If people don't have a will, invariably the court will screw up the way they want their stuff distributed. One of the most famous cases that somebody that didn't create a will was the rock star Prince, and it ended up in litigation for 14 years.
He watched families lose fortunes to courtrooms for 30 years. He charged up to $15,000 to stop it. Then demand exploded 25 times over, so he gave the secrets away in one book. This is William Funk. You are an attorney. Why would you give this information for free?
It seemed to me that a lot of these charges for wills are exorbitant. They want to try to control the money after they pass away. You cannot do that with a will, but what you can do that with is a—
So Bill, you spent 30 years as an attorney. You even wrote a book recently about wills. Why have you seen it that it's so important that somebody sets up their will?
Well, because if people don't have a will, invariably the court will screw up the way they want their stuff distributed. And by taking just a few hours, You can draft a simple will that will take care of all the stuff that you've spent a lifetime accumulating and get it distributed the way someone wants to get it distributed.
What's the worst-case scenario that you've seen around somebody who didn't create a will and it was a disaster?
Well, one of the most famous cases that somebody that didn't create a will was the rock star Prince, and he had obviously a very substantial estate, and it ended up in litigation for 14 years. And I'm quite sure that in the end, it wasn't distributed exactly the way he had wanted it to happen. And a similar situation happened with Howard Hughes, who had a gigantic estate, And it was in litigation for over 17 years. So you want to avoid that and you want to avoid having to pay the lawyers tons of money to do something that you could do in a relatively short period of time.
So I think this might be one of the most unsexy topics. I think most people don't like to think about something that's related to when they're dying, so they put it off. I almost would say it's probably likened to life insurance, right? Nobody wants to talk about something, but a lot of our viewers, they're entrepreneurs, they're business owners. They might have more than just money at stake. What is something that they need to know?
Well, Daniel, you hit the nail right on the head. People realize they're not going to live forever, but they think that talking about it is going to hasten their demise. So consequently, they put it off and put it off and put it off. And I think when they, when they read my book, they come to realize that there's no big mystery here. And in a relatively short period of time, without a significant expense, they can have this covered. And if they need to change it a year and a half from now or 5 years from now, it's easy to do.
Let's say I'm going to start a will today. What are 3 tips that I need to know that I should put into the will?
Well, one of the most important things in a will is going to be the person that the author wants to settle the estate. That's called the executor. And the executor has to be trusted by the author implicitly. Because in most states they function independently from the court. So there's nobody sitting on their shoulder, uh, checking everything. So it's very important that the executor be a person that the writer of the will trusts implicitly because they're not supervised. And there's a temptation there for some people to, uh, to take money from the estate. They may or may not be paid depending upon how the, the will writer would like it, but they have access to everything. They have access to the money, the property, and, uh, you don't want any of that to end up in their pocket. So you want to be sure that the executor is someone that you trust completely. The second thing is the execution of the will needs to be done according to the terms that are included in the book. They're not complicated, but they're different in every state. And so you want to follow the rules to make sure that, that the will is done correctly.
And that's, that really means getting the witnesses, And having it, if signed properly, it is amazing the number of wills that everything was done and they just never signed it, you know, and it is worthless if it is not assigned, if it is not a signed will. You want to be sure you get that done. It's one of those things it doesn't take Anytime at all, but you've got to be sure that you sign it.
Have you ever seen a time where everything was great, but it was not signed, and then that became a nightmare?
Absolutely. I mean, some, a lot of times wills are done on the deathbed of the, the testator. That's the person that writes the will. They're done when they're already in pretty bad shape. And those are the ones that you think, okay, well, he'll, he'll feel better tomorrow and we'll get him to sign it then. Or he's in hospice or something like this and they don't get it witnessed, you know, and a witnessed will in a state that requires witnesses is pretty much worthless. So you want to have, you want to have people, or, or there's one thing, and I should add this, the witnesses in most states cannot be beneficiaries in the will. You can't be a witness on a will where you're going to inherit stuff. It has to be an independent witness. Now, If you were not named in the will, you could sign it even if you're the person's son, daughter, whatever. But if you are named in the will, you do not want to be a witness.
According to your book, you can do your will yourself. You don't need to hire an attorney. You are an attorney. Why would you give this information for free?
Well, that goes back to why I started to write the book. It was, it was in the middle of COVID and I'd done a number of wills throughout my legal career. And in COVID, I got requests for probably 25 times as many wills as I had done in the previous 20 years. The reason for that was people were afraid they were going to get COVID and and die. So they wanted to be sure they had a will. And so I got request after request after request. And, you know, that's, they're not that difficult to do, but I would normally charge anywhere from $1,500 to $15,000, depending upon the type of estate and the type of will and that thing. But even $1,500 is a lot For what a person could do in basically 3 or 4 hours themselves and not pay anybody. Okay, so that's what I was thinking. I mean, it seemed to me that a lot of these charges for wills are exorbitant, uh, and why not give people a tool that they can utilize if they want to and get it done quickly, efficiently, And inexpensively.
Yeah, I remember those times you wouldn't even make it past the grocery store. It was pretty scary.
That's right.
Is there a way that you can give something to somebody in your will, but maybe spreads it out over a long time? And the reason why I say that is I've been reading a lot around how most wealth is squandered. I think it's second or third generation. So is there a way that people can spread things out? Because I imagine that there's more wealth now than ever in history, which means there's more people that have things. And the baby boomer generation is getting older. Many of them are passing, you know, what, the 75 or 74, the average age that most people live. So I would think that they would want to continue all of their hard work through multiple generations.
And that is something that— that is a mistake that a lot of people make. when they're writing their will is they want to try to control the money after they pass away. You cannot do that with a will, but what you can do that with is a trust. A trust controls the corpus of the trust after the person passes away. It can control it while you're alive as well, but But typically these types of trusts are created in a will and you put the stuff in the trust and then the trust may be set to function for 5 years, 25 years, or the life of your grandchildren that haven't been born yet. You know, you could set up that kind of a, of a trust and the trust will control the assets for basically as long as you need them controlled. It's not infinite, but it's close. And you need a lawyer to help draft most trusts. I'll be coming out with another book in, in 2027, How to write your own trust. But that's for another day.
There you go. So they can write the will today and then they can create the trust in 2027. Hopefully they make it to 2027 for that book though. If not, they can hire an attorney. Being an attorney for over 3 decades, what was the biggest mistake that you saw overall that business owners make in general? Was there something legally that you saw that you said, wow, every business owner shouldn't be doing this?
What, what happens so often is that sole proprietors, people that own a small business, or people that are partners in another business with other people, they don't prepare for the distribution of their assets until it's too late. If you are partners, let's say you're partners in a hardware store and you own half and your partner owns half. Well, you want to figure out how you would like your half dispersed upon your death. Don't wait because your partner in that, he may predecease you and then you've, you don't know how to handle his. You, you need to write it down and put it in the will. That's one thing that's significant, and the other thing is states handle property differently. Texas, where I reside, is a community property state. That basically means when you and your— when you're married, the stuff that you and your wife accumulate while you're married is shared ownership. Even if you earned all the money, but you were married, your wife would, in a sense, be entitled to half of what you've earned. As anyone that's ever gotten divorced knows, it's not a— it's not an easy thing to deal with.
But if you create a will, you can Get that property properly distributed after your death. Now, there's one thing you've got to remember, and that is the laws of this kind of stuff vary from state to state. But that is another thing in my book, the will that you will write following the book. is valid in all 50 states, whether it's community property state or separate property state or any of these things. If you do the will like it's set up in the book, it will be valid everywhere. And if you screw it up, because people do make mistakes, most of the mistakes can be fixed by the court. If you have addressed it in the will. And that's important because suppose you, you called your son Willie for his entire life and his name was Bill and you used Willie in the will. The courts will straighten that out. Okay. We're fortunate in this country that the courts don't require magic words on almost anything. They'll fix it for you. And the other thing is when the person, the administrator, the executor of your estate goes in to handle this for you.
You know, I'm always looking at where founders can actually build something. So let me tell you about Whatnot. I got on the app and started out browsing luxury watches, then somehow ended up in trading card unboxings. And before I knew it, I was watching live shows for new electronics. That's the thing about Whatnot. The live format pulls you in. Sellers are moving through inventory in real time. The chat is going and the deals are real. You almost never pay full price on Whatnot. But here's what got my attention as a business guy. Whatnot is the largest dedicated live shopping platform. Beauty, collectibles, electronics, luxury fashion, even cookies. And people selling on Whatnot sell 10 times more than on other major marketplaces because you're not just listing products, you're building real relationships with buyers who come back to see your face, not a logo. The number of sellers making over $1 million a year on Whatnot has doubled. Buyers spend more than an hour a day in the app. This is not a side hustle. It's a real path to building something that lasts. I use Whatnot, and if you've been waiting for the right place to start selling, this is it.
Search Whatnot, W-H-A-T-N-O-T, in the App Store, download, and you can start selling right away. Real talk, we used to run our entire sales process on spreadsheets. Every new hire made it messier. Deals slipped through because nobody knew who to follow up with, Or when. That's where today's sponsor, Pipedrive, comes in. An intelligent AI-powered sales CRM loved by growing sales teams. Switching streamlined everything. Onboarding got easier, everything stayed organized, and we stopped missing sales. Their new meeting intelligence features seal it. Automatic briefs before every call, an AI note-taker built right into the CRM, and updates drafted for your approval. Less admin, more selling. Switch to a CRM built by salespeople for salespeople and join the over 100,000 companies already using Pipedrive. My link gets you an exclusive 30 days free instead of the usual 14-day trial. No credit card or payment needed. Just head to pipedrive.com/founders to get started. That's pipedrive.com/founders and you can be up and running in minutes.
The courts will help him, and he can hire a lawyer to help him navigate the probating of the will. Okay, and that's, that's significant. I mean, if you've got to turn around and, and pay a lawyer, uh, $1,200 to help you do this, that's small in comparison to the size of your estate. And so your executor doesn't need to be someone that knows all the laws. They'll go hire a lawyer. They'll go hire an accountant. They will do that to, to make sure it's all done correctly. But you've got to trust the executor. It's got to be somebody you can believe in.
Thank you for sharing that. It seems like one of the most important things besides writing it is finding that person who can execute it that you really trust and who's not going to essentially take everything.
That's right.
Or mess it all up and not do exactly what you wanted it to do. And by the way, if you're in my will, I can't call you Bill. I got to make sure I call you William. So Bill, what in the last 30 years did you find as being an attorney is the most challenging part?
I think that people that are doing wills in particular for their family, they, they worry about their heirs feeling like they are being treated fairly. You know, you've got 3 children, you're going to give them each a third, but guess what? One of them is, is a physician now. He doesn't need the money, but you don't want him to feel cheated even though he doesn't need the money. And, uh, so trying to balance the equities there in, in a will can be challenging. And I always try To— don't be afraid to write in there why you gave Joey your wristwatch and you gave Billy the house. And it might be because Billy needed it and you thought he was always going to need it because he was never going to have the kind of job that his other brother had. Or whatever. And if you write it in there, people understand that. People will understand, oh, I gave this to you because, uh, I thought you wanted it. And, uh, the, the will also, it's, it's very important because there are often things in someone's estate that someone in the house valued or wanted much more than the other people did.
I mean, my sister is a good example. My— our mother left all of her arts and crafts stuff to my sister, and I was so glad she did because I didn't want them at all, and my sister loved them. So that kind of thing, uh, is, is valuable, and it, it makes these people figure out that you thought about them and you thought about what they wanted and you did it. So that's one of the things that I think is significant. And every— for spending 2 hours on this, you avoid a lot of problems.
Well, I imagine most people watching this, I'd say our age demographic is probably 25 to 50. And they, most of them probably do not have a will. So this is something that everyone needs. How to Write Your Own Will seems like a great book, something simple. Where can people pick it up?
They can pick it up on Amazon. They can pick it up in electronic publishing on Amazon. They can pick it up in hardcover publishing on Amazon. It's going to be in in a number of bookstores. It's primarily obviously prepared for United States distribution, but it's the kind of thing for $20, you could save yourself a lot of headaches.
Well, this has been great. William Funk, AKA Bill Funk. I like your last name, by the way. It stands out. It's very memorable. But I need to pick up the book, How to Write Your Own Will, on amazon.com. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you, Daniel.
Daniel opens the episode by asking Bill why it is so important for someone to create a will. Bill explains that without one, the court can end up deciding how a person’s assets are distributed, often in ways that may not match what the person actually wanted. He says that taking just a few hours to draft a simple will can help protect a lifetime of accumulated assets and make the distribution process clearer for loved ones.Bill then shares examples of high-profile estates, including Prince and Howard Hughes, where the absence of proper planning led to years of litigation. He emphasizes that people often avoid wills because they do not want to think about death, but avoiding the topic can create far more pain, cost, and confusion for the people left behind.The conversation also dives into the practical details of writing a will, including choosing an executor, signing the document correctly, getting the right witnesses, and understanding that rules vary by state. Bill explains that a will can distribute assets, but a trust is needed if someone wants to control how money is managed or distributed over time.Key Discussion PointsBill explains why dying without a will can leave the court in control of how assets are distributed, which may not reflect the person’s actual wishes. He shares why estate planning matters for entrepreneurs and business owners, especially when partnerships, business interests, property, and family members are involved. Bill breaks down the role of the executor, saying this person must be trusted completely because they may have access to money, property, and major decisions after someone passes away. The episode covers common will mistakes, including failing to sign the document, not having required witnesses, or using witnesses who are also beneficiaries. Bill explains the difference between a will and a trust, especially for people who want to spread out distributions or protect wealth across generations. The conversation also explores family fairness, including why explaining certain gifts or decisions inside a will can help reduce confusion, resentment, or conflict among heirs. TakeawaysA will is not just for wealthy people. Bill’s message is that anyone who has assets, family, children, property, or business interests should think about how those things should be handled after they pass away.The executor may be the most important decision in the will. This person needs to be trustworthy, responsible, and able to handle the estate without abusing access to the assets.A will has to be executed correctly. If it is not signed or witnessed properly, it can become worthless or create major problems for the family later.A will distributes assets, but a trust can control assets over time. Bill explains that people who want to protect wealth for children, grandchildren, or future generations may need a trust instead of relying only on a will.Business owners should plan before there is a crisis. If someone owns part of a business, they should clearly document what happens to that ownership interest if they pass away.Estate planning can prevent emotional damage, not just legal problems. Bill explains that writing down why certain people receive certain items can help family members feel seen, understood, and treated with care.Closing ThoughtsWilliam Funk’s Founder’s Story episode turns an uncomfortable topic into a practical conversation every founder, parent, business owner, and family member should hear. Bill makes the case that writing a will does not have to be mysterious, expensive, or overwhelming, but waiting too long can leave loved ones with confusion, legal fees, court involvement, and years of unnecessary conflict. His message is simple: take a few hours, make your wishes clear, choose the right executor, sign it properly, and protect the people and assets you have spent your life building.Today's Sponsor: Turn live shopping into a real business with Whatnot, where sellers build relationships, move inventory in real time, and reach buyers across collectibles, electronics, luxury, beauty, and more. Search Whatnot in the App Store and start selling today.Start with Upwork, the platform to find, hire, and pay expert freelancers across marketing, design, development, and operations. Visit https://www.upwork.com to post your job for free and get matched with top talent.Support longevity in business and life with CocoaVia, a daily cocoa flavanol supplement designed to support healthy blood flow, heart health, and brain function. Go to https://www.cocoavia.com/ and use code FOUNDERS for an extra 20% off, or find it at your local Sprouts.Stop losing deals in spreadsheets and switch to Pipedrive, the AI-powered sales CRM built by salespeople for salespeople. Get an exclusive 30 days free with no credit card at https://www.pipedrive.com/founders Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.