As Mr. Smith was on his death bed, he attempted to formulate a plan that would allow him to take at least some of his considerable wealth with him.

As Mr. Smith was on his death bed, he attempted to formulate a plan that would
allow him to take at least some of his considerable wealth with him. He called
for the three men he trusted most - his lawyer, his doctor, and his clergyman.
He told them, "I'm going to give you each $30,000 in cash before I die. At my
funeral, I want you to place the money in my coffin so that I can try to take
it with me." All three agreed to do this and were given the money. At the
funeral, each approached the coffin in turn and placed an envelope inside.
While riding in the limousine to the cemetery, the clergyman said "I have to
confess something to you fellows. Brother Smith was a good churchman all his
life, and I know he would have wanted me to do this. The church needed a new
baptistry very badly, and I took $10,000 of the money he gave me and bought
one. I only put $20,000 in the coffin." The physician then said, "Well, since
we're confiding in one another, I might as well tell you that I didn't put the
full $30,000 in the coffin either. Smith had a disease that could have been
diagnosed sooner if I had this very new machine, but the machine cost $20,000
and I couldn't afford it then. I used $20,000 of the money to buy the machine
so that I might be able to save another patient. I know that Smith would have
wanted me to do that." The lawyer then said, "I'm ashamed of both of you. When
I put my envelope into that coffin, it held my personal check for the full
$30,000."