Joe Paterno's Last Will and Testament Released To The Public

 Posted on August 14, 2012 in Estate Planning

In mid-June, republicanherald.com posted a story about the release of Joe Paterno's last will and testament. Paterno was the football coach for the Penn State Nittony Lions of Pennsylvania State University, until he was dismissed in 2011 after the Sandusky child abuse scandal. Paterno's family made his last will and testament public after the Citizens' Voice of Wilkes-Barre said that the will had been sealed by an unusual court order.

Paterno named his widow, Sue, as his personal representative, and according to the will, he left all personal property to Sue. The rest of his estate went to the trustees of the Joseph V. Paterno Revocable Trust, but the trustees were not named, and trust documents are not usually public records. Paterno's business interests were left in the hand of his widow.

Paterno died of lung cancer in January, and in April, the attorney for the estate asked that his last will and testament would be sealed. Paterno's family said that the request is not unusual when the deceased is a well-known person, and their only goal was to preserve a little privacy for the family. To avoid speculation, the family made the will public later on.

Despite a lot of negative publicity around Joe Paterno, he had taken the time to write a last will and testament. Paterno died of a lung cancer, so his death was not a surprise to the family, but this is not always the case. Make sure your assets are taken care of like you want them to be, and do not leave these matters to chance. Contact an experienced Illinois estate planning lawyer to help you draft your estate planning documents.