Sorry this entry is a little late, but the past week has been pretty busy. Here’s what has transpired in my twisted little universe…
It started on July 2 when, upon arriving back from Huntsville, we received word that Shauna’s aunt, her mother’s only remaining sister, had passed away. Because we were immediate family - she had no children - what followed was a mad scramble to make funeral arrangements and to handle the various other issues involved in the disposition of her estate. On the Fourth of July, we buried her in Toronto. There were no fireworks. The good news is that this wonderful old woman is no longer in pain or suffering in any way, and in going through her effects Shauna found her will. You might recall in a recent post my rant about a bank that was denying my aunt’s directives in favour of a nephew whom she had ill-advisedly trusted with power-of-attorney. I maintain that the bank acted unprofessionally and in collusion with the nephew, and I still may lodge a formal complaint when the dust settles. We were in the process of going through the hoops of fire required to establish her general competency, and had in fact received that required confirmation from a well-respected physician, but the aunt died before her instructions could be honored. The will, which I’m not sure the nephew even knew she had a copy of (he had taken the original copy and never mentioned it to Shauna’s mom who, by the way, is designated in it as a co-executor), clearly negated much of the financial manipulation he had spun to ensure his family got the lion’s share of the estate. The matter is still in the hands of our competent attorney, but I believe this nephew would be a fool to contest that will. Were he to do so, it would trigger a forensic accounting and very likely expose, at the very least, his deplorable breach of fiduciary responsibility, and perhaps even expose him to criminal charges. Personally, I hope he does make trouble, because I know this is our best bet at making him truly pay for his greed. That said, a protracted court battle is probably not in my mother-in-law’s best interest.
I’ve heard it said that karma’s a bitch, but as I have said before, I don’t have much faith in karmic retribution. As comforting as it is to imagine this bastard returning in the next life as a dung beetle or an anal fissure, the truth is that we will likely never have the revenge served cold which many of us secretly crave. I can say with some certainty that this guy has alienated whatever immediate family he still has left, and most of them now despise him for what he did. My aunt begged us to ensure that he was not at her funeral, and he was not. I doubt he cares; because his first call was to the bank. Imagine his surprise, when he found out that all the assets were frozen.
Perhaps this is an inappropriate rant, but these reports are sometimes my therapy; my postcards from the edge. Nobody wants to think about this awful nonsense, but I’m finding out that it does happen, A LOT. If you have a loved one who is getting on in years, please make sure they have a valid and updated will, and ensure that the people appointed in that will can be trusted to carry out the wishes and intentions of the deceased. Believe me, it can solve a LOT of unforeseeable problems.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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