The widow of Lieg Larsson, best-selling author of the Millennium Trilogy (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc), will not inherit a cent of his fortune because they never officially married and he never wrote a will.
According to a newspaper article, Larsson’s partner of 32 years has no rights to either his fortune or the book rights, all of which have gone to his estranged father.
All of this could have been sorted out by one piece of paper stating that he left his estate to his partner, a piece of paper that just needed to be countersigned by a witness .
In Larsson’s case, he probably never thought he needed a will; he died before the books were published and never lived to know how popular they would become. But this is a good example of how life can take an unexpected turn of events.
If there are people in your life you want to take care of after you die, make sure you have a will in place. You can buy one off the shelf, but preferably go see your bank — they will have people who can help you draw up a will at minimal cost.