Ok, so if my last blog about Wills (Nostradamus) was a bit of a stretch on celebrity, this one will surely break that string.  To be fair, even I feel bad calling this person a celebrity will, but hey, like I say, everyone needs a Will!!

A few weeks back my interest was piqued when I read a news headline suggesting that, according to a recently released Will,   “Osama bin Laden left millions of dollars to fund jihad.”

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was born 10 March 1957 and was the founder of al-Qaeda, the organization that claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks on the United States, along with numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets.  He was a Saudi Arabian and a member of the wealthy bin Laden family.

The Will

Apparently the document, dated 3 months after the September 11 attack, was seized by Navy SEALs in 2011, when they entered bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan and killed him.  It was among a number of documents released into the public domain.

The Will is a single page document, handwritten in Arabic, which allegedly states he had over $AUD52M in Sudan which came to him from his brother.  Like any good Will should a number of gifts were outlined, including bequests of gold bars, diamonds and a Samsung 48-inch TV to family (as you do).  In the Will bin Laden states that he hopes his family will spend the rest on jihad for the sake of Allah.

Interestingly, as various reports claim, bin Laden also states a wish that his wives not remarry after his death and his children not join al-Qaida.

I presume his wives are not chomping at the bit to claim the document with the intent to carry out these specific wishes!

Conclusion

As always, bin Laden’s reminds us of the harsh reality that everyone needs a Will.   Everyone is going to die, at some point.  Even sadistic dictators.

It follows then, if you don’t want your wives to remarry….oh that’s right….next topic.

Greg Welden is a solicitor with more than 15 years’ experience in the Law.  His somewhat uncanny passion for all things related to Estate Law has seen him specialise in Estate Planning, Administration and Litigation.  Today, he is one of Adelaide’s most experienced solicitors in this field and is a regular contributor in both local and national conferences on the topic.