Lessons From Fisk: Family Fights and the Role of Wills

+Lessons From Fisk: Family Fights and the Role of Wills

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

December 29, 2023

The final episode of Season One of the Australian comedy Fisk has two parallel storylines.  One storyline features two men who, may or may not, be brothers.  Their confrontation in the law offices of Gruber & Associates ends with fisticuffs in the waiting area.  The second storyline involves an elderly man seeking to write a will.  His intent is to be prescriptive and thus avoid fighting after his death.  Helen grabs her pen and paper to begin taking notes and chuckles a bit when the man says "let's start with the fitted sheet sets".  He was not joking. The client painstakingly created the most detailed list of the contents of his home.  Listing each item and stated who should inherit.

The take-away from this final episode of season one of Fisk is that a well thought-out will may prevent or reduce family fighting that can occur in the wake of a death.  The emphasis on may is my own doing.  After nearly twenty years of working as an estate planning and probate attorney I know that no matter how detailed and precise a will can be, in some situations nothing can dampen the emotions that flare to life during a period of grieving.  As a lawyer and as a parent my heart breaks to see the relationships that end due to fighting when a loved one dies. However, taking the time to draft proper legal documents that say who is in charge and what things you want to have happen is a final gift to your loved ones.  A plan, while perhaps not perfect, is better than no plan at all.

Thank you for reading.  Remember that a blog is meant to spark thought and reflection, it is not legal advice.  Pleas consult with an attorney in your home state for advice specific to your situation.  Follow along in the year ahead by clicking on Follow in the upper right corner and enter your email address to receive future posts.  I'll be back in the New Year with fresh posts, and one day more take-aways from Fisk Season Two was released on Netflix December 1, 2023.  Check out my blog later in 2024 for more "take-aways" from the show. 

Lessons From Fisk: Finding an Estate Planning Attorney You Want to Work With

Lessons From Fisk: Finding an Estate Planning Attorney You Want to Work With

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

December 22, 2023

Episode Five, Season One, of the Australian comedy Fisk pushes Helen beyond the paperwork of being an associate and into the work of client development. In the opening scene, Roz Gruber shoos Helen away from the conference table saying "Helen, why don't you go and work on bringing in some new business?" As the episode unfolds, Helen keeps her eyes open for the middle-aged people squabbling over an inheritance, which were described as the ideal client by Office Manager Roz Gruber (who is temporarily suspended from practicing law for unknown reasons). It's at the book club hosted by her Aunt and Uncle, with whom she is couch surfing, where Helen finds her first client with a squabble over a will. She ends up passing out business cards to the outstretched hands of the book club members.  

My take-away for you from this episode are the following ways you might want to connect with your own estate planning and or probate attorney rather than relying on a Google search.  Keep in mind that this area of the law delves into your family tree, personal finances, health issues and other very sensitive topics. It is critical that you trust the attorney you are working with and allow yourself to open up to them.  Then and only then can they provide the best advice because they will know the details of your life, understand your goals, and recommend the best tools to achieve them.

• Ask for a referral from the other professionals you have hired to assist in your life: accountant, financial planner, personal banker, insurance agent.  They would likely know of an attorney who has a similar communication style to the one they use with you;
• Check in with local family and friends to seek if they have an attorney who might be a good fit.  They will give you honest feed back on whether they'd recommend the attorney;
• Review the membership of organizations you attend to seek if there is an attorney who shares your values.  For example, at your place of worship, where you volunteer, or who sits on the board of your local nonprofit.

I would urge you to remember that a person can be an attorney, but not be knowledgeable in the area of estate planning and probate.  There are many doctors in our world, however, I doubt you would ask your allergist to perform your c-section.  When looking for a lawyer, it might be wise to look for one that focuses on the area of estate planning and probate. 

Thanks for reading.  A blog is meant to spark thought and reflection, it is not legal advice.  Please seek counsel from an attorney licensed in your home state for advice specific to your situation.  Check back next week for the final post of 2023 and my last take-away from Season One of Fisk. 

Lessons From Fisk: Hoarding, Tech and the Post-It Note is Your Friend

Lessons From Fisk: Hoarding, Tech and the Post-It Note is Your Friend

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

December 15, 2023

Episode Four of Season One of the Australian comedy Fisk is filled to the brim the take-aways.  First, there is a plot line about addressing the post-death cleanup of a hoarder (or "rubbish bin challenged individual as coined by Ray Gruber).  When the executor of the estate is not coping well with the clean-up, Gruber & Gruber brings in a temp worker to lend a hand.  The take-away here, purge what you can now in life to make handling your final affairs easier on your loved ones.  Also, if you are find yourself in the role of cleaning up the final affairs for someone who did not get this message, remember, you can outsource some of these tasks.  

Second, Helen when faced with the possibly of having to argue in court, turns to her father for help.  Helen's father, Anthony Fisk, is a retired Australian Supreme Court Justice.  Along with his life partner, Viktor (who was previously the justice's Tipstaff (in Australia this is a role that assists justices with complex legal research and other court functions), the two help Helen prepare for oral arguments.  The key to success is the post-it note.  The take-away here is to organize your paperwork for quick and efficient action.  The more organized you are, the more likely you will be to have a successful outcome when processing final affairs. 

And third, the show highlights the explosion of tech in our lives and how it can linger after death.  In this episode Helen has a new client that is receiving texts from her deceased husband.  Upset and perplexed, she hires Gruber & Associates to handle the matter. Helen bumbles her way through the quickly evolving role of tech in our lives and ends up with a good result from her client.  The take-away here is to think about your online life now and how it may linger after your death, causing pain and discomfort for your loved ones.  Use those organization skills to leave a quick and simple list of your digital foot-print and tips on how to turn it off when needed. 

Thank you for reading.  Follow along by clicking "Follow" in the upper right corner and enter your email address.  Also, remember that a blog is meant to spark thought and reflection.  A blog is not legal advice.  Please seek counsel from an attorney licensed in your state of residence for advice specific to your situation.  Be well. 

Lessons From Fisk: Powers of Attorney, Elderly Parents, and Well-Meaning Adult Children

Lessons From Fisk: Powers of Attorney, Elderly Parents, and Well-Meaning Adult Children

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

December 8, 2023

Episode three, Season One of the Australian comedy Fisk introduces Helen to return clients of Gruber & Gruber, the Popovitch mother and daughter duo.  Launched with comedic style, in this episode the new associate finds herself in a common situation: the adult child of a elderly parent with memory issues seeks power of attorney over the mother's finances.  Gruber & Gruber handle the situation far differently than I would in my office, likely because they are in a different country and the story is written for entertainment value.

Laws related to creating powers of attorney are written by state legislatures, meaning the laws and regulations vary from state to state.  Under Wisconsin law our statutes state:

244.05  Execution of power of attorney. To execute a power of attorney the principal must sign the power of attorney or another individual, in the principal's conscious presence and directed by the principal, must sign the principal's name on the power of attorney. A signature of the principal on a power of attorney is presumed to be genuine if the principal makes an acknowledgment of the power of attorney before a notarial officer authorized under ch. 140 to take acknowledgments.

The emphasis on "directed by the principal" is my own, and it is something I take very seriously in my practice.  For me it means the client, and only the client, can direct the creation of the power of attorney, its included powers, and the decision on who to name as their agent.  It boils down to it being a decision the parent needs to make, not a child making the decisions.

Thank you for reading.  Remember that a blog is not legal advice, but rather it is a platform to spark thought and discussion.  Please consult an attorney in your state for legal advice specific to your situation.  Follow along with this blog by clicking "Follow" in the upper right corner and entering your email.  Be well.

Lessons From Fisk: Do Not Include Burial Instructions in Your Will

Lessons From Fisk: Do Not Include Burial Instructions in Your Will

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

December 1, 2023

The second episode in Season 1 of the Australian ABC show Fisk finds Helen in the middle of negotiations over the clause in a will that states the decedent's cremains shall be divided between his family and his much, much younger girlfriend.  The quirky factor is turned up high in this episode.

I want to avoid ever having to run a ratio analysis of the time a decedent spent with family members to calculate the percentage of ashes each party shall receive, as Helen did in the episode. Here are a few other reasons I avoid addressing funeral instructions in a will:

• In Wisconsin, the authority allowing an agent to make health care decisions for another person ends when the person who wrote the document dies;
• Wisconsin has a free, fill-in-law blank form called the Authorization for Final Disposition which allows a person to name a first person, back-up, and second back-up to be in charge of funeral and burial decisions along with space to state preferences, such as cremation or a religious service; and
• A will nominates a Personal Representative (called an Executor in many other states), but that person does not have legal authority to act until a will has been submitted to the probate court and the court empowers the Personal Representative.  This process could take days, or possibly weeks.  A will is simply not given authority fast enough for the modern burial industry.

Thanks for reading.  Remember a blog post is not legal advice, but a method to spark thought and discussion.  Please consult with an attorney in your state for advice specific to your situation.  Check in next week for a third lesson from this delightful Australian comedy, Fisk.