Bobby Fischer's Endgame: The Perils of Dying Without a Will

When Bobby Fischer won the World Chess Championship from Boris Spassky in 1972 in Reykjavík, Iceland, no one could have predicted that this location would become the site of yet another contest involving Fischer, this time a posthumous battle over his $2 million estate.  Once a resident of Brooklyn, Fischer's U.S. passport had been revoked in 2004 following some incendiary anti-American and anti-Semitic remarks (though Fischer himself was Jewish).  The following year, Iceland granted him citizenship.  He died in Iceland in 2008 without a Will (intestate). 

According to the New York Times,  there are four claimants to Fischer's estate:  Jinky Young, Fischer's presumed daughter filing through her mother Marilyn;  Miyoko Watai, who claims that she was married to Fischer, and Alexander and Nicholas Targ, Fischer's nephews through his sister Joan. 

Last  month, Iceland's Supreme Court ordered the exhumation of Bobby Fischer's body in order to determine the legitimacy of Jinky Young's paternity claims.  The body was exhumed today and DNA samples were taken.  If the DNA samples establish Fischer's paternity, then Jinky Young will be declared his legal heir under Icelandic law.

All of the claimants have retained legal counsel to represent their interests in Iceland and, depending upon the results, these legal costs may never be recovered.  All of this could have been avoided had Fischer drafted a valid Will expressing his final wishes.  He could have made provisions for all of his loved ones, avoiding for them this long, protracted, and costly legal battle.

Your estate may not be the size of Bobby Fischer's, but you likely have loved ones to whom you would like to leave bequests.  Don't put off the decision to make a valid Will.  Consult with an attorney who will assist you in drafting a document that meets your unique needs.

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