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Egon Spengler Dies, who you Gonna Call: A Trusts and Estates Attorney

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In the newest installment of the Ghostbusters franchise, Callie, a broke, single mother, finds herself in the small, mining town of Summerville, Oklahoma with her two children, Phoebe and Trevor.  Newly evicted from her apartment, Callie thought her luck had turned around when she received word that her father, from whom she was estranged, had died, and left her property. 

Who was her father? None other than Egon Spengler, a founding member and the brains of the Ghostbusters operation.  

As Callie, Phoebe and Trevor approached the property, they see a barren dirt field, bible verses painted on wood slabs, and an extremely dilapidated farmhouse.  Home sweet home. Or is it?  

Egon’s demise, his absconding with Ghostbuster property, and Callie’s subsequent transformation into Zuul, one of Gozer’s minions, raises the question of who owns Dirt Farm, and the items located on the property. 

Who Died? 

Behind every inheritance—is a dead person. 

Under section 3122 of Oklahoma’s Uniform Determination of Death Act, an individual is dead if they have sustained either 1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or 2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem. 

Here, Egon became a ghost during the film’s opening scene. One could argue that Egon retained brain function because he continued to offer expert guidance to Phoebe as she, her family and friends worked to defeat Gozer once and for all.  As a ghost, however, he no longer had circulatory or respiratory functions. Since Egon was all ectoplasm and no blood, and he did not require oxygen to sustain himself, he was dead under Oklahoma law. 

Callie, on the other hand, did not die when she became Zuul. Although she was possessed,  her human form remained, along with her brain function, circulatory and respiratory functions.  Once Phoebe captured Zuul in the ghost trap, Callie was freed, and life, quite literally, went on. 

Who Owns What? 

Callie is the rightful recipient of Egon’s property regardless of whether he died intestate, without a will, or had some sort of estate plan that bequeathed his property. 

Egon was unmarried at the time of his death and Callie was his only child.  Therefore, she is the sole heir to his estate.  (Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 84, § 213.)  Callie, however, mentioned that she was “surprised he left [her] anything,” when speaking to her landlord, which implies that Egon had some sort of estate plan in place.  

In that case, Callie would still be the rightful owner of the property.  The only difference is that instead of being an heir, she would inherit as a beneficiary.  When someone creates a will or a trust, their property passes to the named beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of the document.  (Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 84, § 301; Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 84, §§ 41, 301; Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 60, § 175.2.)  Thus, Callie owns Dirt Farm. 

Though Callie is the sole owner of Dirt Farm, the same cannot be said of the Ectomobile, ghost trap, proton pack, or P.K.E. meter.  During a phone call to Ray Stantz, another founding member of the Ghostbusters, Phoebe learned that the business collapsed when Egon took all the ghostbusting equipment with him to Oklahoma.  A testator may only devise their property.  Because the ghostbusting gear was owned by the business, Egon lacked the authority to unilaterally bequeath it.  If the business were defunct, which was unclear by the end of the film given that the Ghostbusters reunited to vanquish Gozer, each member of the Ghostbusters would have an ownership interest in the property. Therefore, the Ghostbuster equipment belongs entirely to the business, or Callie has only a partial ownership interest. 

What About the Creditors? 

Egon’s friend, Janine Melnitz, informs Callie that there was, “no money,” and “quite a bit of debt,” at the time of his death. 

While beneficiaries are generally not liable for the debts of the decedent, creditors are entitled to repayment from the decedent’s estate.  In this case, there is no money in Egon’s estate to satisfy the debts.  The Court, however, has the authority to order that property, including real property, be sold to satisfy a decedent’s debts.  (Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 58, § 381.)  Whether the Court would force a sale which would leave Callie, Phoebe, and Trevor homeless, is a topic for another article. Suffice it to say, should creditors seek repayment, Callie would need to secure funds to satisfy any creditor’s claim, or risks losing Dirt Farm in a court-ordered sale. 

Conclusion

In short, Callie inherited Dirt Farm, and likely has a partial interest in the Ghostbusters equipment.  Given she is currently unemployed and characterized by Phoebe as “bad with her money,” how long Callie will keep any of her newfound “wealth” remains an open question.  

Probate Law in the Aftermath of Infinity War

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Thanos turned half of all life to ashes at the climax of Avengers Infinity War. A universal death date for half of every person on Earth would pose many challenges, such as who died? Were the deaths proportional across cities or were some places hit harder than others? There are people key for delivering services for societies to function. Did 80% of doctors in Los Angeles turn to dust, while only 20% of doctors in New York City? How many people who can run a nuclear power plant are left alive? And the big one: How many Probate Judges were not turned to dust?

Many people have well dynamic estate plans. This could cover anything from wills for distribution of property to trusts providing financial support to where they went to college. Those who die without a will have their property distributed according to intestate succession. In a world where 50% of the U.S. died at once, courts would be flooded with survivors trying to put society back together.

Probating Wills

Estate law is governed by each state. While there can be variations, generally states have very similar requirements based on centuries of probating estates.

The most basic will is a statutory will, which is a form document where the testator (person creating the will) fills in the blanks of the pre-printed will, signs it, and has witnesses who observe the testator sign the will, before signing the will in the presence of the testator. Cal. Prob. Code § 6221. Having one of these wills is better than nothing, but it might be lacking for more thoughtful estate planning.

An attorney ideally prepares formal wills after careful consultation on the wishes of the testator. Formal wills require the testator to sign the will in the presence of the two attesting witnesses, or acknowledge their signature to each attesting witness separately, and declare to them that his signature is on the will. Witnesses are required to sign the will and list their addresses. N.Y. Est. Powers & Trusts Law § 3-2.1.

A holographic will is not as cool as it sounds. These wills are not video form wills created by a Stark Industries app, but a testimonial document that is in the testator’s own handwriting that cover the material provisions of a will and signed. These wills do not need to be witnessed. However, undated holographic wills can be subject to challenge if it contains provisions that conflict with a formal will. Cal. Prob. Code § 6111.

Intestate Succession

People who die without a will have their estate disposed of through intestate succession to surviving heirs. This can also cover property not covered in a will. Cal. Prob. Code § 6400. It is easiest to think of intestate succession as flowcharts contingent on whether there is a surviving spouse.

If the descendant has no one who falls under intestate succession, then the property would go to the state (the legal term is “escheat”). Cal. Prob. Code § 6404

What Will Happen to the Courts in the MCU?

Courts across the United States would be flooded if half the population turned to dust. County offices would literally and figuratively be buried in the dust of deceased as they processed death certificates. State Courts that already do not have enough judges currently would have LESS judges to handle the flood of probate cases. For example, San Francisco has a population of 870,887 people. Assuming the courts hear 40 cases a day, the influx of 435,444 probate petitions would shatter the court system.

Consider the family of Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, and Hope van Dyne. All three characters died in the mid-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp. It is highly likely that there are no other surviving family members. If Hank Pym had a will, the probating of his technology could go to a colleague in the event he had no surviving family. However, there is a strong (and terrifying) likelihood that all of Pym’s technology could escheat to the state if not covered by a will and there is no one to take by intestate succession.

The other nightmare scenario related to probate is the payouts for life insurance policies would cause that industry to collapse. Assuming the US population in the MCU is 326,766,748, then 163,383, 374 people died at the end of Infinity War. Assuming 20% had life insurance policies there would be approximately 32,676,675 life insurance claims. If each insurance policy was for $150,000, the total payout would be $4,901,501,220,000.

There would need to be Federal bailouts to keep life insurance companies out of bankruptcy. The process for payouts would likely be protracted, as survivors would need to acquire death certificates from counties. As there is only dust left of Thanos’s victims, identifying people would be ripe with fraud, as there is no way to identify a pile of dust. Insurance companies would fight paying out survivors to avoid a total melt down of the market.

All of these issues would fall to already taxed Courts, which would be operating at half of capacity with a massive increase in case load. However, ideally the Avengers do not spend time figuring out how to help probate courts, but how to undo the damage created by Thanos. It would be easier to figure out how to respond to mass resurrection of victims instead of probating universal genocide.

#TBT: Buffy is back (from the dead)!

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I’ve been listening to the songs from Once More with Feeling a lot lately. [I’m glad La La Land helped spread some new love for musicals in Hollywood but it doesn’t hold a candle to the greatness that is Buffy’s musical episode.] And then I learned that it was twenty years ago this month that Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the TV show, began. So the signs were clear: it was time for me to write a post about my favorite geek TV show of all time.

I missed the beginning of the Buffy phenomenon, turned off both by the name (a problem I had with Jane the Virgin and My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend too, shows I’m now obsessed with) and the movie. I only caught on to the Buffy phenomenon a few years later, when I was in law school and FX started broadcasting reruns back to back. Back then–pre-DVRs, Hulu, and Netflix–reruns were the only way to catch up on a show you had otherwise missed. Once I caught up on the old ones I started watching the new episodes. And if I missed one of the new episodes, I had to go to Television Without Pity to find out what I missed. [Wow, how did we ever manage before all of these awesome new technologies that let us watch our shows whenever and wherever we want?]

Season five ended with one of the most amazing cliffhangers ever (spoiler alert!): Buffy realizes what her gift is and sacrifices herself to save her sister and the world. It was also the 100th episode of the show and the last episode on the WB so the wait to see what happened the next year on the UPN was excruciating.

Season six was criticized by many for being too dark, but I loved it. And the fact that Buffy’s death and resurrection brought us one of the most amazing Hollywood musicals ever only proves how amazing that season was. [I was just temporarily distracted by a review of the season six and it reminded me of how much I loved that season and its finale as well—Big Bad Willow was awesome! I’m also pleasantly surprised at what a true superstar Jonathon became. I loved Danny Strong’s acting on both Buffy and Gilmore Girls but I guess he’s even stronger as a writer!]

Season six was obviously about the entire Scooby Gang dealing with the ramifications of bringing Buffy back from the dead. Bringing her back was an impressive act of witchcraft by Willow, but as a legal geek, I was more interested in the logistics: What kind of paperwork does that involve?

The answer: A lot. It’s a painful process without a guaranteed solution so try to avoid this situation if at all possible (a good rule for hellmouths as well).

The usual reason a non-dead person has to deal with coming back from the dead is because their “death” was the result of a typographical error or they were declared dead in absentia. Buffy, of course, doesn’t fall into either of these categories–she actually came back from the dead and had to bust out of her own gravesite. Can’t blame her for falling into a destructive relationship with Spike after that trauma.

So what happens when you die?

“For three days after death, hair and fingernails continue to grow,
but phone calls taper off.” 
-Johnny Carson

More importantly, you get entered in the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File. Creepy as it sounds, that’s where the Social Security Administration has been keeping track of the Social Security numbers of everyone who’s died since 1980. Unfortunately, those numbers are still entered into the file by humans and sometimes errors occur, leading to people who are very much alive and well being told they are, in fact, dead.

And if your Social Security number comes up as “dead,” then you’re going to be treated like a zombie: no tax filings or refunds, no new driver’s license, rejections of any application where you’re required to provide a Social Security number. For some, it’s a brutal, years-long process that leaves them impoverished and depressed.

In addition, there can be other legal ramifications for being declared dead, especially if you were declared dead by a court in absentia. That means your estate has been disbursed, life insurance benefits paid, and Social Security disbursements made to dependents. California Probate Code Section 12408 addresses this in a section entitled “Reappearance of missing person; recovery of property; limitations of actions; order for final distribution conclusive as to parties; disputed identity of reappearing missing person.” Under that section, if you reappear you can recover assets (minus fees and costs) that are still in the possession of your estate’s personal representative. §12408(a)(1). You might be able to recover assets that have already been given to your beneficiaries, if that recovery is deemed “equitable in view of all of the circumstances.” §12408(a)(2). And if you reappear more than five years after your assets have been distributed, you’re out of luck. Id.

That’s not as bad as what happened to Donald Miller in Ohio. Declared dead by a court at the request of his ex-wife (he wasn’t paying his child support and couldn’t be found), he showed up years later and tried to be officially declared alive again. The court refused, however, explaining that under Ohio law he could only challenge a finding of death within three years of the order being entered. Miller had waited longer than that so the court told him he had to stay dead!

Presumably, the Scooby Gang was too busy fighting monsters in Sunnydale to notify the Social Security Administration about Buffy’s death – or distribute her meager assets. So all Buffy had to deal with was settling back into her old life, going through the motions as best she could:

Ah, Buffy and the Scooby Gang. It wasn’t a perfect show but it was a great show and many of its alum have gone on to make other great TV shows and movies. But there will never be another Buffy–she can only come back from the dead so many times! Next time, I’ll have to figure out what happens when a vampire regains his soul. Is there anyone tracking that?

The Validity of Bruce Banner’s Last Will and Testament

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The Marvel one-shot story of The Fallen is a Civil War II tie-in that featured the execution of Bruce Banner’s “living will.” The question presented is simple: was Banner’s will valid?

Matt Murdock was the executor of Banner’s estate and handled administering the distribution of property to Bruce’s friends and family. Bruce Banner appeared by recorded hologram to state his property distribution. Highlights of the will included:

Equal shares of Banner’s liquidated cash estate split 7 ways ($1,324 per person)

Each recipient was given a 1/7 share of the Benefit Corporation to administer Banner’s patents – ($234,484 per person, which would have tax liabilities).

Rick Jones was given Jimi Hendrix’s guitar

Everyone got an egg timer for anger management

It is also worth noting that Banner’s Benefit Corporation had anonymously paid out $230 million to the Hulk’s victims.

There is confusion over the use of the term “living will” to describe Banner’s will. State law generally defines a “living will” as regarding “life-sustaining treatment,” which is focused on patient treatment, “Do Not Resuscitate” orders, and other medical care to prolong the process of dying. See, Ohio Rev. Code Ann. 2133.01.

It is very likely Bruce Banner did have a living will. However, it is also likely he had a fully executed written will as well to manage his estate. As Bruce was buried in Ohio and his will read in that state, we will apply Ohio law on will construction:

Except oral wills, every will shall be in writing, but may be handwritten or typewritten. The will shall be signed at the end by the testator or by some other person in the testator’s conscious presence and at the testator’s express direction. The will shall be attested and subscribed in the conscious presence of the testator, by two or more competent witnesses, who saw the testator subscribe, or heard the testator acknowledge the testator’s signature.

For purposes of this section, “conscious presence” means within the range of any of the testator’s senses, excluding the sense of sight or sound that is sensed by telephonic, electronic, or other distant communication.

Ohio Rev. Code Ann. 2107.03.

It is possible that Banner’s will was prepared in a different state, such as New Mexico or Utah. Ohio would recognize an out-of-state will as valid, if the will was valid in the sister state. See generally, Bailey v. Bailey (1837) 8 Ohio 239, 241.

The reader does not actually see Bruce’s written will, so it is unknown if it is properly signed and had two witnesses. However, that would not be exciting for many comic fans. The holographic Bruce Banner is way cooler to explain a legal document.

hulk_will_6347

For the record, Bruce’s holographic will would not be a valid holographic will just because Banner appeared as a recorded hologram. “Holographic wills” are a form of wills going back hundreds of years that are entirely handwritten and signed by the testator. Inheritance and Inconsistency, 57 Ohio St. L.J. 1057, 1071. These wills do not follow statutory will construction. Courts review the plain language of these instruments, because “the words employed should be given the meaning which would be imputed to them in common parlance.” Anderson v. Gibson (1927) 116 Ohio St. 684, 688.

Bruce Banner’s hologram listed the transfer of personal property and corporate shares with a value over $1.6 million and patents worth possibly millions of dollars. A written will would be necessary to properly execute Banner’s Estate. Given the fact Matt Murdock was the executor, that would not have happened without a will naming Murdock the executor or court appointment. As such, given the detailed intent by Banner to distribute his property, there had to be a written will. We can hope it was properly witnessed to be effective.

Who Owns the Millennium Falcon?

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In The Force Awakens, the Millennium Falcon starts out in the hands of Unkar Plutt, who stole it from the Irving Boys, who stole it from Gannis Ducain, who stole it from Han Solo, who originally got it from Lando Calrissian.

Rey and Finn steal it from Unkar, and lose it to Han Solo who *Spoiler* then dies. At the end of the movie Rey and Chewie are flying it.  So, who does the Millennium Falcon actually belong too?Slide3

Because our understanding of the laws of property under the Empire, New Republic, and First Order are so lacking, for the sake of this analysis we’ll assume that U.S. law applies.

The Millennium Falcon makes a brief appearance in Revenge of the Sith, but we don’t know who owns it at that point. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary we’ll assume Lando Calrissian is the first lawful owner of the Millennium Falcon. At one point he engaged in a “game of chance”, defined as “poker, craps, roulette, or other game in which a player gives anything of value in the hope of gain, the outcome of which is determined largely by chance….” (Ohio Revised Code.2915.01) (Hereafter O.R.C). He lost that game of chance, in this case Sabaac, and ownership passed to Han Solo. Or did it?

If the game was not lawfully sanctioned, it would be an illegal debt that is unenforceable under U.S. common law so the Millennium Falcon would still belong to Lando Calrissian. Hence, the comment, “What have you done to my ship?”

If the game was legally sanctioned and the Millennium Falcon was used as payment, or partial payment, for a debt lawfully owed, then ownership would pass to Han Solo. (O.R.C. 2915.02 does not prohibit conduct in connection with gambling expressly permitted by law.) Thus the rejoinder by Han Solo to the above comment, “Your ship? Hey, remember you lost her to me, fair and square” asserting that ownership had passed to him.

The Millennium Falcon is considered personal property. For most personal property ownership is often determined by possession, even if the ownership, possession or interest is unlawful. (O.R.C. 2913.01) Because of this Han Solo either has an ultimate claim to the Falcon, having received it as a payment for a lawful debt, or can claim a superior interest second only to that of Lando Calrissian, since his possession is only one step removed from the lawful owner.

The Millennium Falcon is later stolen from Han Solo by Ducain. This allows Ducain to exert a possessory interest over the Millennium Falcon, even though his claim was unlawful.

And it was stolen from Ducain by the Irving Boys, who could then claim a possessory interest over the Millennium Falcon, even though their claim was unlawful.

And it was stolen from them by Unkar Plutt, who could also exert a possessory interest over the Millennium Falcon even though his claim was unlawful.

 

Slide4

And it was stolen from Unkar by Rey and Finn, who could also claim a possessory interest over the Millennium Falcon even though their claim was unlawful as well.

According to the common law to determine the superior claim you simply work your way back up the chain. So Rey & Finn had a superior interest to everyone but Unkar’s, the Irving boys, Ducain, and Han Solo.  Unkar’s interest trumps Rey & Finns. The Irving Boys have an interest that trumps Unkar’s. Ducains’ interest trumps the Irving Boys. And Han Solo has a superior claim to them all.  And he then messes things up by dying. So now who owns the Millennium Falcon?
Slide5

Well, assuming Han Solo died without a will, which seems pretty likely, who owns it will be determined by the laws of intestacy. Han Solo was married to Leia Organa. They were separated, but don’t seem to have made it a formal separation as recognized by the law. They had at least one child (Ben/Kylo Ren) but, as far as we know, neither of them had any children outside of the marriage. As a result, where there is a marriage and all the children are born of that marriage then the whole goes to the surviving spouse. (O.R.C. 2105.06.) So even though Rey may be flying the ship, Leia inherited all rights to the Millennium Falcon and it ultimately belongs to her… assuming Han won it in a lawful game of Sabaac…but he was a great swindler and never one for the rules, so it’s entirely possible it still belongs to Lando.

Doctor Who: The Effect of Regenerations on The Validity of a Will

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Everything dies. Your chances of dying unexpectedly also go up exponentially if you have run-ins with Ice Warriors, Cybermen, Daleks, Zygons, Voords or The Rani.

Most people plan for death by writing a will. The survivors of those who do not have a will learn very quickly about inheritance through intestate succession.

However, what about the Doctor? What effect would the ability to regenerate when one’s body dies and a wave of energy creates a new body for the former decedent? There is one way to know for sure.

The Doctor needs The Lawyer.

1stDoctor-LawyerDeath of a Time Lord

Time Lords (and script writers for 50 years) have a way of cheating death: They can regenerate 12 times.

This happens when a Time Lord “dies”: A wave of energy surrounds the dying/dead body of the Time Lord, creating a “new” body that is physically different.

11thDoctor_9597There are significant personality changes and preferences in everything from clothing, manners and humor.

And sometimes diet.

Virtually every regeneration scene in Doctor Who (minus the Sixth to Seventh) showed a knowledge of impending death.

The Tenth Doctor’s “I don’t want to go” is the best evidence that the Tenth Doctor knew his “life” was ending and a new Doctor would take his place.

The power to regenerate enables Time Lords to live a very long time, but that does not mean Time Lords cannot die. For example, a Time Lord can die if the regeneration process is interrupted. Or in the Master’s case, he chose not to regenerate, and died.

The “New” Time Lord

The “new” Time Lord, despite being a different person, is still the same person at their core. This is evident in values, memories, friendships, behavior and property ownership.

And the Time Lord usually maintains the same enemies (The Doctor vs The Master is Exhibit A of this point).

Three of the best examples of different regenerations of the Doctor having common characteristics is 1) the majority of Doctors all used a sonic screwdriver; 2) three of the eleven Doctors wore bow ties (arguably the First Doctor wore an Victorian style bow tie at times); and 3) The Doctor likes having at least one traveling companion.

Virtually all of the Doctors have also shown they can do a lot of running.

3rdDoctor_9997However, there are significant differences between the regenerations of a Time Lord.

Take the Third Doctor for example. Every Doctor has been willing to confront their enemies, but the Third was perhaps the most physical of the Doctors with his Venusian Karate.

Why are differences in clothes, personality and whether a Time Lord gives a karate chop relevant to the validity of a will?

Because it shows that the change between regenerations creates a “new” person, which would impact the intent of a prior existing will.

The Law of Wills & Time Travel

The Black’s Law Dictionary iPad App defines a Will as:

The legal expression of an individual’s wishes about the disposition of his or her property after death; esp., a document by which a person directs his or her estate to be distributed upon death <there was no mention of his estranged brother in the will>. — Also termed testament; will and testament; (archaically) testamentary instrument.

Case law on Wills state that the “primary and paramount factor in construing a will is testator’s intention.” In re Estate of Reinhardt (1887) 74 Cal 365. State legislatures have codified the importance of the intent of the testator with code sections stating the “intention of the transferor as expressed in the instrument controls the legal effect of the dispositions made in the instrument.” Cal Prob Code § 21102.

Josh_9thDoctor_2Wills have specific rules on how they are constructed, such as the following general requirements:

1. The will must be in writing;

2. The will must be signed by the testator;

3. The will shall be witnessed by being signed, during the testator’s lifetime, by at least two persons each of whom (A) being present at the same time, witnessed either the signing of the will or the testator’s acknowledgment of the signature or of the will and (B) understand that the instrument they sign is the testator’s will.

Generally, Cal Prob Code § 6110.

The will should also be dated. This is a problem with someone who travels in time, because it can result in paradoxical interpretation of when a will was drafted.

California created a rule that beneficiaries of a will must survive the testator by 120 hours. Again, another problem for someone who travels in time, because the named beneficiary might exist in time several decades before the testator’s death, and thus has already been dead for years, even though they survived the testator. Cal Prob Code § 6211.

A holographic will does not involve holograms at all (Sorry, the Ninth Doctor’s Emergency Program 1). A holographic will is a valid will if it is written by the testator’s own handwriting and signed. Cal Prob Code § 6111.

A will is revoked if a subsequent will states the older will is revoked or by any inconsistency with the new will. See, Cal Prob Code § 6120. This is a problem for a time traveler, because a prior will can be created in time before the original will was prepared.

SonicScrewdriver_11The Law of Intestate Succession

The Black’s Law Dictionary iPad App defines intestate succession as:

(18c) 1. The method used to distribute property owned by a person who dies without a valid will. 2.Succession by the common law of descent. — Also termed hereditary succession; descent and distribution.

The general rule for intestate success if the deceased did not have a spouse, property flows down to children (the issue of the deceased); if no children then to up parents; if no surviving parents, then to the issue of the parents. See, generally, Cal Prob Code § 6402.

Intent of the Deceased vs Regenerated Time Lord

What effect does the personality changes between regenerations have on the validity of a will? Arguably the will is no longer valid, because the changes can be great, thus revoking the intent of the past Time Lord.

2ndDoctor-T-shirtTake the 10 year anniversary special The Three Doctors for example. The Second and Third Doctor openly debated with each other; the First Doctor gave them both a once over and stated, “So you are my replacements: A dandy and a clown.”

The same can be said for each time the Doctor has encountered past versions of himself in the Five Doctors, the Two Doctors, and Time Crash: all had arguments with each other.

They all then got along, with one big exception: Trial of a Time Lord.

The villain in Trial of a Time Lord was the final (or second to last) regeneration of the Doctor (known as The Valeyard), serving as the prosecutor of the Sixth Doctor for genocide and other crimes.

On a fundamental level, it is very hurtful that the Doctor “turned evil” and became a lawyer.

The Valeyard is powerful evidence that a future regeneration can have a complete change of intent, rendering any past wills to be completely invalid (and a regeneration that will probably be disregarded because of the The Last Great Time War).

What does this mean for any Time Lord with a prior will? The effect of a regeneration could result in a new version of oneself with a different set of values, requiring the new Time Lord to review their prior will for any modifications based on their current intent.

A Big Ball of Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Legal Stuff

The effect of time travel on drafting and modifying wills would cause an attorney to scream as if they had looked into the Time Vortex in determining the intent of a Time Lord client. The law firm would also give the Doctor the nickname “The Oncoming Storm” because of the causation complexities time travel creates in interpreting the validity of a will. Consider the following hypothetical temporal legal timeline of will modifications:

DrWhoWillHistoryThis is highly problematic for an attorney, because the reasons for modifications (if not revocations) of a will are out of order, despite being in temporal order. The order of will modifications would have to be reviewed by when the Doctor made them in his lifetime, not temporal order. This fundamentally changes legal analysis. Let’s review the will history not in temporal order, but the order in which the Doctor made the will modifications:

The First Doctor prepares a will naming his granddaughter Susan to take possession of the TARDIS in the event of his death on November 23, 1963.

The Second Doctor modifies his will in 1746 to leave Jamie McCrimmon his recorder.

In 1972, the Third Doctor again modifies his will to leave Elizabeth Shaw his shoes with the keys to the TARDIS.

At 65 Million BC, the Fifth Doctor creates a pour over trust to create a mathematics scholarship in the memory of Adric.

In 2986, the Sixth Doctor again modifies his will to create a scholarship from a pour over trust for botany students on Earth in memory of the Vervoids.

In the year 200,100 the Ninth Doctor’s “holographic will” tells Rose to let the TARDIS die, be buried, and for her to live a good life.

The Eleventh Doctor in 1890 adds a codicil to his will to leave Vincent van Gogh the collected works of Andrew Wyeth (who will not be born until 1917).

Could the different hypothetical wills all be valid, despite being from different regenerations?

Maybe. A Court would look at the intent of each will and see if there are any conflicts. Moreover, were there any significant life changes (besides the regeneration) that would call into question the validity of a will? For example, getting married (or divorced) or having a child are such life changes that could show a change in intent.

Consider the above hypothetical: The First Doctor’s will to leave the TARDIS to Susan would likely not be valid after Susan left traveling with the Doctor and the Last Great Time War, because she is presumed dead with all other Time Lords. Unless she is hiding as a human.

As for Jamie McCrimmon, he died on an [comic book] adventure with the Sixth Doctor, thus Jamie would not be able to inherent under the Doctor’s will.

The Third Doctor’s will leaving his shoes with the TARDIS keys to Elizabeth Shaw would no longer be valid, because the Doctor’s banishment to Earth ended in 1973 and Shaw also left the Doctor’s company very early in the Third Doctor’s adventures.

ClientMeeting5thDoctorThe Fifth and Sixth Doctors’ intent to create pour over trusts would likely still be valid, provided there are funding sources for the scholarships.

However, would the Ninth Doctor’s holographic “Emergency Program 1” revoke all prior wills? While the Doctor did have a hologram giving his last wishes, the recording was not a written document in his own handwriting. However, it is arguable that Rose was the Doctor’s agent to carry out the Doctor’s final wishes.

As for Vincent van Gogh, the validity of the will would turn on when the Doctor died whether van Gogh could take under a will. If the Doctor died in the 34th Century, van Gogh in the 19th Century would not survive the Doctor the required 120 hours to take under the will (the difference between the 34th Century and the 19th Century is thousands of years longer than 120 hours).

ClientMeeting11DoctorHowever, consider the Eleventh Doctor’s two marriages: Marilyn Monroe and River Song. The Doctor should have changed his will after each, provided the marriages were both valid. One can imagine the marriage to Monroe was annulled shortly after the Christmas Eve ceremony. Conversely, it is difficult to say the marriage to River Song is valid, because it took place in an alternate timeline in Egypt caused by a paradox with all of reality crashing down around them. This ceremony might not be valid anywhere (or any timeline) because of the temporal paradox and lack of a marriage license for Court to recognize. It is also difficult to show a Common Law or Marvin marriage, due to the lack of the Doctor and River living together for any period of time.

What does this all mean? The Doctor really should see a lawyer after regenerating to ensure all his affairs are in proper order. Moreover, the power to regenerate does not mean the there is no risk of death; seeing an attorney to have a valid will is the responsive thing to do for someone who walks in eternity.