hemingway are considered classics of American literature. His writing style, known as the iceberg theory, was characterized by economy and understatement, and it influenced many other 20th century writers. His characters exuded authenticity, which reverberated with his public.
• In his younger years Hemingway worked as a reporter until World War I when he became an ambulance driver in Italy. This experience formed the basis for A Farewell to Arms.
• After the war he worked in Paris as a foreign correspondence, which led to him covering the Spanish Civil War, after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. During World War II he was present at D-Day and the liberation of Paris. In the midst of all this, he found time to get married four times.
• Hemingway's public persona was that of a hard drinking, hard living adventure seeker. After publishing The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway went on safari to Africa and was almost killed in a plane crash, which left him in ill health for most of the rest of his life.
• He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
• Hemingway committed suicide at his home in 1961.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Do you know what the short-term and long-term financial impact would be for the survivor if you or your spouse or partner were to die?

• Use this Estate Planning Analysis Worksheet to help you determine:
  • the immediate cash requirements of the surviving spouse / partner,
  • ongoing monthly income needs, and
  • available assets.
• This Estate Planning Analysis Worksheet should be completed by both you and your spouse or partner.
• It is provided in MS Word format and can be easily downloaded and filled in, either on the computer or by hand.