Jerry Springer’s Video Will

Jerry Springer did not share his diagnosis with the public. Springer’s fans were surprised when he died from cancer in April 2023. The news media jumped on another secret. The press reported that Springer left his entire estate to children from an out-of-wedlock relationship. But the report was not accurate.

Across social media, viewers watched Jerry Springer’s last performance. The legendary purveyor of shock television gave an unintended shock to the world. In a recording, Springer read a will giving a large portion of his assets to the two previously undisclosed children. However, Springer was merely reading lines from a 2020 virtual play called “Blood Money.” Springer provided a cameo performance. In the video, Springer had an audience of five people, two of whom were black.

The world was easily fooled into believing that Springer was reading from his own will and disinheriting his family in favor of two “illegitimate” children. However, the document was not his will, and a video performance does not create a will. The public generally does not know that only a document with a signature makes a valid will.

Only a written will, signed by the “testator,” is valid in most states. However, a few States permit a “holographic” will, written in longhand and signed by the testator. Holographic wills were essential in times of war so that soldiers could set out their wishes for their estate in difficult circumstances.

Rarely do people videotape themselves reading their will. Lawyers should not recommend recording the testator providing a statement attempting to demonstrate their mental state. The testator might believe that a video can help lawyers fend off attacks on the validity of a will by a disgruntled would-be heir. The video could undo a will if an ill or elderly testator seems confused or enfeebled.

Many wills are contested under the theory that the testator lacked testamentary capacity. The testator’s appearance, speech, and performance on the videotape can sway a court as proof of the testator’s testamentary capacity, whether competent or lacking, at the time of execution.

Absent a video, the witnesses at the will signing provide the facts of testamentary capacity. The witnesses have already provided their signatures on the document, confirming the testator’s capacity. Their testimony is unlikely to contradict that affirmation. Moreover, courts give greater weight to the testimony of the actual witnesses as to the mental state of the Testator rather than the testimony of witnesses who were not present at the will signing.

Estate planning attorneys rarely film the signing of a will or a statement about the will.  It is a bad idea. For Jerry Springer, recording a fictional will reading was enough to cause confusion and temporarily damage his reputation.

Evan J. Krame