“My mother’s will is going to create difficult relations between me and the rest of the family.” Russell had told this to my mother’s guardian and others.

Russell was saving face. Russell likes to project the image of the good son, the family member who is compassionate, caring, and concerned. In most cases, the only person Russell is fooling is himself. My mother’s will that Russell rushed to probate on the day of her interment could have been partially or completely set aside. Russell could have arranged for the distribution of the family estate amongst family members. His anger and greed took him down another path.

Every legal advisor who knows how to spell the word “probate” is familiar with the procedure for will disclaimers. Beneficiaries under a will or family trust can often reduce estate tax liability by disclaiming or refusing to accept the assets that are willed to them. A full discussion of disclaiming assets can be seen at Exhibit Six.

Russell had no concern about maintaining relations with any family members. In the weeks following our mother’s death, Russell would hang up on any family member who tried to contact him. It is now two years since our mother’s passing and Russell has made no attempt to contact any family member, relative or friend of our parents. Although Russell would like others to think different, at the time of our mother’s death, Russell only objective was to seize family assets, not maintain family relations.

We realize this now looking back on Russell’s actions during our mother’s extended stay in the nursing home from 1994 until her passing. Fortunately, my mother had substantial investments and income to provide for her care. Over the course of time there were discussions regarding the distribution of family assets to reduce the burden of eventual probate costs. Utilizing the gift provisions of the Estate and Gift tax code, distributions could be made annually of assets of value that did not contribute to income or were not needed to sustain medical costs. This could include such items as family heirlooms, jewelry, coin and antique collections and automobiles in storage. Russell was vehemently opposed to any distribution of any asset. We thought this might have been because of a suspicious inkling by him, so the family did not press for the practical and tax saving solution. We now know Russell expected to inherit it all, and objected because his greed did not want any family member to receive a single item of our parents estate.

Russell spent fourteen plus years hiding his objectives from the family. It remains to be seen how much time and effort will be spent hiding the true value of our parent’s Estate from Federal and State tax collectors.