As I'm sure you all know, Sherman Hemsley, beloved actor best known (and Emmy-nominated) for playing George Jefferson for 12 years, passed away in July. As you may or may not know, he is still in a freezer in El Paso more than a month later because somebody has come out of the woodwork claiming to be his long-lost brother, and is not only challenging the will but also has demanded a halt to funeral arrangements ...

Hemsley signed a will in June leaving everything to Flora Enchinton, who says she knew Hemsley for 20 years and lived with him for the past ten. Enchinton says they were also business partners and best friends. Hemsley was single and had no children, so if what she says is true it's at least plausible he would name her in his will. The challenger, a Philadelphia man named Richard Thornton, claims to be Hemsley's brother, but so far there doesn't seem to be any evidence that this is true. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Hemsley was raised by his mother in Philadelphia and didn't meet his father until he was 14. So it's possible that he had a half-brother he didn't know about, but reports say he was always listed in biographical material as an only child ...

There are lots of reasons why people should have a will done well before it's necessary, and I'm now adding "so you don't end up in a freezer for months" to the end of that list.