Christmas in Jail*
OH OH – some major drama is ensuing. As I’ve mentioned before, a very dear friend of mine died of breast cancer nearly 4 years ago. Just before her death, she married a prisoner and left all of her money in a trust so that he could use the money to pay attorney fees to get out of jail (and to set up house once he gets out). I’m the trustee.
Overall, things have gone well over the duration of the trust. Unfortunately, the beneficiary of the trust passed away on Thursday. The way the trust was written, upon his death the remaining available money is to be distributed between my friend’s surviving niece and nephew. And that’s where the complications come in.
The beneficiary’s family and friends have called me countless times since Thursday because they are under the impression that the trust money is still his and that it will cover all of his funeral arrangements. Unfortunately, that’s not the case and I’m the one to have to explain it to them. So far I’ve spoken with cousins, uncles, and friends. Even worse, I’m hearing stories from one person saying that the other people can’t be trusted. It’s very confusing.
The good thing is that the trust is very clear that upon his death, my involvement no longer exists. I’m not the executor of his estate, the money isn’t his, and I have no responsibility. The difficult thing is going to be explaining that to everybody.
*As I proposed last week, I’m going to try to make every title between now and Christmas an actual holiday song. Believe it or not, “Christmas in Jail” is actually a song by Leroy Carr.
2 Comments
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I’m sorry, Poodle. I can’t believe that you’re still dealing with this, years after the fact.
*hugs*
You already explained it to them. I’d send them a registered letter, stating what you’ve already told them, then ignore their calls.