William F. Buckley Left Illegitimate Grandson Out Of His Will: "I Intentionally Make No Provisions For Said Jonathan, Who...Shall Be Deemed To Have Predeceased Me"

New York Post:

Before he died, William F. Buckley Jr. put his young grandson on the firing line.

The intellectual conservative icon - renowned for his erudition and use of uncommon words - excluded his son's illegitimate child from his massive estate, insisting the kid was dead in his eyes.

"I intentionally make no provision herein for said Jonathan, who for all purposes . . . shall be deemed to have predeceased me," Buckley's will says, according to the Hartford Courant.

The National Review founder and notable New Yorker instead left his entire estate - estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars - to his only child, Christopher Buckley, and Christopher's two older kids, Caitlin and William.

Jonathan, now 8, is the product of an Christopher's affair with book publicist Irina Woelfle.

Read the whole story: New York Post

Comments

[Zeppelinfan]

I always knew that William F. Buckley was a piece of garbage, but this really, REALLY takes the cake.

[odoreida]

I think it's kind of "garbage-y" to second-guess another person in how he bequeathes his money.

[strifeknot]

Are you really oblivious to his countless other cruelties? This distasteful final act of his is part and parcel with his life's litany of crass words and deeds.

[peskime]

William F Buckley so epitomized the heart of a CONservative...
or dare I say the lack thereof.

[justShareandbeNice]

I watched his shows when I was in high school. I was fascinated with the discussions, the serious talk about serious issues. But even back then it was quite clear that this man was a pompous ass.

His accent, his pen in the air, his big words, his constant interupting... that isn't intellectual, that is just pompous ass with a large audience.

I hope the other siblings know how to share.

[odoreida]

"His accent, his pen in the air, his big words, his constant interupting... that isn't intellectual, that is just pompous ass with a large audience."

Translation: you didn't understand Buckley's big words and were too lazy to look them up.

[RobinSeattle]

Well, as any real conservative would realize, that kid was responsible for what womb he ended up in. And they are only pro-life when babies are still in the womb anyway. After birth, the sprog is on his own. I mean, c'mon kid, take some personal responsibility, okay?

Or God, much as he did to Job, predetermined that the child would suffer some hardship as a test of the youngster's faith.

Or something (like Buckley is a mean, venal prig).

[GeoLee]

Now let me get this straight. Grandfather was a very devout Roman Catholic with very strong values about the sanctity of life...until his son impregnated someone out side of marriage and suddenly the sanctity of the little innocent boy's life ended at birth? He was so unsacred that he did not deserve to be left any inheritance? Sounds like your typical probirth person who calls himself prolife. Once alive, we don't' give a $#!^ while giving half his inheritance for one of the two sinners who produced this child. How chauvinistic. And clearly he didnot raise his children very well either for the father to demand no contact with the child as he begrudgingly pays a child support payment and rids himself of the sacred child. What is the Church's stance on how this family treates life?

[darthmaul]

You don't understand, the woman was a seductress, and like the Sirens with Ulysses bewitched poor Chris into having illicit sex with her. It wasn't his fault! How could it be. He's the son of William Buckley, who like most conservatives talk the talk but don't walk the walk. In short a life based on a foundation of hypocrisy.

[odoreida]

If a decedent leaves behind a child, then the child is the heir -- not the grandchildren. No grandchild is automatically entitled to share in an estate. The idea is that the child -- Christopher, in this case -- can pass his inheritance on to his children -- or not -- as he chooses. If WFB left a bequest to each of his legitimate grandchildren, it is very likely because they had been an important part of his life -- as had their mother. Christopher Buckley left the Catholic Church a long time ago, FWIW.

[blimie]

It is so horrible a wealthy influential person such as WFB would refer to his own grandchild in his will as dead. Pompous rich people want to hang onto every penny. Rather than give a miniscule amount of his fortune to this little boy who is his blood he wishes him ill will. Blue bloods rather suck.

[odoreida]

Saying that for purposes of his estate, Jonathan shall be considered to have predeceased WFB is hardly the same as wishing the child ill. It's a phrase that often appears in wills when people are trying to establish a line of inheritance in the even to a common accident in which both spouses are killed, for example. The object of this clause is to preclude the child's mother from making claims on the estate, causing it to be diminished by legal fees.

[TRYKER]

The kid will grow up to re-write Buckley's life story and make him only WISH he had pre-deceased him. What gall.
These are the wealthy elite we are bailing out in Washington as we speak.
They care so much for themselves, there is no room in their hearts for reality.
Ugly is as ugly does apparently.

[GeorgeKaplan]

Bill Buckley was a very odd man.

[ggirl00]

Wow. I hope Satan reserved a special place in he!l for him.

[raker]

Three thousand a month? That girl needs a new lawyer. She's getting screwed.

[fredlonsdale]

I am truly shocked to read this.

I am shocked that he would would use the punitive phrase "shall be deemed to have predeceased me."
He could have excluded him without being so mean.

Even though I am at the opposite end of the political spectrum, I still admired Buckley's intellect. He was good at what he did. His son seemed affable enough on TV interviews.

I do not know the extent of the child's medical problem. The first thing that popped to mind that Buckley wanted to get him out of the estate so that the kid could get on Medicaid or something similar so he could live on the public dime. Rich Republicans tend to do that sort of thing. They put the defective spawn in public schools, but send the normal kids to private schools.

[Ramirez]

The grandchild's mother is making a legal move to increase her $3000 month child support. Buckley may have made this designation in his will to protect the family estate.

[quadman]

My father did the same thing when a greedy daughter-in-law tried to play with family ties. My dad put things back the way they were after my brother divorced her.

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

So much for the 'sanctity of life'. One the kid is born, he's on his own. A je rk in life, a je rk in dea th.

[hypnotoad72]

Not very pro-life.

I know a single mother who had bred children out of wedlock, and teaches them to know right from wrong and how their actions will affect them for the rest of their lives. She makes the parental speeches hit home via direct examples rather than parroting so her children do NOT make bad decisions. Or are at least less likely too.

While we all know a proper male/female marriage is by far the best way to raise children, she is commendable for teaching her kids the right thing, keeping them away from others who talk of smoking, drinking, and guns and knives (I had no idea 10 year olds got that subject to peer pressure so young in life... wasn't that bad 25 years ago when I was that age...) Possibly because her family disowned her, forgetting that people DO make mistakes and that she is trying to ensure her children don't get mess up in life either.

Other single mothers don't give a hoot. She does. I wish she'd marry her boyfriend (whom she clearly loves and respects), but she told me why she won't. (it's all about the fear of money and related factors.) Sad. Very very sad.

[FatherWolf]

These Buckleys sound like despicable people.

Knowing big obscure words and speaking in a patrician voice obviously doesn't make someone a decent human being.