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...
BY HOOK OR BY…
By Hook Or By... September 2018. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. The phone rings a lot. “My sister who lives with Mom never lets me talk to Mom or see her. When I call she hangs up the phone, and if I come to her house she pretends nobody is home. She even disconnected the doorbell. I think she told Mom I was dead. I just went to the adult day care that I heard Mom was at, and she was there, so I took her out to lunch. She cried and told me she missed me and wanted me to take care of her. Can we get a power of attorney?” Meanwhile, across town in another lawyer’s office, the phone rings: “My brother – the druggie nobody has heard from in years – just took Mom out of her day care. He told the staff he was taking her to lunch. Now she’s talking...
GUARDIANSHIP
Guardianship. July 2018. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. The lawyer’s telephone rang. A man’s voice on the other end spoke urgently: “My name is Henry Jones. My mother, Ophelia Jones, fell yesterday and is in the hospital. I saw a power of attorney on her desk with your card. Did she sign it?” “I’m sorry, Henry” replied the attorney. “I hope she’ll be OK. Your mother only took it home a few weeks ago to review it, and hadn’t called to set up a time to sign it. Unless she signed it somewhere else, it’s probably not signed, and not effective.” “Can I get her to sign it in the hospital?” the son asked. “That depends. Is she mentally ‘with it’?” “No,” Henry lamented. “She hit her head pretty hard on the coffee table when she fell, and...
LESS COMPLICATING
Less Complicating. June 2018. By Timothy S. Barkley, Sr. First, the phone call. “Can you look over our wills and trusts? It’s been a few years, and we want somebody to make sure they’re up-to-date. And we’re going on vacation and want to make sure everything is covered in case something happens.” Certainly. Let’s get together. Next week? The meeting. “We had this done about twenty years ago by a lawyer in Rockville. I read your articles, and I keep hearing about changes in the tax laws. Can you look at this and tell us if we have to change anything?” The lawyer assents, hefts the proffered three-ring binder of estate papers, and begins to flip through. “This plan creates two trusts, to protect your kids from estate tax when the second of...