The Man Who Left His Fortune to 70 Strangers From the Phone Book — And What Texans Can Learn From His Will

The Man Who Left His Fortune to 70 Strangers From the Phone Book — And What Texans Can Learn From His Will

Disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Estate laws vary by jurisdiction, and every situation is different. Speak with a qualified Texas estate planning attorney about your specific circumstances.

Imagine receiving a letter from an attorney informing you that someone you've never met has died—and left you part of his fortune.

It sounds like the beginning of a scam. But for dozens of people in Portugal, it was reportedly very real.

In 2007, letters began arriving at addresses throughout Portugal informing approximately 70 people that a man named Luís Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Câmara had died and named them as beneficiaries of his estate.

There was one unusual detail: the beneficiaries didn't know him.

They hadn't worked with him. They weren't distant relatives. They weren't old friends.

According to widely reported accounts of the unusual inheritance, Luís Carlos had selected their names at random from a telephone directory.

It's an entertaining estate-planning story, but it also illustrates an important principle for Texas families and business owners:

An unusual estate plan that is properly documented can be far more effective than a perfectly reasonable estate plan that exists only in someone's head.

An Estate Plan Built From a Phone Book

Luís Carlos was a Portuguese aristocrat who reportedly inherited considerable property from his family. He never married and had no children.

Years before his death, he went to a Lisbon registry office to formally prepare his will.

Then came the unusual request.

He reportedly asked for a Lisbon telephone directory and began randomly selecting names.

Eventually, approximately 70 strangers were named as beneficiaries.

The decision was apparently so unusual that the registry employee questioned whether Luís Carlos understood what he was doing. According to accounts from people familiar with the execution of the will, however, he was lucid and understood his decision.

That detail would ultimately matter.

His wishes weren't simply something he mentioned to a friend over dinner. They were incorporated into a formally executed estate-planning document.

When Luís Carlos died at only 42 years old, his estate reportedly included significant property, including a large Lisbon apartment, another home, vehicles and money in the bank.

And because he had documented what he wanted to happen, the strangers he selected years earlier became his heirs.

Why Estate Planning Attorneys Love Stories Like This

From an estate-planning perspective, the fascinating part isn't that Luís Carlos chose strangers from a phone book.

It's that he made a decision about his property and took the necessary steps to document it.

Courts generally aren't tasked with deciding whether someone's estate plan was the smartest, fairest or most conventional choice.

The legal questions are much more important:

Was there a valid will?

Did the person have the necessary testamentary capacity?

Was the document properly executed?

Was there undue influence, fraud or another reason the document shouldn't be enforced?

An eccentric estate plan can still be legally effective.

Meanwhile, a completely ordinary estate plan can fail if it was never properly created.

The Estate Plan in Your Head Isn't an Estate Plan

This is where the story becomes particularly relevant for Texas families.

Suppose you've told your children for years:

"When I'm gone, your sister gets the house and the two of you split everything else."

Or perhaps you've repeatedly said:

"I want my business to go to my son."

Maybe everyone in your family knows who is supposed to receive your jewelry, vacation property, investment accounts or other assets.

That doesn't necessarily make those wishes legally enforceable.

If you die without an effective estate plan, Texas intestacy laws may determine who inherits probate property subject to those laws.

The result may be very different from what you intended.

This can become especially complicated when the family includes:

• Children from previous relationships

• A second marriage

• Unmarried long-term partners

• Stepchildren

• Estranged relatives

• Closely held businesses

• Significant real estate holdings

• Family members who have received unequal financial assistance during your lifetime

The lesson from Luís Carlos is surprisingly simple:

The person with the properly documented plan has a much better chance of controlling what happens to his or her property than the person who simply assumes everyone knows what to do.

Don't Wait Until You're Sick to Create a Will

Another important part of Luís Carlos's story is when he created his estate plan.

He reportedly executed his will when he was around 29 years old—many years before his death.

There was no hospital room.

There was no family gathering around his bedside.

There wasn't an emergency forcing everyone to create documents immediately.

That can make an enormous difference.

When estate-planning documents are created while someone is healthy and clearly capable of making decisions, there may be less room for later accusations that the individual didn't understand the documents or was pressured into signing them.

By contrast, last-minute estate planning can sometimes create the conditions for disputes.

A disappointed beneficiary may question whether Mom understood the new will she signed shortly before her death.

A sibling may claim another family member pressured Dad to change his estate plan.

Someone may argue that medication, dementia or illness affected the person's ability to understand what was being signed.

Creating an estate plan before a crisis develops can help reduce those risks.

A Texas Notary Is Not Your Estate Planning Attorney

There's another important distinction between Luís Carlos's story and estate planning in Texas.

His will was prepared through Portugal's registry and notarial system, where officials play a much more substantial role in preparing, executing and maintaining certain legal documents.

Texas works differently.

Simply having a document notarized does not mean someone has reviewed your estate plan and determined that it accomplishes what you intend.

A notary generally isn't serving as your estate-planning attorney. The notary isn't necessarily analyzing whether your will complies with Texas law, considering the tax or business implications of your plan, determining whether a trust might be appropriate, or identifying provisions that could create problems for your family.

That's one reason relying on generic online forms or DIY estate-planning documents can be risky.

An estate planning attorney can look beyond the document itself and ask a much more important question:

Will this plan actually accomplish what you want it to accomplish?

Can You Leave Your Estate to Whoever You Want in Texas?

Texas law generally provides substantial freedom in deciding who should receive your property, although important protections and limitations can apply depending on your circumstances, including issues involving spouses, minor children, homestead rights, community property and other considerations.

That means your beneficiaries don't necessarily have to be the people someone else expects you to choose.

Depending on your situation and applicable law, your estate plan might benefit:

• Your spouse and children

• Other relatives

• Friends

• Charitable organizations

• Business partners or key employees

• Trusts established for children or grandchildren

• Organizations or causes important to you

You probably won't choose 70 strangers from the Dallas phone book.

But the larger point remains.

If you want to decide what happens to your property, you need to exercise that choice through a legally appropriate estate plan.

Otherwise, Texas law may make many of those decisions for you.

Estate Planning Is Especially Important for Texas Business Owners

The stakes can become even higher when an estate includes a business.

For a Dallas business owner, an estate plan shouldn't necessarily stop with deciding who inherits personal property.

You may also need to consider:

What happens to your ownership interest if you die?

Can your spouse or children suddenly become owners alongside your business partners?

Who has authority to operate the company?

Should your ownership interest pass through a trust?

Does your operating agreement address death or incapacity?

Is there a buy-sell agreement?

How will your family receive value from the business if they aren't capable of—or interested in—running it?

Estate planning, business succession planning and properly drafted business agreements often need to work together.

Without coordination, even a successful company can become the center of a costly family or ownership dispute.

Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney Are About Control

People sometimes think estate planning is primarily about preparing for death.

It's really about control.

A properly structured estate plan allows you to decide who should receive your property, who should manage your affairs, who can make certain decisions if you become incapacitated and how your assets should be managed for the people you leave behind.

Depending on your circumstances, that plan may involve a:

Last Will and Testament — Establishes how certain property should be distributed after death and can address issues such as guardianship for minor children.

Trust — May allow property to be managed and distributed according to specific instructions and can be particularly useful in certain family, business and asset-planning situations.

Durable Power of Attorney — Allows someone you select to handle specified financial matters if necessary.

Medical Power of Attorney and other advance directives — Help establish who can make medical decisions and document certain healthcare wishes.

For business owners, these documents may also need to coordinate with operating agreements, partnership agreements, buy-sell agreements and succession plans.

The Strangest Will Can Still Teach a Very Practical Lesson

Luís Carlos apparently enjoyed the idea that dozens of strangers would someday be confused to learn they'd inherited money from someone they'd never met.

His plan was unconventional.

But he had one major advantage over millions of people with much more conventional wishes:

He put his plan in writing.

You don't need an unusual estate to need an estate plan.

You don't need millions of dollars.

You don't need to be retired.

And you shouldn't necessarily wait until declining health makes estate planning urgent.

If you own a home, have children, operate a business, have a blended family, own investment property or simply care about who receives your property, creating an estate plan can give you significantly more control over what happens next.

Because whether you're leaving your estate to your children, your spouse, a trust—or 70 strangers from a phone book—the fundamental principle remains the same:

If your wishes aren't properly documented, they may never happen.

Talk to a Dallas Estate Planning Attorney

At The Alford Law Firm, PLLC, we help Dallas-area individuals, families and business owners create estate plans designed around their actual goals.

Whether you need a will, trust, power of attorney, business succession plan, or guidance coordinating your estate plan with an LLC, partnership or other business interests, an attorney can help ensure the documents you sign reflect what you actually intend.

Don't leave one of life's most important decisions to assumptions—or to the default provisions of Texas law.

Call The Alford Law Firm, PLLC at 214-228-0161 to schedule a free consultation: https://www.brucealfordlaw.com/dallas-business-law-firm-near-me