History Main / SpitefulWill

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' fanfic, [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13059509/1/The-Last-Will-And-Testament-Of-Arthur-Woodhouse The Last Will and Testament of Arthur Woodhouse]] both plays this trope straight and subverts it. The subversion comes from the other members of ISIS and Ron who receive rather pleasant things from Woodhouse following his demise. As for Malory and Archer (who is in a coma since this fic takes place after the season 7 finale), the former receives a huge confession that Woodhouse has been defrauding her while the latter receives a punch from the executor, though Archer technically qualifies as a subversion since, again, he’s in a coma and absent from the will reading. Though Woodhouse does give Archer a PetTheDog part of his will by trying to tell him the identity of his biological father, but Malory, in a rage, destroys the will before this is said.

While they may exist in RealLife to a certain extent ([[LoopholeAbuse there's no rule]] that forcing you to leave anything to someone you don't like, after all -- or least that's the case in some jurisdictions, so always check your local laws), the absurd degrees of spite that fictional examples tend to show would probably lead to a court hearing under the reasoning that ''this'' is not something a person of "sound mind" would place in a legal document.

** In a case of RealityEnsues, this then provokes a challenge from the disenfranchised heirs about Troy Phelan's mental competency (even though they went to great pains to prove his competency prior to him signing the will they liked) and the court battle to put the estate into probate is contentious at best, [[spoiler: and the heirs [[TheBadGuyWins end up getting quite a bit of money anyway]]]].

* In ''Webcomic/TheScumthorpeFiles'' the patriarch Larry disinherits all of his sons and his brothers, whom he sees as {{Inadequate Inheritor}}s, while calling them names. His lawyer also mentions the misogynistic tirade he's written in his will to ban his daughters from inheriting anything from him. He left all his possessions to his infant grandchildren.

* In HorrorComedy spoof ''Saturday The Fourteenth'', the deceased uncle who leaves the cursed house to the protagonists also leaves his sister, who'd perennially borrowed his things and never returned them, several thousand overdue library books. Oh, and a [[BlowingARaspberry raspberry (''brrrrap!'') blown at her]] by his executor.

* In HorrorComedy spoof ''Saturday The Fourteenth'', the deceased uncle who leaves the cursed house to the protagonists also leaves his sister, who'd perennially borrowed his things and never returned them, several thousand overdue library books. Oh, and a raspberry (''brrrrap!'') blown at her by his executor.

* Subverted in ''Film/KnivesOut''. Harlan Thrombey leaves all his assets to his personal nurse while disinheriting the rest of his selfish family. However, he doesn't do this out of spite but as a genuine desire for them to better themselves without relying on his money.

* ''Series/JessicaJones'': When [[spoiler: Dorothy]] dies, she leaves Jessica the contents of her liquor cabinet as a pointed reference to Jessica's drinking habit.

* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'': When Luna's mother died as a result of trying to get Luna to commit suicide for monetary compensation, she left her nothing in the will.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' exists because of this trope. Zepheniah Mann was convinced by his two sons to purchase large areas of land in frontier America. On his journey over to see his newly purchased land he was struck with almost every illness known to man and was shocked to find it an empty and useless desert. Needless to say: he wasn't happy with his sons and in his will, he never refers to them without some derogatory prefix: "dunderheaded", "addle-pated", "layabout", and "brain-defective" are all used. As the final spiteful spit he leaves them each [[ThisIsMySide half]] of his estate so they have to work together to get anything done, knowing they would never stop bickering -- indeed, it's not long before both resort to hiring mercenaries to take the other half by force, starting their ForeverWar which is the game's setting.

While they may exist in RealLife to a certain extent ([[LoopholeAbuse there's no rule]] that forcing you to leave anything to someone you don't like, after all), the absurd degrees of spite that fictional examples tend to show would probably lead to a court hearing under the reasoning that ''this'' is not something a person of "sound mind" would place in a legal document.

* Film/KnivesOut is a subversion. Christopher Plummer’s wealthy character leave every single ounce of resource he had to his personal nurse while his bad family doesn’t get anything. However, he doesn't leave them anything out of spite but as a genuine want for them to better themselves without the need for his resources.

Following a person's death, their family and associates all come to their wake and await the reading of their will and any potential inheritance.

As it turns out, the dead has used their will to deliver one final TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to one, or all, of them and ensure that any inheritance directed towards them will make their lives as miserable as possible (often by invoking that it is OnOneCondition or by [[PassedOverInheritance leaving them out entirely]]). Common in BlackComedy media, where the dead in question (almost always a curmudgeonly, elderly {{Jerkass}}) will no doubt use their will to get the last laugh on their SitcomArchNemesis or {{gold digg|er}}ing relatives in death.

While they may exist in RealLife to a certain extent ([[LoopholeAbuse There's No Rule]] that says you are forced to leave anything to someone you don't like, after all[[note]]At least not in the jurisdictions most of the stories using this trope takes place in. Some countries ''do'' have laws in place that mandate a minimum share of the estate for children and/or surviving spouses[[/note]]), the absurd degrees of spite that fictional examples tend to show would probably lead to a court hearing under the reasoning that ''this'' is not something a person of "sound mind" would place in a legal document.

* In ''Literature/Middlemarch'' elderly Edward Causabon says in his will that if his young wife marries his cousin after his death she gets cut out of his will (she turns out to have a small amount of money of her own).

* The WesternAnimation/Archer fanfic, [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13059509/1/The-Last-Will-And-Testament-Of-Arthur-Woodhouse The Last Will and Testament of Arthur Woodhouse]] both plays this trope straight and subverts it. The subversion comes from the other members of ISIS and Ron who receive rather pleasant things from Woodhouse following his demise. As for Malory and Archer (who is in a coma since this fic takes place after the season 7 finale), the former receives a huge confession that Woodhouse has been defrauding her while the latter receives a punch from the executor, though Archer technically qualifies as a subversion since, again, he’s in a coma and absent from the will reading. Though Woodhouse does give Archer a PetTheDog part of his will by trying to tell him the identity of his biological father, but Malory, in a rage, destroys the will before this is said.

* ''Discworld/SoulMusic'': One of Susan's first cases (she takes up the Duty as [[GrimReaper her grandfather]] is absent) is a horrible old man who's hidden his will from his obnoxious relatives. And as they start tearing up the room looking for it, the man's ghost reveals it's in the cat's basket... [[PetHeir and he left everything to the cat.]] Not even as kindness -- he hated the cat as well, so he fully expects his family to kill the cat before turning on each other.

* The WesternAnimation/Archer fanfic, [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13059509/1/The-Last-Will-And-Testament-Of-Arthur-Woodhouse The Last Will and Testament of Arthur Woodhouse]] both plays this trope straight and subverts it. The subversion comes from the other members of ISIS and Ron who receive rather pleasant things from Woodhouse following his demise. As for Malory and Archer (who is in a coma since this fic takes place after the season 7 finale), the latter receives a huge confession that Woodhouse has been defrauding her while the latter receives a punch from the executor, though Archer technically qualifies as a subversion since, again, he’s in a coma and absent from the will reading. Though Woodhouse does give Archer a PetTheDog part of his will by trying to tell him the identity of his biological father, but Malory, in a rage, destroys the will before this is said.

* Film/KnivesOut had Christopher Plummer’s wealthy character leave every single ounce of resource he had to his personal nurse while his bad family doesn’t get anything.

* The Series/Archer fanfic, [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13059509/1/The-Last-Will-And-Testament-Of-Arthur-Woodhouse The Last Will and Testament of Arthur Woodhouse]] both plays this trope straight and subverts it. The subversion comes from the other members of ISIS and Ron who receive rather pleasant things from Woodhouse following his demise. As for Malory and Archer (who is in a coma since this fic takes place after the season 7 finale), the latter receives a huge confession that Woodhouse has been defrauding her while the latter receives a punch from the executor, though Archer technically qualifies as a subversion since, again, he’s in a coma and absent from the will reading. Though Woodhouse does give Archer a PetTheDog part of his will by trying to tell him the identity of his biological father, but Malory, in a rage, destroys the will before this is said.

* The Series/Archer fanfic, [[The Last Will and Testament of Arthur Woodhouse https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13059509/1/The-Last-Will-And-Testament-Of-Arthur-Woodhouse]] both plays this trope straight and subverts it. The subversion comes from the other members of ISIS and Ron who receive rather pleasant things from Woodhouse following his demise. As for Malory and Archer (who is in a coma since this fic takes place after the season 7 finale), the latter receives a huge confession that Woodhouse has been defrauding her while the latter receives a punch from the executor, though Archer technically qualifies as a subversion since, again, he’s in a coma and absent from the will reading. Though Woodhouse does give Archer a PetTheDog part of his will by trying to tell him the identity of his biological father, but Malory, in a rage, destroys the will before this is said.