The widowed aunt had written in her Will: “I give $5,000 to [nephew] if he takes care of my cat.” The nephew put the cat to sleep. He then demanded the five grand from his aunt’s estate. His reason: “I took care of the cat.” They ended up in court.
Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show — they all had perfect families. Even the Mouseketeers were perfect; you just know they had perfect parents and brushed after every meal. So if you grew up thinking that your family should be like them but it’s not working out that way, it’s okay. […]
Memo to someone who has just lost a loved one: don’t rush the net. You’re kidding, right? Not at all. There is no legal reason to do anything quickly. And there are lots of legal reasons not to. Go be with family. Talk to clergy and friends. And do as little as possible with tax-significant […]
What good is having access to a safe deposit box if you don’t have the key and you’re not ont he signature card? What if someone asked you to drive his car in an emergency but he didn’t give you the car keys? What if a relative wanted you to handle financial matters for her, […]
Ignoring property to be inherited is a problem which never goes away. It inevitably gets worse. As a model, consider what happened in the family of T.L. Piggy, Sr. In 1950, T.L. (short for “This Little”) went to market in East Cobb County. He liked some farm acreage and bought it for $30,000.
Certain superstitions are silly: “Handling a toad gives you warts.” “Step on a crack, break your mother’s back.” “It’s good luck to find a horseshoe.” (Unless, of course, it’s still attached to the horse). Other superstitions have intellectual issues: When Punxsutawney Pete looks for his shadow on Groundhog Day, how does he know what he’s […]
The financial planner thought he knew everything. And with that confidence, he downloaded a form will. It wasn’t a bad will, actually. But he made one enormous mistake: he didn’t sign it right. So when he died, his wife went to an attorney to find out how she would collect everything. She got a shock: she […]
Lawsuits are filed for all sorts of reasons. (For some really bad reasons, check out www.StellaAwards.com, which is named for the woman who sued McDonalds over that hot coffee.) Unexpected things also happen, and sometimes they lead to suits. And people in affluent areas are easy targets to blame . . . and sue. So how […]
On the magazine cover, the cute but worried dog was staring at a man’s hand. The hand was holding a gun to the dog’s head. The cover caption: “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog.” This is not exactly a case of undue influence. Nobody has you in a chokehold, nobody is […]
This is the House that Jack left. This is the basement, dingy and dark In the house that Jack left. This is the chest, so rarely opened, Covered by carpets and dust and webs In that basement, dingy and dark In the house that Jack left.