Went through similar situation when my Mom died last summer. I told my brother and sister that I wanted to handle everything according to Mom's will and in a business like fashion. We agreed to consult an attorney regarding anything that we could not reach agreement on and that would we share the cost of attorney. After some grumbling , it amazed me at how rapidly consensus was reached....
Grandma is dead and the kids are fighting...
- Thread starter 30ABandMan
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As you say, all kidding aside, but that's exactly what my niece did when she was little! Lydia was staying at my parent's for a week and just before she left she went around with post-it notes. My mother said "Lydia! What are you doing?" To which she replied "Grandma, I'm going around showing you what my favorite things are. You know >>serious solomn face here<<< there are a lot of pushy people in our family." Lydia was only 10 years old at the time and this is still a favorite family story that we all laugh about.
It's not as funny when people more than 40 years older do the same thing. :angry:
Post it notes aren't permanent enough - go for a piece of tape w/ your name written on it. (learned that one the hard way - luckily I had also taken photos of everything for visual aids/reminders) :roll:
Oh, honey, already there. When my other brother got run over by a car, Mom didn't get out of bed for a year, and Daddy spent all of his time at the cemetery. Then when Mom started getting functional, Daddy dropped dead unexpectedly and left her with a six-year-old, an eight-year-old, and a college freshman at an expensive school. Then she got really crazy. Thankfully Daddy left her with enough money that she still has an amazing net worth after all of these years. I admire her for managing it so well. But my therapist said I never had a Mother -- that I've been the family's mother since my brother was killed.And I thought we were a jacked-up family!!!
You win...
And the prize is,
YEARS OF THERAPY AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE!!!!!!!!
Great idea! Thanks!
My family is nuts on one side and normal on the other. On my Dad's side (nuts) when my grandmother died all hail broke loose. My Uncle was the executor of the will and a lawyer. Any attempt at questioning some of the expenses, appraisals, etc were met with a reminder that he would hire an attorney and spend every ounce of the estate in legal bills leaving everyone with nothing.
My Aunt who always tried to argue with him had spent my grandmother's final months "visiting". I'm sure someone else has experienced this as well. On each "visit" things were discussed such as that antique ships wheel that my Aunt just loved, or jewelry that she just loved. Many things disappeared before my grandmother even died.
What was left turned into a free for all that was refereed by my Uncle (married to the above mentioned Aunt). At one point he actually got a whistle. 3 siblings arguing over this stuff was not a sight for the weak. It was amazing how quickly it could go from a civilized discussion to 5 year-olds arguing over something that happened in the 60's.
The other side of my family was much simpler. My Aunt was the executor of my maternal grandmothers estate. The only asset was the house and my Aunt wanted to buy it. It was the last childhood home they had that hadn't been blown up, but that's another story. She had it appraised 3 times by separate appraisers and we all agreed that the fair value was an average of the three. It was incredibly smooth and no ones feelings got hurt.
In my experience there is no such thing as a simple will and you can never be too specific. After going through a bad estate liquidation I completely understand why some people just leave everything to charity.
My Aunt who always tried to argue with him had spent my grandmother's final months "visiting". I'm sure someone else has experienced this as well. On each "visit" things were discussed such as that antique ships wheel that my Aunt just loved, or jewelry that she just loved. Many things disappeared before my grandmother even died.
What was left turned into a free for all that was refereed by my Uncle (married to the above mentioned Aunt). At one point he actually got a whistle. 3 siblings arguing over this stuff was not a sight for the weak. It was amazing how quickly it could go from a civilized discussion to 5 year-olds arguing over something that happened in the 60's.
The other side of my family was much simpler. My Aunt was the executor of my maternal grandmothers estate. The only asset was the house and my Aunt wanted to buy it. It was the last childhood home they had that hadn't been blown up, but that's another story. She had it appraised 3 times by separate appraisers and we all agreed that the fair value was an average of the three. It was incredibly smooth and no ones feelings got hurt.
In my experience there is no such thing as a simple will and you can never be too specific. After going through a bad estate liquidation I completely understand why some people just leave everything to charity.
