September 10, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Families.

There are worse things in life than being poor. Our friends, Fred and Phyllis have spent ten years trying to extricate themselves from Phyllis' brother. If there was no money, there would be no problems, but Her Father died and in his will, he left specific instructions. For the past ten years, they have spent a lot of time and money protecting themselves. The brother has lost every case, but he continues along with more legal mischief. It would be interesting, if it wasn't happening to them, but as it is their life and their anxiety, it is all a night mare. I had not gotten an update for two years, because they really do not like to speak of these unpleasantness, but I asked.

The brother is a PhD from Harvard, who has never held a job, because he thinks of himself as an intellectual. He has been living off the parents ever since school. He is divorced and has two very nice grown children. The Father, to protect the funds to last the lifetime of the grandchildren, divided his estate equally between the two children, Phyllis and her brother Marshall. The only difference was that the monies put in a trust account for Marshall were to be under the control of a trustee, so in order for Marshall to get at money, he had to ask the trustee, where-as, the funds held for Phyllis could be obtained at any time and in any amount. The brother is so angry at his Father, that he is moving heaven and earth to have these restrictions removed. It is a nasty and expensive operation. It certainly makes you loose faith in the legal system in Florida. And it certainly makes me pleased that my family had nothing to fight over when our parents died. As I said before, there are worse things in life than being poor!!