Life has been rough for me. It has been rough for my brothers too, but they got to spend the last two years here at Western State. It has been four years since we lost our parents and older sister. Life hasn’t been the same for any of us since then. We were lucky to have our grandparents, Buck and Rose, that were able to give up their retired lives and move into our house so we didn’t have to give up any other portion of our lives. That isn’t completely true, I had to give up a good portion of my life after they died: the social part. It proved to be too much for my grandma. She passed away almost exactly one year after Mom, Dad and Sophia. She learned early summertime that she had advanced stages of bone cancer which she opted not to treat. She passed away New Year’s Eve while resting at home. So now, the driveway to our home holds memories of where my parents and sister died and the master bedroom holds memories of where Grandma Rose died. Grandpa Buck did the best he could after that to keep the three of us moving forward. The boys did their best to keep me sheltered from any and all things social. Unfortunately, Grandpa let them make the rules for me; it finally got to the point where it wasn’t worth it to argue. When they graduated from High School, Steve tried to convince Grandpa to let him wait to go to college until after I graduated. Thankfully, Grandpa refused to allow either brother to stay home. He forced both out of the house and off to college. He even went so far as to refuse to let either of them have a car at school which prevented them from coming home every weekend to protect me.
So, my junior and senior years in High School it was just Grandpa and me. I may have had freedom from my brothers’ protection but Grandpa needed me. He wasn’t doing so well without Grandma and after a while, he wasn’t able to do the basics for himself. I spent a majority of my senior year worried that he was going to die in his sleep. He wouldn’t let me skip school to take care of him and he refused to go to the doctor so I never really knew what was wrong with him. He hung on until the week after I graduated High School. It was like he knew I needed him to stick around long enough to get me through High School. Thankfully both brothers were home for the summer when he died. I don’t know what I would have done had it happened when I was alone with him.
Curtis took over all the physical labor that needed to be done at the house. Grandpa really hadn’t been able to do any of the maintenance that needed to be done. I wasn’t one to do much around the house either. The landscaping went to shit. The most I could do was mow the lawn but only if I had someone start the mower for me. I didn’t have the time or energy to do the flowerbeds. The gutters hadn’t been cleaned out in over two years and you could now see the weeds growing out of the end. On top of all that, the house needed to be power washed. Curtis was the perfect guy to do it all.
Steve took over everything money related when Grandpa died. Despite the fact that we were all technically adults, it was hard for us to navigate our way through making the decisions that needed to be made. When we lost our parents, Grandma Rose took care of all the financial decisions that needed to be made. But now we are “adults” that have no clue what we had or didn’t have. In hind sight, we can continue to be extremely thankful that Grandma Rose was smart enough to know this situation was going to be more than we knew what to do with. She organized everything for not only her own death but Grandpa’s too. When Steve sat down at the desk to figure out the bills the first thing he found was a letter from Grandma Rose telling us to contact their attorney because he had everything for us.
The three of us made arrangements to meet with the attorney two weeks after Grandpa Buck died. Before we met with him, we had all pretty much agreed that we would sell the house. None of us wanted to live there; it only reminded us of all our loved ones who had died. Plus, all three of us would be attending Western State starting in less than two months. We knew the house was paid for free and clear which meant anything we made selling it should be enough for all of us to go to college.
When we arrived at the address listed for the attorney, we were a little surprised at how upscale the place was. I know we didn’t have to pay for the services, since Grandma Rose had already prepaid, but it became apparent that we didn’t really belong. Curtis had on a white wife beater tank underneath his favorite work flannel, torn jeans and work boots. Steve didn’t fair much better, he was wearing plain Old Navy pocket tee, jeans, and Nike’s. I had on a comfy cotton t-shirt dress and flip flops, my stringy long hair was up in a messy bun and I had no makeup on. Thankfully both my brothers are good looking, otherwise I think the stuffy receptionist would have turned us away. She didn’t even know who I was but proceeded to completely ignore me while she fawned over my brothers. Steve had the decency to ignore her over-the-top flirtation. Curtis, on the other hand, ate it up like a starved kitten. Once she finally got our names, she ushered us to a corner conference room. The huge table could have sat probably a dozen people but instead there were three chairs set on one side of the table and two on the other. The stuck-up receptionist told us to have a seat and offered us a variety of beverages which we declined. She excused herself and told us our attorney, Mr. Westberg, would be with us shortly. I think we were all too overwhelmed with the atmosphere to say anything to each other while we waited.
Mr. Westberg is a tall, middle aged, well-dressed man; hardly what any of us expected when we found out that Grandma Rose hired an attorney. He walked into the conference room followed by a younger man who was also well dressed and nearly as tall as the older man. Mr. Westberg introduced himself and his legal aid, Marcus, before taking a seat across from us. He didn’t waste any time getting right to the point.
“As you have all figured out, Rose hired me approximately four years ago. She and your Grandfather had recently been appointed custody of the three of you. Her requests when hiring me were not typical to the type of law I practice, but she was adamant that I take care of all her requests. It was difficult to say no to that woman.” He paused to offer us a kind smile as he clearly had memories of our bossy Grandma. “First on her agenda was financial planning for the life insurance your parents had. She was the beneficiary listed, due to the fact that you were all minors. She had no need for the money so she had it equally divided into trust funds for each of you. Second item of business was planning the division of their assets upon their deaths. Those funds have also been equally divided by three and you each have some decisions to make about what you want to do with those funds. Lastly she hired me to file a wrongful death suit against Cody and his parents since they were technically still liable for him at the time of the murders.”
Steve interrupted him, “WHAT? How could we not know? Why didn’t she tell us?”
Mr. Westberg allowed Steve a minute to freak out. He didn’t even flinch when Steve yelled, he just let him have a minute to process what he said. “I know that is a lot to take in. The reason she didn’t tell you was because all three of you had already been through so much. You were adjusting to life without your parents and sister. She felt like this would be a constant reminder to you. She also didn’t tell you because Cody and his parents settled out of court so the whole situation stayed out of the spot light. Honestly, short of me, my staff, their attorney, the court employees and the judge, I don’t think many people even knew about the lawsuit.”
Curtis apparently processed the information faster than Steve and I because he now had a handful of questions. “Okay so she filed the wrongful death suits and they settled. What exactly does that mean? At some point in the future he can ask for parole. Is that something you will be able to help us fight? They kept us out of the spot light during his trial, because they didn’t need us to help prosecute him, but we are the only ones who will want him to stay behind bars.”
Mr. Westberg smiled at Curtis, “You are a smart man Curtis. Settling the wrongful death suit means they paid your family, more specifically you three a lot of money. Those funds have been sitting in a trust account, a very small portion of those funds have been used to pay for my services. It would be my recommendation that you all keep some money in the trust to continue to pay for legal services, mine or an attorney of your choice, to help fight the parole requests that are bound to come up in the future. Trust me when I say having an attorney help you fight the requests will be worth every penny you spend.”
The three of us were honestly struggling to soak in everything that had just been given to us. The reality was, we still didn’t know what kind of money we are talking about. I could look at Mr. Westberg and tell you his suit costs more than everything I have in my closet. I can figure out what that means, he ain’t cheap. Marcus stood without notice and quickly retrieved three bottles of water for me and my brothers. Absently, we each opened the bottles while lost in thought. I knew we were in over our heads but we needed to know exactly what kind of money they are talking about. So, without wanting to sound like a spoiled girl who only cares about the dollar amount, I quietly ask the unanswered question. “So what are the bottom lines? Before we can make any type of plans or decisions we have to know exactly what we are talking about. Once we know dollar amounts we can decide what we need to do next.”
Both brothers looked at me like they didn’t know who I was. So far I am under the impression that I am not going to have to worry about paying for my college education. It won’t be wasted money considering I have no clue what I want to do when I grow up. Interrupting the looks I was getting from Steve and Curtis, Mr. Westberg began speaking while Marcus handed us each a small folder. “Inside the folders are three sections: your parents; your grandparents and the lawsuit. Each section has a cover page that tells you what current bottom line is for that category. So the first section represents funds that were left from your parents life insurance policies. What is shown in your packet is yours individually. All three of you have the same amount since everything has been divided equally. Now those funds are in trust accounts, which have stipulations that the funds be available to you at the age of twenty-five or upon college graduation whichever is sooner. The pages that follow show bank statements from the credit union the funds are currently being held in. Any questions so far?”
HOLY SHIT! In section one alone I started with over nine hundred thousand dollars four years ago. Based on the last statement we had made about fifty thousand dollars. I don’t think any of us were prepared for this when we walked into this office. Actually, I know we weren’t prepared considering we had spent the morning talking about selling the house to pay for college. Based on these numbers, we could easily take out student loans to pay for school and pay them off as soon as we graduate and gain access to the funds.
Thankfully before my mind went further down the rabbit hole, Mr. Westberg moved onto the next section. “Section two is from your grandparents. Those funds are in two parts: part one from Rose and part two from Buck. When Rose passed away, she assigned the funds into auto renewing certificate accounts; there are no age requirements on accessing the funds. They renew annually the first of August, which means you can cash those out in a few weeks if you want. Part two is in cashier check form in the pocket at the back of the folder. Ultimately there were no directions on what to do with the funds from Buck’s life insurance policy. So the funds were equally divided.”
None of us moved to even look at the checks. I think we were still stuck on the certificate accounts that we would have access to in a few weeks. Forget student loans, I can easily pay for college without worry. I don’t know what my brothers were thinking, but it was clear we were overwhelmed.
Using our silence as an indication that we had no questions, Mr. Westberg continued. “Finally the third section represents the trust from the wrongful death suit. These funds have not been divided. This section also requires the most thought because decisions need to be made. I certainly don’t have a problem switching the contract I had with your grandparents into your name. Ultimately the whole contract isn’t needed but the portion that deals with the funds from the lawsuit is necessary even if it isn’t with me. The dues for the contract are paid through the first of August which means you have until then to decide on whether you renew with me or find a different attorney. Once that decision is made you can decide to liquidate most of the trust or keep the funds there until you need them. I can recommend a financial planner and an accountant. They can help you determine what is taxed and when. Knowing that information will help you make informed decisions.”
Crazy. The folder showed that the trust had just over 52 million dollars. Never in my life had I ever thought I would see numbers like that associated with my name. I didn’t even care that only one-third of it is mine. That is a lot of fucking money. What the hell were we supposed to do now? That made selling the house seem stupid. The three of us just sat there, I am sure they thought we are a bunch of kids from the country; hicks from the sticks that didn’t know what do to.
Thankfully Marcus took pity on us, “In the very back of your folders I included several financial planners in our area along with several accountants. We suggest starting with a phone consult with each, it will help you determine whether they are someone you want to work with. Based on your portfolios, they will be happy to add you as clients; just remember it is your money and they work for you. I will be in contact with you prior to the August first renewal date to set up an appointment if necessary. We have given you a lot to take in, do any of you have any questions?”
Steve was the first to stand, he was clearly uncomfortable with everything that was happening. He awkwardly shook hands with Mr. Westberg and Marcus before leaving the room. Curtis and I slowly followed suit. Curtis informed the men, “Once we have had a chance to let this all soak in, I imagine we may have questions. Who should we contact?”
Mr. Westberg told Curtis and I both, “Feel free to contact either one of us. Marcus is fully up to speed on all aspects of this case and sometimes I am harder to get in touch with. If you decide on renewing the contract let us know so we can get it re-written.”
Wishing us well the two men went further into the office while Curtis and I turned toward the lobby where Steve stood outside the elevator. As soon as he saw us coming he hit the down call button. We each were in dire need of decompressing which means a good workout at the gym or a long run.
None of us spoke a word as we made our way to the older model Ford Explorer that used to be Grandpas. Without question, I climbed in the back seat while holding my folder tightly. Absently I flipped the folder open and reviewed the figures. It was when I saw the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the certificate account that I realized I hadn’t even looked at the cashier check. My hands were suddenly shaking as I pulled the envelop out of the back of the folder. I couldn’t even tell you what I expected because I didn’t expect any portion of any of this. The cashier check was for almost three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Which really confirmed that I didn’t care about selling the house at all.
I stuck my head between the seats my brothers were sitting in and announced, “I want to stop at the bank and deposit my check. Then I want to go on a long run. Then I want to hire someone to do all the work on the house that needs to be done. Then I want to take a vacation. A real vacation not a road trip, not camping, not to look at colleges, but a vacation with sun and sand and true relaxation.”
Neither brother responded. It was almost as if I hadn’t said a word, Steve just continued to drive and Curtis just looked out the window. It wasn’t until I saw Steve turning towards the bank that I realized he heard part of what I said. The three of us took our cashier checks into the bank. Instantly I recognized a couple girls that graduated with Steve and Curtis working the teller line. They each called on one of them completely ignoring me. Of course giving the dollar amounts of their deposits, the girls instantly began flirting more than necessary. Steve as usual completely ignored the efforts of his teller while Curtis ate it up as usual. Even after Steve walked away from the counter the teller continued to ignore me. It wasn’t until Steve took my check from me and walked back up to the counter announcing, “She needs to deposit this.” did the girl even look at me. Story of my life.
We made it home and Steve didn’t feel like going for a run which wasn’t surprising, he hated to run. He would lift weights everyday but would do anything to get out of running. I liked to run because it was my time that I could sort things in my head without interruptions. After everything we learned today I needed a long run. While stretching, I confirmed with Curtis that we were running the 10-mile loop: 2.5 to the lake; 5 around the lake; 2.5 back from the lake.
My mind was going crazy. Too many things to process at once. Top of the list is we had way more money than any of us would ever need in our life time. Yes, we lost important people in an ugly way, but that money isn’t going to bring them back. We need to figure out what to do with it, but that is a bigger issue that I cannot solve during a 10-mile run. Next topic, I don’t want to suddenly become the stuck-up girl with a lot of money. Maybe I can ask the financial planner to help me set a budget for school, I don’t have to be a broke ass college kid but I also don’t have to be the richest either. Next topic, what are we going to do with the house? Now that we don’t need the cash to pay for school, do I want to keep it? No, I don’t want to keep the house. Every time I walk in I see Mom, Dad, Sophia, Grandma and Grandpa. Do I want someplace to call home? Absolutely, but the only thing that place needs is Steve and Curtis. Now final topic, where to go on vacation? I wonder if it is too late to sign up for a cruise? I wonder how long it would take us to get passports? If we can’t pull off a cruise, what about a week on the beach in Florida? I’ve heard that the Carolina’s have nice beaches too. California doesn’t sound like as much fun and Hawaii would be a really long flight. Maybe I’ll give the guys a couple of choices to pick from. I ran my best time ever for 10 miles and probably could have kept going if I wasn’t so excited to start researching vacation destinations.
Ultimately, the three of us decided we didn’t want to keep the house. It was no longer about the money so before we did anything we contacted the financial planners and accountants that Marcus listed in our packets. We found younger, established people in both categories. With their help, we determined we wanted to donate the house to a domestic violence organization that assists women transition out of abusive relationships. We don’t know if they will use the house as a shelter or transitional housing or if they will turn around and sell if for money they can use in areas that they need it most. We didn’t put parameters on the donation because we didn’t know what they needed.
We moved all the stuff we wanted to keep into off campus storage and donated the rest. There truly wasn’t much we wanted to keep. None of us are worried about having a home to go to during school breaks, we’ll figure that out as the time comes. We have talked about maybe renting a small apartment but we’ll worry about that as the time gets closer.
I had the financial planner help me with setting my budget for school. She had a great recommendation that I have a couple stashes of money available on the off-chance I change my mind and want to spend more than we planned. With that we budgeted high for our vacation. We planned a week in Florida followed by a short three-night cruise. Then the three of us would head toward Western State early. The last thing we did before leaving town was sign the new contract with Mr. Westberg; we weren’t ready to do anything with that money.