How can I require my heirs to spend the night in a haunted mansion to receive their inheritance from me?

Question

I wouldn't want my fortune to fall into the hands of a cowardly heir who is too intimidated by ghosts.

How can I add a contingency in my will to force them to spend the weekend locked in my Victorian mansion in the country with no phone service before they are eligible to receive their share of my inheritance?

Will I be able to claw back my inheritance if I reveal at the end of the weekend that I faked my death and had been impersonating a ghost the whole time?

Answer 1

You make spending a night in the house within, say, 3 months of your death, a condition of the bequest

In general, while conditions in wills are ethically questionable, there is generally no legal impediment. They are binding unless:

• it violates the rule of law;
• it is uncertain or impossible to fulfil; or
• it is contrary to established public policy.

Assuming you own the house in question (and still own it when you die) and the house still exists (e.g. it hasn’t burned down) then the condition would be enforceable.

As for your second question: No. See What happens if a person is thought to be dead and their estate is administered, and then they turn up alive?

Also, if you actually faked you death, rather than just being missing, you’re going to jail for fraud.