Sort of at a crossroads here, and while I have made a decision I am curious what you folks think about it. Back in March, my grandfather passed away at a very respectable age of 91. He had three children, two sons and one daughter. His wife died in 2002. He basically had a life insurance policy that paid for his funeral and about 2 million in long term muni bonds. In his will, he split his estate into three equal portions, with one slight tweak to it….my father’s share is to be paid in monthly installments for the remainder of his life. This little variation is causing some major strife in my family. My father is an entrepreneur and has started many companies in his life. Some have been extremely successful, others have not. At the apex of his success he jumped into the political pool and found himself a US ambassador. Of course, being an ambassador is not just a rich man’s gig….its a VERY rich man’s gig. So at the end of his term he returned to the US with significantly less money but a boatload of connections and built a solid consulting company. However, he has probably spent several people’s fortunes over his lifetime and is by no means a rich man right now. My grandfather was a depression era man…his father, my great grandfather, held 3 jobs and still barely managed to keep the family fed. My grandfather and his brother built a miniature golf course on the dead part of their farm and charged a penny a game to their neighbors; whatever money they made they gave to their mom for groceries. He worked in the kitchen of a dorm to pay for school and graduated with honors. His entire life he was extremely thrifty and worked his way up the corporate ladder at GE until he became quite well off and retired at 65 in Florida. Because of his frugal background, he always found his middle child, my father, to be reckless. So he wrote his will a clause to make sure my Dad didn’t blow his inheritance all at once. And he made my brother, my sister, and I all co-beneficiaries of our father’s share. He did this for three reasons. One, what I mentioned previously….he wanted my Dad and my Dad’s wife (to a lesser degree) to have something that would last them for the rest of their lives. Two, he felt that it was just as probable that my father could die heavily in debt as die wealthy, and he wanted his grandchildren to get something from his estate. The trust set up for my pop is in 30 year munis that pay around 4-5% a year, generating about 25-30K a year in interest, tax free. My dad gets slightly less than that, around 25K a year, until he dies, at which point his wife gets that annual chunk of cash until she dies or remarries. The fund keeps reinvesting in long term munis whatever is not paid out to them….maybe an additional 2-3K a year if you use 4.25%...until my stepmother dies. At that point, the trust falls to me and my two siblings to do whatever we want. I should mention my Dad’s wife is significantly younger than him (she’s 16 years older than me) so I’m not counting on any of this inheritance coming to me directly…my guess is that my daughters will come with a very nice grad school graduation present. And the third reason is that ever since my Dad ditched his family 25 years ago, my grandparents have been silently angry about it. He told my uncle that the kids served something for putting up “with his crap for so many years”. Ouch. My father has decided that his father was cruel and insane and wants his share now. He hired a lawyer who stated that the only way he can contest the will is if my siblings and I unanimously agree to remove our names from the will and testament. I should mention my Dad just built a million dollar dream house and is starting yet another company. So I received the docs from my Dad last night. Would you sign them?
It's hard to say without knowing a lot of details about your relationship with your dad/family But in general, if the will was written when your grandfather was of sound mind...I'd be inclined to say "No" under the reasoning that things should be done as he (your grandfather) asked, as it was his decision to make.
Of course you don't sign. Ignoring the fact that you may get some of the money down the road, signing the documents basically says F-U to your grandfather, whom it sounds like at least you had a decent relationship with. And even if your relationship with your grandfather can be best described as cordial, you still don't **** on someone's life like that. This is what he specifically said he wanted to do with some of what is left of him in the world after he passes away. He earned it, it was his to dole out as he wishes.
stay loyal to your dad, the bitterness between him and your grandparents are not your concern, earn your keep, sign the docs also, need pics your stepmother
why would he need this money if he seemingly has so much now? Something just doesnt sound right here.
Absolutely not. Your grandfather sounds like he was very financially savvy, and set up a wonderful nest egg for his heirs, even going so far as to ensure that there was no chance of anyone making foolhardy mistakes with his money. There's no way I would undermine his efforts just to please a man who, I'm sorry to say, is willing to risk his children's and grandchildren's legacy.
Man thats weird, my Grandfather was also named Eugene and he passed away in July 08. He left a huge amount of money to my mother with the stipulation that my idiot step father couldn't get anywhere near it.
Your grandfather made a will for a reason. He is no longer here to do what he wants with his money (and it is his money), so he stated what he wanted done with it. By signing the papers you are in effect telling him "I know it is your money and what you want to do with it, but I am going to let someone else dictate what you do with it". If it were me I would never sign.
Nope. Obviously your dad hasn't learned his lesson and your grandfather's worries are well founded. Don't piss on his grave and be an enabler for your father by signing the papers. Dad's not always right.
Don't disrespect your Grandfather's wishes. He can do what he wants with his money, even in death... that's what wills are for. Your Dad sounds like a pretty resourceful guy, I would imagine he'll land on his feet.
Don't do it. Honor your grandfather's wishes. The fact that your father is in a hurry to get it suggests your grandfather knew what he was doing. You're last paragraph suggests you have the same suspicions and you're looking for some affirmation. Don't do it.
you would be taking yourself out of a will that you state yourself your grandfather wanted to leave you something for 'putting up with your dad' I would not mess with the wishes of the dead they have eerie powers
What do your siblings say? He made his wishes clear, but that included making all the siblings co-beneficiaries of the father's allotment. I would say that talking this over with your siblings is what should be happening... not painting the picture that ClutchFans might agree with what you want to do. I think you're justified in however you want to handle it, but I think how the other siblings feel is the major factor here. I voted no, but did so pending a discussion with the other co-beneficiaries as to a consensus on what's best for everyone... not just you, not just them, not just your dad. Think long term.
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to DonkeyMagic again. Seriously though, don't sign. It is your GRANDFATHER's wishes that are to be respected in the Will, not your father's. It always surprised me that the courts would even allow people to contest a will seeking an outcome that was clearly not the intent of the decedent.
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Since it seems the trust is paying out less then the earnings, the principal is, in essence being held for you (or your kids). I guess that's why you need to sign -- you'd be foregoing your inheritance (and that of your heirs) to your dad. Which puts it at his whim -- or your step mom's should he predecease her and leave everything to her. In breaking the clause, your dad is accessing funds that were to be held for you. I suppose it's 'only' $200K -- so you get to weigh that with family dynamics. I was originally inclined to say, all else being equal, no use creating a riff with your dad over that -- but I think I'm more inclined to say no if your siblings feel the same way.
