Reversal of Fortune
“One client left a specific gift of $10K to one son, and left him out of the per stripes division (every family member gets an equal share of the wealth) of the residual estate, which was sizeable at the time the will was drafted. This was intended as a serious disinheritance, which he apparently talked about all the time to make the disfavored son feel bad. However, by the time he died he had a serious reversal of fortune and his estate was about $10K, so he effectively disinherited the ‘good’ children and left the black sheep everything. The bad kid appeared very poor, compared to the others, and the look of grateful surprise on the poor kids face was almost as priceless as the shock on the others who thought they were getting rich.” – AngryFloyd