By Tim Barkley. October 2019. Susan caught the lawyer by his elbow in the restaurant. “I thought that was you. Can I ask you a question?” “Sure,” he replied, “what’s on your mind?” “I was talking to a friend who told me that we should put Mom’s houses and...
By Tim Barkley. September 2019. Ricky and the lawyer sat at the conference table. “I know it’s not the usual thing, to move right after your spouse has died, but I have a chance at a promotion at work if I transfer to the Dallas office. And my neighbor wants to...
By Tim Barkley. August 2019. The phone rang. The voice on the other end was subdued, but firm. “This is Ricky. You met with Susan and me about our mother. My wife just passed away.” Pause. “She had a heart attack and died at work yesterday. I need to know what to do –...
By Tim Barkley. July 2019. It was Susan on the phone: “Can we get together? I need you to look at a paper my fiancé gave me.” She came to the office with a large envelope in hand. “My boyfriend finally asked me to marry him. Then he gave me this and said I had to...
By Tim Barkley. June 2019. The lawyer greeted Susan as she entered the office. She waved a large maroon notebook. “I think we might have found the trust. Is that what this is? It’s about a million pages long. We were going through some boxes in the basement...
By Tim Barkley. May 2019. Susan sounded uncharacteristically jubilant on the phone: “Big news! Mary was picked up for a DUI and has disappeared! I don’t think she’ll be causing any more trouble.” “That’s a relief,” replied the lawyer. “We’ll...
