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5.27pm
9 July 2013
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This has bothered me for awhile….do you think John had a will? (Surely he did!) Here’s why I ask…Julian got nothing from John (he was supposed to get a couple of John’s guitars that John told him he wanted him to have, but Yoko did not honor that “oral” bequest, and she gave him some meaningless guitars she didn’t really care about.) Julian had to buy (mostly from auctions and such) the lion’s share of the Lennon memorabilia he owns today. Surely, if John had a will, he would have made sure his wishes toward Julian would be honored legally. (Remember John & Julian were just resurrecting their relationship when he died). Julian really got screwed (his whole life, really). I’m wondering why John or if John didn’t put his wishes in writing so Yoko would have had to honor them. Your thoughts?
"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
5.41pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
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The Last Will & Testament of John Lennon
| I, JOHN WINSTON ONO LENNON, a resident of the County of New York, State of New York, which I declare to be my domicile do hereby make, publish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all other Wills, Codicils and Testamentary dispositions by me at any time heretofore made. |
| FIRST: The expenses of my funeral and the administration of my estate, and all inheritance, estate or succession taxes, including interest and penalties, payable by reason of my death shall be paid out of and charged generally against the principal of my residuary estate without apportionment or proration. My Executor shall not seek contribution or reimbursement for any such payments. |
| SECOND: Should my wife survive me, I give, devise and bequeath to her absolutely, an amount equal to that portion of my residuary estate, the numerator and denominator of which shall be determined as follows: |
| 1. The numerator shall be an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of my adjusted gross estate less the value of all other property included in my gross estate for Federal Estate Tax purposes and which pass or shall have passed to my wife either under any other provision of this Will or in any manner outside of this Will in such manner as to qualify for and be allowed as a marital deduction. The words “pass”, “have passed”, “marital deduction” and adjusted gross estate” shall have the same meaning as said words have under those provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code applicable to my estate. |
| 2. The denominator shall be an amount representing the value of my residuary estate. |
| THIRD: I give, devise and bequeath all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, wheresoever situate, to the Trustees under a Trust Agreement dated November 12, 1979, which I signed with my wife YOKO ONO, and ELI GARBER as Trustees, to be added to the trust property and held and distributed in accordance with the terms of that agreement and any amendments made pursuant to its terms before my death. |
| FOURTH: In the event that my wife and I die under such circumstances that there is not sufficient evidence to determine which of us has predeceased the other, I hereby declare it to be my will that it shall be deemed that I shall have predeceased her and that this, my Will, and any and all of its provisions shall be construed based upon that assumption. |
| FIFTH: I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my beloved wife, YOKO ONO, to act as the Executor of this my Last Will and Testament. In the event that my beloved wife YOKO ONO shall predecease me or chooses not to act for any reason, I nominate and appoint ELI GARBER, DAVID WARMFLASH and CHARLES PETTIT, in the order named, to act in her place and stead. |
| SIXTH: I nominate, constitute and appoint my wife YOKO ONO, as the Guardian of the person and property of any children of the marriage who may survive me. In the event that she predeceases me, or for any reason she chooses not to act in that capacity, I nominate, constitute and appoint SAM GREEN to act in her place and stead. |
| SEVENTH: No person named herein to serve in any fiduciary capacity shall be required to file or post any bond for the faithful performance of his or her duties, in that capacity in this or in any other jurisdiction, any law to the contrary notwithstanding. |
| EIGHTH: If any legatee or beneficiary under this will or the trust agreement between myself as Grantor and YOKO ONO LENNON and ELI GARBER as Trustees, dated November 12, 1979 shall interpose objections to the probate of this Will, or institute or prosecute or be in any way interested or instrumental in the institution or prosecution of any action or proceeding for the purpose of setting aside or invalidating this Will, then and in each such case, I direct that such legatee or beneficiary shall receive nothing whatsoever under this Will or the aforementioned Trust. |
| IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have subscribed and sealed and do publish and declare these presents as and for my Last Will and Testament, this 12th day of November, 1979. (signed) John Winston Ono Lennon |
| THE FOREGOING INSTRUMENT consisting of four (4) typewritten pages, including this page, was on the 12th day of November, 1979, signed, sealed, published and declared by JOHN WINSTON ONO LENNON, the Testator therein named, as and for his Last Will and Testament, in the present of us, who at his request, and in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have hereunto set our names as witnesses. |
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
7.12pm
3 May 2012
Offline There’s your answer, right there 
Thanks for posting that mja. Where did you get hold of it?
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
(Passover - I. Curtis)
7.20pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline I thought, interesting question, and Googled John Lennon ‘s will, and a site called Rockmine had it, and was convinced it was the real thing by other sites referring to it. An interesting document I think, particularly the FOURTH, which if I read correctly were they to die at the same time – say in car crash – then Yoko’s will would be the important one.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
7.24pm
3 May 2012
Offline Interesting indeed! It seems quite strange reading it though. I feel like I’m being to nosy or something, like I shouldn’t really be doing it.
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
(Passover - I. Curtis)
7.36pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline A Will is a public document, and is intended to be a public document. You actually need to go to court to “seal” a will, and it will only be done in rare circumstances. I believe Princess Diana’s Will was sealed, and later subjected to challenge because some of those she left bequests to felt they had been given something other than they expected. John knew his will would be a public document. Don’t feel you’re intruding. The important document is actually the Trust, and that remains private, with only rumours of its provisions.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
7.49pm
3 May 2012
Offline Yeah, I know they’re public but that doesn’t change how I feel. I don’t think they should be available for anyone and everyone to see.
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
(Passover - I. Curtis)
8.23am
17 January 2013
Offline Poor Julian. 
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star1262"Please don't bring your banjo back, I know where it's been.. I wasn't hardly gone a day, when it became the scene.. Banjos! Banjos! All the time, I can't forget that tune.. and if I ever see another banjo, I'm going out and buy a big balloon!"
10.27am
5 November 2011
Offline Yeah, how could Julian not be in John’s will?
All living things must abide by the laws of the shape they inhabit
10.36am
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline Read the THIRD section. That relates to a Trust Agreement, signed on the same day, which remains private. Julian was/is a beneficiary of that trust, along with Sean and Kyoko. The trust is, however, controlled by Yoko until her death, at which time its control will pass to the next generation.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
4.52pm
9 July 2013
Offline The fact that Yoko controls the trust is the first reason we should say poor Julian! (Though there is no reason she shouldn’t and legally that is standard procedure). But, geez….I just really bugs me that she couldn’t just be nice or decent or human enough to give Julian some small remembrances of his father (like the guitars and some of his artwork). I hate that Julian had to buy them…and she wasn’t kind enough to think of him and his pain at the time. This isn’t to bash Yoko. It’s just a lament for poor Julian.
"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
4.56pm
9 July 2013
Offline Another question about John: (sorry this is so depressing)…where do you think Yoko spread his ashes? It has been a huge secret all these many years. Any guesses?
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Beatlebug"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
5.41pm
Members
18 March 2013
Offline mccartneyalarm said
Another question about John: (sorry this is so depressing)…where do you think Yoko spread his ashes? It has been a huge secret all these many years. Any guesses?
Isn’t it meant to be near the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park? Somewhere near that site, I believe
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Beatlebug
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5.56pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline Whilst it hasn’t been disclosed publicly Wiki says it was in Central Park using page 510 of Bill Harry’s book The John Lennon Encyclopaedia as the source. Morbid-Curiosity writes “There are conflicting stories as to what happened to his ashes. Some say Yoko scattered him on Strawberry Fields, others say she still has them.”
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
8.25pm
1 November 2012
Offline I don’t think that’s a difficult question to conjecture about a reasonable answer: Given John’s Leftist panache & politics, it would be reasonable to infer that he would have been against punishing his murderer.
However, there is interesting anecdotal evidence that his politics may have changed radically (pun intended) in his last couple of years, according to Fred Seaman, who was his personal assistant in his last year and wrote a book about it.
According to this interview, Seaman says he talked a lot about politics with Lennon during that last year, and he claims that Lennon became pro-Reagan. If that’s true, he likely also would have become in favor of capital punishment for murderers.
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
11.03pm
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline A couple of different John questions (seems sensible to use this thread for miscellaneous questions not deserving of their own, hope that’s ok):
In the Decemeber 1980 interview with Andy Peebles John says how hesitant he was in signing up to a contract to get Double Fantasy released and had to be persuaded by Yoko and others as he loved the freedom of not being tied to a bit of paper between 1976 and when he signed to Geffen Records. So would John had been leading or at least involved in a movement away from record contracts and companies towards artists freely issuing their own records as some are now doing thanks to the age of the internet and such?
Nowadays is it wrong to play Woman Is The N####r of the World because the “N” word is considered incredibly offensive? I don’t think the album cut is that great but love Johns vocal at Madison Square Gardens, however if I did play when others were around I wouldn’t want to get arrested or cause a scene.
Why didn’t John like his voice? Its flippin’ incredible.
[Ok it was three questions.]
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
1.23am
1 November 2012
Offline meanmistermustard said
Nowadays is it wrong to play Woman Is The N####r of the World because the “N” word is considered incredibly offensive?
As journalist Diana West put it, in her usually dry and wry way:
As practically everyone knows by now, multimillionaire TV chef Paula Deen was yanked from the pinnacle of free-market success after admitting to a lawyer taking a deposition in a racial and sexual harassment lawsuit (already Orwellian) that she had used what is referred to as “the N-word” some 25 years ago.
“The N-word”? Here we give the Victorians a run for their word-mincing money. The offending word, of course, is “N—r,” and no matter how ugly it is, it is hardly taboo when a quick search of iTunes pulls up 2,000 entries for sale featuring the term.
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
11.36am
31 March 2008
Offline
I’m not sure prevalence correlates with acceptability, despite what Paula Deen may think. The word simply isn’t used in full because many people think it’s abhorrent (just like some self-censor and talk about the c-word, f-word etc). I’m not sure iTunes is any arbiter of ethical correctness either.
Personally I think Lennon was a dick for writing that song (though it was Ono’s line originally). It’s enormously clumsy, with a veneer-thin argument (“Woman is the slave of the slaves/Yes she is, think about it!”), putting slavery and the civil rights struggle on a par with this sort of glib rubbish:
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that she’s too unworthy to be our friend
But is it wrong to play it? No, I don’t think so, though I’d hesitate to play it in various circumstances. I think Lennon was misguided, not racist, and was using a symbolic word in a comparative sense. He didn’t help matters by gathering a few black people together for an interview and photoshoot and saying “Look! These people agree with me!” It’s obviously a grossly offensive term to many.
It’s our duty to understand the context in which these things were created. If Lennon had used the term deliberately offensively (ie to describe black people, rather than in a symbolic sense) then it would be a different matter. I have no problem with Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None having its title and content changed from the original (look it up if you’re curious), because times change and so does meaning.
I don’t know at which point something stops being offensive and becomes of historical interest. If that song came out today I’d probably react in much the same way – a bad idea expressed badly.
All just my opinions; I’m sure others will disagree. Also, the performance and production are phenomenal, and I wonder if it wouldn’t have been quietly forgotten if it was a duff song.
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12.24pm
26 March 2012
Offline I agree with Joe that Woman is The N—r of the World is an extremely indulgent, overwrought and dishonest political statement, but musically I think it’s one of his finest post-Beatles tunes: spectacular production, great chord progression and a seriously intense vocal performance. An incredible kick-off to STINYC which belies the awfully sloppy feel of the rest of the record.
SHUT UP - Paulie's talkin'
12.36am
1 November 2012
Offline Joe said
I’m not sure prevalence correlates with acceptability, despite what Paula Deen may think. The word simply isn’t used in full because many people think it’s abhorrent (just like some self-censor and talk about the c-word, f-word etc). I’m not sure iTunes is any arbiter of ethical correctness either.Personally I think Lennon was a dick for writing that song (though it was Ono’s line originally). It’s enormously clumsy, with a veneer-thin argument (“Woman is the slave of the slaves/Yes she is, think about it!”), putting slavery and the civil rights struggle on a par with this sort of glib rubbish:
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that she’s too unworthy to be our friendBut is it wrong to play it? No, I don’t think so, though I’d hesitate to play it in various circumstances. I think Lennon was misguided, not racist, and was using a symbolic word in a comparative sense. He didn’t help matters by gathering a few black people together for an interview and photoshoot and saying “Look! These people agree with me!” It’s obviously a grossly offensive term to many.
It’s our duty to understand the context in which these things were created. If Lennon had used the term deliberately offensively (ie to describe black people, rather than in a symbolic sense) then it would be a different matter. I have no problem with Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None having its title and content changed from the original (look it up if you’re curious), because times change and so does meaning.
I don’t know at which point something stops being offensive and becomes of historical interest. If that song came out today I’d probably react in much the same way – a bad idea expressed badly.
All just my opinions; I’m sure others will disagree. Also, the performance and production are phenomenal, and I wonder if it wouldn’t have been quietly forgotten if it was a duff song.
Did you read the full Diana West quote? She reports that iTunes lists some 2,000 song titles to be purchased, using the N word in their title. How can you say the “word simply isn’t used”…?
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
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