Post by Admin on Aug 28, 2009 10:26:08 GMT -5
Question:
In the book "Mempis Mafia" ,
Billy Smith say's Elvis changed his will to take care of him , because he had left a good job good salary , pension plan etc. to take care of Elvis at his request. Now according to Billy , Elvis wanted him to read his new will to show him that he was going to take care of him.
Billy said that he didn't have to ,that he trusted him, Elvis hid the will that only Billy new of the place , now when Elvis passed , A cousin asked Billy where was the new will ? Billy told the cousin where it was hidden but did not go with her. (the cousin is a woman if my memory is good). Then he saw Vernon burn, in the back of Graceland a lot of very important papers, Vernon then told Billy that Elvis left him nothing . Now Billy never saw the copy ,and he was left with nothing , do you know about that story ?
Answer:
Elvis' will was signed on March 3, 1977 and was originally seventeen pages long. However, the will filed at the Probate Court was just thirteen pages long. "If" Vernon had a "female cousin" get the will, it probably would have been Patsy Presley. By "if" I mean this: I have heard at least two stories as to what happened concerning Elvis' will and the "disappearing pages". Billy's story and Larry Geller's story. According to Geller, Vernon Presley kept saying, "It's too much. It's too much!" Meaning one of two things: 1. He felt overwhelmed when handling all of Elvis' last wishes that he couldn't do one more thing. 2. He felt that by giving the specified beneficiaries their money that it would leave the estate nearly bankrupt.
You see, when Elvis died...he only had about $1,150,000 in the bank. Out of that came funeral expenses, eventual relocation of Gladys' and Elvis' bodies for reinterrment at Graceland. The statue of Jesus, which dominates the Meditation Garden, was removed from Forest Hill Cemetary and shipped to Matthews International for repair and restoration. Gravestones were also ordered from Matthews International for about $30,000. Elvis' original funeral cost just over $28,000. Add all of the other costs related to everything mentioned above and the total amount paid to Memphis Funeral Home was $100,000!!!
Now...an inventory was taken and an inventory tax was paid, too. Even though the Graceland staff was smaller, the house and grounds still required housekeeping, security and maintenance. There's a continuous cost to look at. So, that's probably what Vernon was worried about.
Let's get back to the will: The will was hidden in a bookshelf in Elvis' office (upstairs). According to Larry Geller, Vernon went upstairs and locked the door behind him. He probably spent several hours pondering about what to do. According to a conversation Elvis had with Geller, the will stated that Billy Smith and a few others wouold recieve $50,000 each. Under Tennessee state law, a witness is automatically excluded from being a beneficiary. Both Charlie Hodge and Ginger Alden signed the will as "witnesses". Off the top of my head, I don't recall if Billy Smith also signed as a witness. I may be getting him confused with Ann Dewey Smith (Beecher Smith's wife).
I do believe that Vernon removed the four pages containing information in regards to the beneficiaries. I don't believe that Vernon burned the pages, however. Nor do I believe that he dispensed a "cousin" to go get the papers for him. I'm not saying that Geller is wrong...nor am I saying that Smith is wrong. Somebody's got their facts screwed up. Contrary to popular belief, Vernon wasn't an ignorant hillbilly. He knew what he was doing and how to handle it. That will was a VERY SENSITIVE DOCUMENT and was for HIS EYES ONLY! I believe that Billy SHOULD HAVE received the money, though. Elvis and him were very close and Billy was loyal to him...even to this day.
en.allexperts.com/q/Presley-Elvis-562/Elvis-Billy-Smith.htm
In the book "Mempis Mafia" ,
Billy Smith say's Elvis changed his will to take care of him , because he had left a good job good salary , pension plan etc. to take care of Elvis at his request. Now according to Billy , Elvis wanted him to read his new will to show him that he was going to take care of him.
Billy said that he didn't have to ,that he trusted him, Elvis hid the will that only Billy new of the place , now when Elvis passed , A cousin asked Billy where was the new will ? Billy told the cousin where it was hidden but did not go with her. (the cousin is a woman if my memory is good). Then he saw Vernon burn, in the back of Graceland a lot of very important papers, Vernon then told Billy that Elvis left him nothing . Now Billy never saw the copy ,and he was left with nothing , do you know about that story ?
Answer:
Elvis' will was signed on March 3, 1977 and was originally seventeen pages long. However, the will filed at the Probate Court was just thirteen pages long. "If" Vernon had a "female cousin" get the will, it probably would have been Patsy Presley. By "if" I mean this: I have heard at least two stories as to what happened concerning Elvis' will and the "disappearing pages". Billy's story and Larry Geller's story. According to Geller, Vernon Presley kept saying, "It's too much. It's too much!" Meaning one of two things: 1. He felt overwhelmed when handling all of Elvis' last wishes that he couldn't do one more thing. 2. He felt that by giving the specified beneficiaries their money that it would leave the estate nearly bankrupt.
You see, when Elvis died...he only had about $1,150,000 in the bank. Out of that came funeral expenses, eventual relocation of Gladys' and Elvis' bodies for reinterrment at Graceland. The statue of Jesus, which dominates the Meditation Garden, was removed from Forest Hill Cemetary and shipped to Matthews International for repair and restoration. Gravestones were also ordered from Matthews International for about $30,000. Elvis' original funeral cost just over $28,000. Add all of the other costs related to everything mentioned above and the total amount paid to Memphis Funeral Home was $100,000!!!
Now...an inventory was taken and an inventory tax was paid, too. Even though the Graceland staff was smaller, the house and grounds still required housekeeping, security and maintenance. There's a continuous cost to look at. So, that's probably what Vernon was worried about.
Let's get back to the will: The will was hidden in a bookshelf in Elvis' office (upstairs). According to Larry Geller, Vernon went upstairs and locked the door behind him. He probably spent several hours pondering about what to do. According to a conversation Elvis had with Geller, the will stated that Billy Smith and a few others wouold recieve $50,000 each. Under Tennessee state law, a witness is automatically excluded from being a beneficiary. Both Charlie Hodge and Ginger Alden signed the will as "witnesses". Off the top of my head, I don't recall if Billy Smith also signed as a witness. I may be getting him confused with Ann Dewey Smith (Beecher Smith's wife).
I do believe that Vernon removed the four pages containing information in regards to the beneficiaries. I don't believe that Vernon burned the pages, however. Nor do I believe that he dispensed a "cousin" to go get the papers for him. I'm not saying that Geller is wrong...nor am I saying that Smith is wrong. Somebody's got their facts screwed up. Contrary to popular belief, Vernon wasn't an ignorant hillbilly. He knew what he was doing and how to handle it. That will was a VERY SENSITIVE DOCUMENT and was for HIS EYES ONLY! I believe that Billy SHOULD HAVE received the money, though. Elvis and him were very close and Billy was loyal to him...even to this day.
en.allexperts.com/q/Presley-Elvis-562/Elvis-Billy-Smith.htm