re: Estate Planning by Burying Stuff

Ted Binion buried several million dollars worth of silver coins in the Nevada desert. Someone was caught digging them up within days of his death from an overdose. The greed of the people who knew where the coins were buried kind of made burying them ineffective if it was done for estate planning purposes.

Teddy's death was one of those truth is stranger than fiction type stories. It was really weird when it happened because I was at dinner with Jack Binion when he got the telephone call informing him of his brother's death.

I can't imagine that the probate courts or the IRS would look too favorably on significant assets being knowingly omitted from estates since the required disclosures are signed under penalties of perjury. If I were to attempt it though, I would just leave the map among my personal effects and papers, and bequeath the personal effects and papers to the intended beneficiary. Thus I would declare the map to be of inconsequential value among various assets indistinguishable from other items.