Estate Planning Lessons From a $500 Million Will Contest

Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, died in November 2020 at age 46 with an estimated $500 million fortune and no documented estate plan. A mysterious will and contest have cost his estate and family millions in legal fees fighting what could be a fraudulent claim on the estate. Estate planning is not about anticipating death. It is about ensuring that the decisions you make while you are capable—about your assets, your values, and the people you care about—are the ones that actually govern what happens next.