A trial of the wills

Sam lived alone in his small motor home in Apache Junction during the winter months. Each year in April, he would pack up his motor home and drive to his family farm in Idaho. Sam's wife had died years before and they could never have any children, but he loved to visit with his younger nieces and nephews. His brother owned the farm and although both of them were getting older, they enjoyed the family atmosphere of the farming community.

When the weather changed and the leaves had all turned, Sam packed up and left for the warm climate of Arizona. There was quite a little community living there at the RV Resort and Sam had made several friends. Norma and Bill were especially interested in Sam and his well being. They made a special effort to make friends with him. That winter, Sam had a mild heart attack and his health began to fail rapidly. He became despondent and dysfunctional.

Meanwhile, Norma and Bill became Sam's best friends. They took him to the store when he needed to go and helped him clean up around the house. When Sam suffered another heart attack, Norma went with Sam to the hospital and visited him every day. As his condition became worse, Norma and Bill started to tell Sam that he needed to "get his affairs in order." As Sam became more and more despondent, they finally took him to an attorney's office and told the attorney that Sam wanted a Will. Sam was in extreme physical distress but could still communicate. Norma and Bill told Sam that he should leave them his estate, because, after all, they had taken care of him. Sam protested that he ought to leave something to his brother and his brother's children. Norma pointed out that none of them had come to help him and that she an Bill were always there for him. Not feeling well enough to protest, Sam agreed and the lawyer had him sign a will leaving his entire estate to Norma and Bill.

If Sam had felt better and not been so sick, he would have noticed that Norma and Bill were intercepting all of his mail from his family. He may also have noticed that his phone was not working courtesy of Norma and Bill.

Sam's brother and his family were shocked when Sam died. They rushed down to Arizona for the funeral only to find out that everything Sam owned had been taken by Norma and Bill. The couple had filed the probate on Sam's will within the statutory five days of his death.

Unfortunately, this story is repeated all across America. Norma and Bill make a good living taking care of their older neighbors and then convincing the neighbors to make a will or change one to leave everything to Norma and Bill. They generally look for old people in poor health who do not appear to have a family close by.

A Will is not something to do when you are old and vulnerable. You need to take care of your affairs now.