"Trick or Treating" in Estate Planning -The Lesson of Francis Ogden

 "Trick of Treating" in Estate Planning - The Lesson of Francis Ogden

October 30, 2020

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

In a hushed whisper my 10 year old daughter called me over to the school desk she uses for remote learning.  "Hey mom, listen to this....it's about a guy who wrote fake wills".  Intrigued by the subject matter, one that squarely falls into my wheelhouse (unlike the advanced math both of kids are taking), I stepped out of work mode and into 5th grader curiosity.

A round of applause is needed for the Madison Metropolitan School District for making the annual 5th Grade Field Trip to the historic Forest Hills Cemetery here in Madison a reality.  Due to Covid19, the field trip this year was virtual, and allowed me to join in on the lessons.

I had never heard of Francis Ogden before.  He moved to Madison in the mid 1800s, and grew a financial empire in real estate and oil holdings in Texas.  Known as the richest man in town, he left Madison after a few spats with the City of Madison over their rejection of land he offered to donate for a library (they did not care for the location) and regulations surrounding his hotel, The Ogden Hotel.  Claiming he had had enough of Madison, he moved to Texas.

Known as an eccentric man, he fed that reputation by taking on a new habit while living in Texas.  Apparently he enjoyed writing wills, in pencil, without witnessing and handing them out to various people including relatives (he never married and had no children) as well as people he had just met, promising them his riches.  When he died many people came forward with those pencil written wills seeking to inherit. He thought he had had the last laugh.

The video fails to tell is what happened to his estate.  My guess, Texas State Statutes (where he was a resident) controlled is intestate estate, likely distributing the assets to his closets living relatives.  But that's a guess.  In the end, his tricks turned on him.  Estate planning is about taking control of who is in charge and where assets go.  Upon his death, Ogden's Wisconsin relatives opted to have him buried at Forest Hills Cemetery, in the heart of the city he despised and moved away from, giving him the cheapest monument possible at the time -one made of zinc.  Writing a valid will is about taking control of the what and the who.  Sadly, Odgen's games landed him back in Madison, for perpetuity. 

Check out this video put together by Wisconsin's Veterans Museum for its Talk Spirits Tour.

What I've Been Reading: Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big questions from tiny mortal about death

What I've Been Reading: Will My Cat East My Eyeballs? Big questions from tiny mortal about death

Written by Caitlin Doughty

What do you get when you combine kids' questions about death with a mortician -- Will My Cat East My Eyeballs? Big questions from tiny mortal about death.  This quick read consists of just over 30 questions posed my kids along with Doughty's answer.  Most of the Q&As run about 3 to 4 pages long, and are written in a cheeky manner.

Questions range from the very macabre to pure silly:

When I die, will my cat eat my eyeballs?

Will I poop when I die?

Can I use human bones from a cremation as jewelry?

Personally I found the blunt answers to questions disturbing, especially the description of cremation.  Both of my parents are deceased and I made the arrangements for their cremation.  I'd say the process is similar to sausages, I appreciate the end product but would prefer to be spared the details. 

If you enjoy movies or shows with forensic science or are an 8th grade science teacher, you may find this book to be enjoyable and or useful.  Or if you need a unique way to experience fright this Halloween, in the midst of a pandemic, this may be the book for you.

The Teacher Within: Procrastination and Estate Planning

 The Teacher Within: Procrastination and Estate Planning

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

October 2020

September of this year ushered in a new chapter in my life, being the parent of a middle schooler.  Our oldest child launched his 6th grade year (virtually), bringing with it my own memories of educational growth.  Some things are different -- he is in "computers" class, in my youth it was just "typing".  Yet, some things remain the same.  The Covid 19 Pandemic has allowed me a window into his classrooms, specifically his teachers' advice.  With middle school comes longer term assignments, and hence the lecture on procrastination. A constant lecture on the educational path. 

Defined as "delay or postpone action; put off doing something", he is learning that weekends pass quickly, Monday mornings loom, and he needs to make the time for his weekend music appreciation writing assignment.  Already he has felt the dread of a Sunday evening spent "working" rather than resting, and the bit of panic that comes with "what if it isn't done".

“Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” -Benjamin Franklin

We've all heard this quote multiple times in our lives.  Yet many of us put off unpleasant tasks when they could be crossed-off our to-do lists today.  This is fact I see day after day in my estate planning practice.  Often it would take a death in the family, cancer diagnosis, the birth of a child, and international travel to nudge a client through my office door.  In 2020 the largest nudge I have witnessed in my 15 years of practice has been Covid19.  From doctors to teachers to patients with chronic illnesses, estate planning is at the top of many "to-do" lists.  Thinking about creating, or updating, an estate plan is one thing.  Completing the task something entirely different.  

As I type the yellow, red, and orange leaves fall onto my driveway.  Cars zip passed, eager to start their Friday evening plans.  It's 80 in Madison on October 9th -- the outdoors calls.  But, we all know dark, rainy days, followed by plunging temps and snowfall are just around the corner.  If estate planning is a priority to you, do not fall victim to procrastination.  The winds are blowing.  Illnesses are increasing.  The flu is circulating.  And the local hospitals here are implementing visitor restrictions.  Once it was possible for a client to complete estate planning documents from the comfort of a hospital bed.  My own father was one of them.  The year 2020 is different.  Visitors are being restricted.  Your lawyer may not be allowed to see you.  Or, if you are allowed one person you may not have enough people to serve as a witness.  This is not hyperbolae.  Earlier in the year this was a fact.  Lawyers were denied entry to hospitals, re-hab facilities, hospice centers and senior living complexes.  Listen to Benjamin Franklin; if it is important to you, do it today, not tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.  May you stay safe and healthy as we move towards the end of 2020.  Remember, a blog is not legal advice.  It is a platform to spark discussion and reflection, nothing more.  It is essential you contact a lawyer in your home state for advice specific to your unique situation.  Be well. 

Reflections: 15th Anniversary of Being an Estate Planning & Probate Attorney

It was a Saturday.  The office web site went live.  My professional liability insurance policy kicked in.  I scheduled my first client meeting.  It was fifteen years ago, October 1, 2005, and my journey as a solo estate planning & probate attorney had begun.  

Over the decade and a half to follow, my days were filled with interesting legal questions and fact patterns.  Laws evolved, statutes were modified, courts shifted to online filings only.  The well from which I drew stories to illustrate concepts of estate planning & probate deepened. For example, a Personal Representative has the ability to "demolish or erect structures" in the course of a probate.  I had a case once where this power was needed; decedent had built a garage over the lot line and it needed to be torn down before the property could sell.  I have a lot of stories I can pull from to educate current clients, and I mean a lot.

None of this really surprised me.  Back in 2005 I anticipated building a wealth of knowledge in the subject area I decided to focus on. I assumed my career path would allow me to give seminars (I do, routinely), to teach (I have at the undergrad level), and even to write (in 2013 I released a small book on philanthropy).  But there was something I didn't see coming back when I went through the mechanics of setting up this practice.  Along with the graying hair, bouts of carpal tunnel, and an increased need for "my readers", I've learned how critical it is to sit down at a client meeting with open ears and a caring heart.

My clients are not textbook hypotheticals.  They are real people.  And they deserve a lawyer who has more than the mere mechanical tools of estate planning & probate.  They need a lawyer with a heart, one who cares, one who listens, and one who helps them navigate the terrain of illness and death.  More than once I have cried with a client grieving the death of a spouse; handed tissues to clients telling me how their child died, necessitating an update in their documents; and going to the hospital so a client in palliative care can sign her final papers.  

Looking back I can say that an estate planning & probate practice is far more than citations, processes, and official signings.  It is navigating another person through the sea of family dynamics, thorny relationships, and the reality that none of us are getting out of this alive.  It is far more rewarding than I could have ever imagined on that Saturday long ago.