. . . . And unwilling to confront the reality of a war that the current administration seems unwilling to win, and a heartsickening torturegate that the Secretary of Defense appears unable to confront. C’mon, man, at least read the freakin’ report — it’s practically in the New Yorker, for God’s sake. (MSN removes the “practically,” and posts the report, en toto, here. As Slate snarks, now you, too, can know more about the Abu Ghraib scandal than the good Defense secretary.)
Well, at least Professor Volohk is fighting the good fight against the dread RIGHT OF PUBLICITY (which, in turn, is fighting the good fight against Schwarzenegger Bobbleheads). Have I mentioned that once, as a young associate, I was asked to find a way to argue that the dead have a right to publicity? No?
(Ed — Nice segue.) Thanks. You know, I try. (Ed — I was kidding.) Oh.
Time for the ritual downing of alcohol and the fitful slumber that results therefrom. Good night.
Why do the dead have the right to have their wills enforced? E.g., the old lady who leaves $10 mil to her cat. Or the deal with Ted Williams’s body.
Why do the dead have the right to have their wills enforced? E.g., the old lady who leaves $10 mil to her cat. Or the deal with Ted Williams’s body.
Short answer — custom. But custom will occasionally yield to reality, and Courts have voided particularly outrageous wills on public policy grounds.
Why do the dead have the right to have their wills enforced?
I can give you my answer, even though [Monty Python]I’m not dead yet[/Monty Python]: we’ve provided for the care and education of our children should we meet with an untimely demise. There’s provisions in law to ensure that our wishes will be carried out. If such laws are thrown over, we’ll just have to cancel all forms of life insurance. Similarly, employers will have to stop providing life insurance coverage because it’ll no longer mean anything.
Downside is, the kids’ll wind up in the poor house, because no wealth can be reassigned after death.
Or did I get you wrong?
Those are good examples, Slarti, but I think it’s even more simple than that: It’s a social contract. We as a society are only as trustworthy as our honoring of our contracts proves us to be, regardless of who’s still around to see it.
Think about how opinions about wills would change if the person writing one wasn’t confident his/her wishes would be followed. All kinds of deals and compromises are made toward the realization of that contract, interpersonal and professional.
Such contracts either have integrity or they don’t. If they don’t why bother with them at all?
That was exactly my point, Edward. Although you made it much better than I did.
Well put, Edward.
I wasn’t seriously asking, but it’s nice to see a discussion – though “the courts decide what’s within reason in enforcing contracts signed by dead people” seems a bit, well, imperfect to me. Anyway, my point was to suggest the publicity question could be answered by analogy – in case the law works that way.