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长篇大论读的多了，脑袋是不是感觉不堪重负了，那就读读短的文章 ，放松一下。
If there’s a will, there’s a way
--The Washington Post, May 5
“I, Jerry Zezima, being ofunsound mind and decrepit body, hereby bequeath to my wife, Sue, all ofmy worldly possessions, including my Three Stooges videos, the six-packof beer in the refrigerator and all the loose change on the top of mybureau.”
That is how I wanted my last will andtestament to be worded, with sight variations in case I finished thebeer before I died. But because my financial situation had changed inthe two decades since I signed my first will and testament, I knew Iwould need legal advice.
Sue and I engaged the services of Charlie Brenna, a friendly gentleman of 75 who has been practicing law for 50 years.
“Practice makes perfect, so I’m bound toget it right sooner or later,” Charlie said as we sat in his office todiscuss my demise and what will happen after I am gone.
We had the same discussion about Sue, whois convinced that she will go before I do and that will become acrushing burden to our daughters, Katie and Lauren, even though theywould describe me that way now.
“Do you have any concerns about your children?” Charlie asked. “Yes,” I said. “I want them to support me in my old age.”
“It’s not going to happen, ” saidCharlie, a widower who has two children and three grandchildren. “Myson and daughter are both marvelous, but they would have a tough time pulling the plug. They want me to live to be 107.”
“My kids want me to live to be 55,” I told Charlie. “How old are you now?” he inquired. “Fifty-four,” I answered.
Charlie said I should have somethingknown as “per stirpes”, which means “to my children” in Latin. “Itshows that you won’t forget them,” he said.
“How could I?” I replied. “Practically all the money I have ever made has gone to my children.”
“And now they’ll get even more, ” saidCharlie, who told us the story of a client with a secret past. “Thiscouple came in to make out their wills and I asked them about anychildren from prior marriages,” he recalled. “They said there werenone. The next day, the wife called me to say she did have anotherchild her husband didn’t know about. That’s not the case here, is it?”
Sue and I assured Charlie that we didn’thave any other children, although we did ask him to put our dog andfour cats in our wills, just to make sure our daughters would take goodcare of them in case any of the pets survived us.
And we talked about organ donations. “Ican’t play the organ, althought I was once the guest triangle player ina symphony orchestra,” I said, adding that I planned to leave my brainto science. Sue said it might lead to a cure for stupidity.
When the subject of burial came up, Isaid, “I’d like an open casket, but I want to be turned around so myfeet are showing. That way everyone could remark on how good I looked.”
Afterward, as Sue watched me sign my will, my head was filled with the strains of a very worrisome song: The Merry Widow.
As Sue and I left, Charlie wished us many more years of life together.
“Thanks,” I said. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” |
