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Testate Succession:
By Talbot Eckweiler
In drafting her will, Madame Adelaide Bonfamille tells her lawyer that she wishes to give her entire fortune first to her four cats, then at the end of their lifespans, to her butler, Edgar. Edgar overhears the conversation and conspires to kill the debonair felines so he can inherit sooner. His schemes are thwarted by a pack of musically-inclined alley cats, who then win the heart of Ms. Bonfamille. In retrospect, it would have been simpler for Edgar to challenge the provision of the will as invalid. Because pets are property, they are unable to inherit. Legally-savvy testators get around this road-block by setting up trusts for their pets instead.
In fact, Edgar’s scheming is his undoing. If he had not attempted to kill Duchess and her kittens, the Aristocats would never have met Tom O-Malley and his gang, or introduced the alley cats to Ms. Bonfamille. At the very end of The Aristocats film, Ms. Bonfamille amends her will. She removes Edgar and creates a foundation for all the stray cats in Paris. Edgar’s scheming actually caused Ms. Bonfamille to draft a valid will so that the Aristocats and their new friends would benefit from her riches after her death.
When Nobody Wants to Be a Cat
The Aristocats and its characters are property of Disney Studios