FSBO – FOR SALE BY OWNER
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 buy the house so his daughter can live there. He wants his grandkids closer than Hagerstown. “What do we need to do?” The lawyer affirmed, “You're right, it's usually better to wait at least a year, some say two years, after the death of a spouse, before making any drastic changes. Are you sure this is the best thing?” “Yeah,” Ricky answered. “The wife and I had been talking about it before she died, and she's the one who found out that the neighbor wants to buy the house. I think...
NOW WHAT?
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 – she didn't have a will. Is the State going to take everything?” “I'm so sorry,” the lawyer empathized, then reassured, “and there's nothing you really need to worry about right now as far as the law is concerned, unless she was being sued or something. Just do what you need to do, take care of the family, give me a call next week. I'll be happy to help you then. “And the State isn't going to take anything. Don't worry about that. “Your most important priority is to be her...
NUPTIALS
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 have a lawyer look at it. It's a prenup.” “When are you tying the knot?” “Oh, not for awhile, but he said he wanted me to think about this before we got too far down the road. I told him I didn't want his stuff and didn't need a legal paper, but he said his lawyer told him I needed to sign this and have my lawyer look at it before I do. Do you do this kind of thing?” “Absolutely. I just finished writing one for another client. And another guy brought his prenup to the...
MOM’S TRUSTEE
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 and found this last night.” The lawyer carried the notebook to the conference room and leafed through it while Susan seated herself. “Yep, this is a trust form used by lots of lawyers in the 90s. I've reviewed it for lots of clients. Here's where it lists who set up the trust.” He pointed to page one, then flipped the page. “Here's where it lists the family – your folks, Mary, you and your two brothers, Ricky and Bob. Who's 'Michael'?” “He's the oldest. He disappeared about...
LOST TRUST
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 have to talk to your mother's lawyer and see what she says about the guardianship, now that Mary's out of the picture.” “I think it's more than just the DUI,” replied Susan. “Mom's attorney told me that she had found out that Dad put the house and the real estate investments in a trust before he died. Mary couldn't get into the trust, so I think she lost interest. Even without the DUI, I think she would have gone away.” “Interesting.” “Very. But we have a problem. Nobody knows where the trust is, or...
FLIP-FLOP
By Tim Barkley. April 2019. “Hi, Susan!” The attorney appeared to be talking nonsensically to himself, but everyone who saw him pacing outside his office could make out the telltale flashing blue light at his ear that indicated otherwise. “Late-breaking news! I'm going to be frank: you're not going to like this but hear me out. “I just heard from your mother's court-appointed lawyer, and she says that, after interviewing you and Mary, she's not convinced that either one of you is really looking out for Mom. She thinks you're both going to use Mom to get at each other, and that it's not in Mom's best interest to be under the control of either of you. She's going to recommend public guardianship – court-appointed people who will control...
CONSTERNATION
Consternation. March 2019. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. “Well, thank you for your time, your Honor.” The hearing on emergency guardianship had concluded in manner not entirely satisfactory to Susan and her brothers. “All rise!” directed the bailiff, as the judge departed the courtroom. Mary smirked at her siblings and left, wheeling her mother out. Susan turned to the lawyer with a stunned expression: “What just happened?” “Well,” began her attorney, “basically the judge didn't seem to think that there was anything so wrong with what Mary was doing that he had to issue an emergency order without more evidence. “Nobody expected Mom to be there, and I must say she sounded mentally 'with it' to me. When she told the judge that she was...
WHAT DO I NEED?
What Do I need? February 2019. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. The handshakes concluded, the Johnsons sit across from the lawyer. “We need to get wills. We’re both in our seventies, and we’ve never had a will. And we think we might need a trust.” Mrs. Johnson interjects, “My cousin told me we should have a trust. She has one.” “Thank you,” responds their lawyer. “Tell me a little bit about yourselves. I see the two of you … kids?” “We have three, all adults,” responds Mrs. Johnson. The lawyer continues, “This is an awkward question, but are all the children of either of you the children of both of you? Any ‘his’ or ‘hers’ who aren’t ‘ours’?” They shake their heads. “We’re pretty old-fashioned, I guess.” The lawyer responds, “Certainly makes...
SURPRISE!
Surprise! January 2019. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. Susan's voice was urgent: “I'm at my mom's place at the assisted living. The social worker just told me that Mom signed a new power of attorney and replaced me. Our sister Mary, who hasn't been around or spoken to Mom for years, is the agent. The social worker said Mary showed up last week, and she thinks Mary brought a lawyer here to have Mom sign the power of attorney. Can she do that? What do I do now?” The attorney took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. “Yes, she can do that, but whether it works or not depends on whether Mom was competent when she signed it. What's Mom's mental state?” “Not very good. She's confused most of the time, but she can hold it together for a...
GIVE IT AWAY
Give It Away. December 2018. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. Mom and Susan flanked the lawyer, who addressed Mom: “If I recall correctly, Susan and I had discussed making sure you qualify for Medicaid by giving some of your investment real estate to the kids. Is that what you want to talk about?” Susan assented, “Mom and I talked, and she agreed that the nursing home shouldn't have everything. She said she and Dad had worked hard to get what they have, and she wants it to go to us kids.” The lawyer looked at Mom, who also nodded. “I just want to be sure we're all on the same page,” said the attorney. “If you go into a nursing home, the bill has to be paid. Around here, it's anywhere from six to ten thousand dollars per month. ‘Assisted...
CHANGE OF PACE
Change of Pace. November 2018. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. The threesome came through the door slowly, helping along Mom on her walker. The attorney welcomed them back to the conference room, helped to seat Mom and stow her hardware. The trio declined coffee or tea, but Mom accepted a glass of water. A tall middle-aged woman, obviously accustomed to her role as spokesperson for the group, provided introductions. “I'm Susan, this is Ricky my brother, and this is our Mom. She's been living alone since Dad died in 2004, but can't stay by herself anymore since she had a stroke in January. She's just gotten out of rehab and we've decided that she needs to go into assisted living.” I looked at Mom. She nodded unhappily. “I don't want to...
ACHING JOINTS. SOLUTIONS FOR JOINT OWNERSHIP.
Aching Joints. October 2018. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. “When my husband died, my kids wanted me to put them on the house. I haven't done it yet – should I? My daughter lives locally, and she's on my accounts so that if something happens to me, she can take over.” Mrs. Selby was visiting her attorney to discuss updating her will after the death of her husband of over forty years. She was testing “conventional wisdom” against professional advice. Her four children had suggested ways to simplify management of her money during her life and transfers at death by using joint ownership. Her attorney asserted, “I never advise joint ownership with children. The problem is the ‘owner’ part of ‘joint ownership.’ When you make your child a joint...