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Another Missive You Are Glad You Did Not Have To Write
(Not Edited For Spelling Or Punctuation Or Anything Else) (Warning: Not Legal Advice!)

Question: Do I have any legal rights as an Heir to my father house?

I have lived with my father in the house that I grew up in for more then 10yrs now. I care for my father and his needs. I take him to Dr. appts, I cook, clean the house, do his laundry, and always make sure his needs are taken care of. I have 1 sister its just her and I. My father owns his home free and clear. Back in 2002 while i was away my father had some legal issues that concerned his house which at the time he was the only person on the Deed. Because of this legal issue my father put my sisters name on his house. It is a Grant Deed with my father and my sister as Joint Tenants. My father is in the hospital at this time and not doing very well my sister says the house belongs to her and she has recently served me with Eviction 60 day notice to Quit based on a No-Fault Just Cause. I pay my father rent every month and have receipts to show. My father has no Will in place. Do I as his son have any legal rights as his Heir and if so what can I do? My sister and I dont get along for the past few years all she has done is take advantage of our father financially and otherwise. She has no concern for his health or well being she only wants his house and will stop at nothing.

The Short Answer Is: No, you do not “have any legal rights as an Heir to [your]fathers house.” You are totally out of luck. Sister gets the house. You get evicted. “Do Not Pass GO, Do Not Collect $200.” You may get a share of father’s other assets, but not the house. The house is gone. Transferred. That is what a deed does. That is what deeds are for.

Gee, that was rather harsh, wasn’t it? Yeah, but also accurate. Lamentably, this is a very common “plan.” And a very common situation as well. The out-of-towner child gets the gold mine. The do- gooder child gets the shaft.

The Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, however, offers some consolation for you, at 5:12:

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Makes you feel better, right?

And if you desire vengeance… Sure, sister may be rejoicing now with her ill-gotten gains. But let’s consult Dante’s Guide to Satan’s Suburb, the “Inferno.” Here we learn that the Ninth Circle of Hell, the one “lowest, blackest, and farthest from Heaven” is reserved for Traitors. Including those who betray their family members. So, your sister will spend Eternity right next door to Lucifer, frozen in an icy lake, tormented by demons. Unless she repents. At the last minute. On her deathbed.

Observation #1 Is it crazy to think that the Deed’s actual language might make a difference? No? In fact, there is a huge difference between “Joint Tenants” and “Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship.”

If the deed says: “Conveys to Dad and Evil Sister as Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship”. Then there is nothing to be done. And nothing that can be done, unless both Dad and Evil Sister work together. Evil Sister gets the property if Dad dies first. And vice versa. Unless… see Observation #3, below.

If the deed says: “Conveys to Dad and Evil Sister as Joint Tenants”. Then either Dad or Evil Sis can break the joint tenancy by conveying their joint interest. Even if they only convey that interest to a trust. POP! Goes the joint tenancy and now Dad owns one-half and Evil Sister owns one-half. And now when Dad dies, Evil Sister does NOT get his half. Dad could have sold to a stranger or given it to Brother. At death, Dad’s half goes wherever Dad says it should if Dad has done a trust or will. If Dad has done nothing, then the Probate Code (also known as the Estates and Protected Individuals Code) will dictate who gets Dad’s half when he dies.

If the deed says: “Conveys to Dad and Evil Sister.” Or “Conveys to Dad and Evil Sister as Tenants in Common.” Now Dad and Evil Sister each own a one-half interest that they can sell or give or otherwise transfer to someone else. Just the same as if there was a busted Joint Tenancy.

Observation #2 Remember those folks who told you to “Just put the kids on the deed! It is so simple and easy!”? Remember them? Wouldn’t you like to give ‘em a bust in the chops right about now? [DISCLAIMER: The Elder Law Reporter does not advocate or condone violence. Except metaphorically.]

Observation #3 When is a deed not a deed? When it is a “Ladybird” or “Transfer on Death” or “Enhanced Life Estate” deed. Then it is not a “Deed” at all… until Dad dies.

The Transfer on Death deed means that Dad retains all control over the property during his lifetime. Dad can give it away. Dad can mortgage the property. Dad can sell part and keep part. Dad is in total control. While Dad is living.

After death, if Dad has not transferred it while alive, the property then goes to Evil Sister.

Observation #4 Blast from the Past. Back in the day, it was accepted practice to deed real estate to parents and one or two favored children, all as Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship. Okay, you say… “Done deal!” Mom and Dad just gave the property to those two kids or their survivor. And you told me in Observation #1 that that was the end of the story. Which is true… pretty much.

Sometimes, after signing the Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship deed, the parents would require the kids on the deed to sign a Second Document.

The Second Document was a trust. A very short, one-and-a-half-page trust. The kids signed the trust as Trustees.

The kids signed to recognize that the Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship Deed was not really a deed to them, but a deed to the trust. And the trust said that they (or the survivor of them) had to split the property with the rest of the family.

Why? Why? WHY?

Deed plus Mini-trust is “simpler.” Also, these deeds helped to disguise the actual ownership. Also, these deeds were very confusing.

The worst part of these deeds is that well-meaning family members are turned into criminals. After Mom and Dad die, the family does not really know what is going on. One result is tax fraud. Another is federal farm price support and other agricultural program fraud. Frequently, this sort of arrangement results in Medicaid fraud. These crimes are innocent. The kids named on the deed had no idea that they were trustees and had to report. And remember: Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

And it is not just tax, agricultural, and Medicaid laws that are violated. The kids named on the deed often breach their fiduciary duties to their brothers and sisters.

Observation #5 Wouldn’t it be a great idea if all the kids are made Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship? Let’s put ALL the kids’ names on the deed. Now we don’t have to worry about anyone being left out! Everybody feels great.

Now your property is subject to all of the kids’ liabilities.

Now all of the kids can use all of your property whenever they like. With whomever they like. Including their mud-wrestling motorcycle gang. And you cannot stop them because they own the property same as you. Same as you.

Observation #6 Ignorance is bliss.

Conclusion A: Is it unimportant to plan your estate? Should you be careless about who gets what? Are you happy to leave confusion, tax liability and potential criminal responsibility on your kids? Do you want your legacy to be wreckage?

Then maybe you should take this stuff seriously. Is that a ridiculous notion?

Conclusion B: “Everything should be as simple as possible. But not more simple.” Albert Einstein.

The most expensive thing you can do is to cheap out on your estate planning. It is very attractive to get the free steak dinner that comes with a free trust. “If it’s free, I’ll take three!” Words to live by… But the consequences can be… severe.

Conclusion C: These various deed tactics were employed for generations. Today, it is the Ladybird Deed that takes center stage. If the past is a guide, the Ladybird Deed will soon come home to roost. And it won’t be pretty.

Actually, Ladybird Feuds are already happening. What we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg, early Ladybird Deeds. When the bulk of these deeds transfer property, it’ll be “Katie bar the door!” Which will be great for the lawyers fighting these cases.

Sometimes these deeds work well enough. Maybe there are great relationships among the family members. Maybe no one has died. Maybe no in- law is obnoxious, obtuse, officious, or offensive. Maybe the stars align perfectly! Maybe you get lucky. Is luck a plan?

It’s not that “deed planning” cannot possibly work. That’s not the point. The key is that you have no reason to think that it will work. It might. But it might not. And any little problem can cause great, unforeseen disaster.

Is it crazy to think that a little flexibility might preserve your intent while weathering the storms of the future?

Conclusion D: Stupid planning does not survive. As time goes by, faulty planning techniques are abandoned. But because lawyers and clients typically do not communicate, strategies that were dumped long ago continue to show up and cause havoc today. Properties worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Farms held in the family for over 150 years. Cottages and hunting land. All of these, as well as your traditional family homestead, are needlessly put at risk.

Conclusion E: Maybe you should go to a LifePlan™ Workshop. Just saying.

Traditional Deed Planning Is Dangerous To You And Your Family

Traditional estate planning is concerned with avoiding probate, saving taxes, and dumping your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

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We Create Value, Fix Things, Make It Happen… We Help The World Become A Better Place They Are Helpless Or Thieves Or Stupid… Why Are They In Charge?

IS THE WORLD RUN BY IDIOTS?

Is now a bad time to reflect on the state of our world? Are you opposed to taking an honest look around and assessing the situation candidly? Have you given up making a positive contribution? Is it ridiculous to think, yes, the sun is going down, in the late innings, between a rock and a hard place, in a tough spot, jammed against the wall, but we can fix it yet, we can bounce back, all is not lost, is that ridiculous?

Remember a few years ago? Drilling skyrocketed. Energy prices plummeted. So much oil hit the market that prices went through the floor. All Americans had job opportunities. More Americans, of all races and genders, were providing for their families than ever before. Even so-called “unemployables” were working. Peace was breaking out in the Middle East. Countries that had been blood enemies since WWII decided to get along with all the benefits of warm peace rather than cold war. Inflation and interest rates were low. No new foreign wars were begun. Old wars were being wrapped up. No more Americans killing other people for inexplicable reasons with no end in sight. Now what?

COVID PANDEMIC. Viral pandemic almost exclusively kills older folks. Reaction: Force toddlers to wear masks. Empty the schools. Crush small businesses. Poor families and kids hurt the worst. Suicides jump.

Washington Post headline: “Colleges scramble to recruit students as nationwide enrollment plunges”. A million college students are “missing.” And the kids who show up? More bad news. The Chronicle of Higher Education: “Post-Lockdown Higher Education: A Stunning Level of Student Disconnection”. New college students are “by and large tragically underprepared to meet the challenges of university life — both academically and in terms of ‘adulting,’” such as understanding the consequences of missing a lot of class.”

AFGHANISTAN BUG-OUT. Ignoring the most basic military concepts, the Commander in Chief insists on immediate withdrawal. Hundreds of American citizens abandoned in a foreign land. Billions in weapons, ammunition, equipment, and training delivered to those sworn to kill us. Death and destruction follow. Economy derailed. Hope denied. Violence results. Riots described as “mostly peaceful protests.”

MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES. Another headline: “US mortgage interest rates hit 5% for the first time in a decade. That’s great news.” QZ.COM, April 6, 2022.

Do you think that doubling the home mortgage interest rate is a good thing? Is it “great news” to your children or grandchildren buying a starter home that the interest rate has increased over 100%?

PRICE INFLATION. Across the board price inflation is at 40-year highs. Everybody knows this is the inevitable result of dumping trillions of stimulus dollars into the economy. Rising prices devastate middle class plans and dreams. And still, Presidential spokespersons variously claim that inflation is good, inflation is bad, inflation is Russia’s fault for invading Ukraine. Even though inflation happened before Russian invasion.

RUSSIAN INVASION. Chief of Russian oligarchs decides to invade small neighboring foreign country. Chief is a corrupt crook who leads cabal of corrupt crooks stealing national wealth to buy superyachts, gold toilets, and jet airplanes. Chief is surprised and disappointed that everyone else is a corrupt crook too. Russian army, Russian equipment, Russian tactics, Russian discipline are suicidal embarrassment. Russian soldiers die. Lots of them. The rest torture and kill civilians. Unexpectedly.

Russian mechanics supposed to maintain equipment steal the money instead. Mechanics pay off their sergeants. Sergeants pay off lieutenants. Lieutenants pay off captains… and on up the chain. All the way to the top. And then they all lied about it.

So, let’s invade! Two weeks, tops! But. Half the bombs and missiles are duds. Tires fall apart. No food. No gasoline. No bullets. Lousy tanks. One hit, tank goes boom! Airplanes fall out of sky. Now Russia losing. Russia doubles down. More dead Russians. More dead Ukrainians. More wrecked stuff.

TWO QUESTIONS: A certain former President claims he warned leaders of Russia and China that if they invaded Ukraine or Taiwan, respectively, he would immediately bomb Moscow and Beijing.

Q1: Do you think the former President made these threats?
Q2: If the former President had made the threat, do you think would Russia and China take it seriously?

You can easily multiply the examples offered here. Again and again our senses are assaulted with arguments, images, reasons, and acts which seem stark, staring madness. What explains this? How can we understand what is happening, so that we can remedy the problems and move ahead?

“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

—Robert J. Hanlon, Hanlon’s Razor, 1980

The First Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

Always And Inevitably Everyone Underestimates The Number Of Stupid Individuals In Circulation.

Carlo M. Cipolla, University of California, Berkley, 1987

As a middle-class person, don’t you do your best to attain ambitious goals? Wouldn’t you like to have a comfortable retirement? Don’t you try to make situations better for yourself and others, too? Are you against sharing your good fortune with others? With your family?

And yet, try as you might, reality kicks you hard. As Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan, until he gets punched in the mouth.” Is it a ridiculous idea to think you are surrounded by stupid people? Cipolla challenges you to ask yourself whether the following has happened to you, again and again:
a) people whom [you] had once judged rational and intelligent turn out to be unashamedly stupid.
b) day after day, with unceasing monotony, [you are] harassed in [your] activities by stupid individuals who appear suddenly and unexpectedly in the most inconvenient places and at the most improbable moments.

You have encountered these frustrations so often, you no longer notice. You have become used to outrageous levels of stupidity that now threaten our existence as a free people and, indeed, the life of humanity on this planet. How many stupid people are there? Any estimate would be too low. Your good faith and belief that others operate as you do blinds you to the overwhelming stupidity you encounter daily.

The Second Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

The Probability That A Certain Person Will Be Stupid Is Independent Of Any Other Characteristic Of That Person.

Id.

The “80/20 Rule” or Pareto Distribution is a generally accepted observation about humanity. The 80/20 Rule says that 80% of results come from 20% of causes. Twenty percent of any workforce does 80% of the work. Twenty percent of workers get 80% of the results. Twenty percent pull all the rest along. But it doesn’t stop there. Twenty percent of the 20%, get 80% of the 80% results. That means 4% of workers get 64% of the results.

This ratio holds across cultures, races, numbers, professions. The Second Law of Human Stupidity says that Stupidity has a Pareto Distribution. The size of the group doesn’t matter. Education level of the group is irrelevant. Wealth has no bearing. Stupidity is equally distributed.

Politicians are stupid. Communist dictators are stupid. And they surround themselves with other stupid people. Who tell them stupid lies. So they do stupid things.
Unfortunately, the more we rely on powerful individuals to be smart and honest, the more likely they turn out to be stupid. And dishonest. And with more power to act on their dishonest stupidity.

Think about one of your children. You make think your child is not so bright. Or, you make think your child is the smartest person you have ever met. Your opinion does not matter. Now imagine that your child was a habitual drug user. And paid other people to have sex. And took pictures of himself having sex and doing drugs. Imagine further that your child approached rich foreigners and offered to intercede with you, to arrange dinner for them with you, or perhaps to play a round of golf with you. And your child would try to get those rich foreigners to pay your child millions of dollars for your “friendship.”

Is it crazy to think your child would fail? Who in their right mind would pay $20, let alone millions to make your acquaintance? Nobody. Your child would be laughed out of the room.
Now imagine that you are a prominent, national politician. You are stupid. You lied about your family history and athletic ability. You lied about your dead wife’s fatal car accident. And your law school experience. You lied so much, you had to drop out of running for President. But you got over that. And now you have power. And you want money. More money. Much more money. You also have a stupid child who does drugs and pays for sex. Now those foreigners are standing in line, checkbooks in hand.

The Second Basic Law of Human Stupidity holds that stupidity is equally spread through the population. Maybe so. But you have to get up in the morning, deliver value, and get paid. You cannot spend the day getting high, paying for sex, and cashing foreigners’ checks.

Do you have teams of highly-paid professionals covering for your every gaffe and blunder? If you say something incredibly stupid, will squads of public relations experts send out tweets, press releases, emails, TikToks and whatever else to explain away your obvious dementia?

We middle class folks may be stupid in the same proportions as politicians or rich folks, but we cannot get away with it. Consequences for us are real. Like months of solitary confinement after being waved through a building by police officers, staying between the velvet ropes. Getting the same treatment as those who actually assaulted and injured 56 police officers. Will their charges be dismissed like those who rampaged through the streets of D.C. and other major American cities, firebombing police stations, federal buildings, and other folks’ property?

Plus, our stupidity does not wreck economies, or spike teen suicide rates, or invade other countries. Our stupidity does not wipe out years of saving through hyperinflation. Middle class stupidity does not explode home mortgage interest rates, then pretend that pricing families out of homes is a good thing.

The Third And Golden Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

A Stupid Person Is A Person Who Causes Losses To Another Person Or To A Group Of Persons While Himself Deriving No Gain And Even Possibly Incurring Losses.

Stupidity is hurting others without helping yourself and sometimes even hurting yourself.

Is it reasonable that someone would hurt others and themselves at the same time? Or that they would hurt others with no selfish benefit? It makes no sense. That is why we rational people call that behavior stupid.

There are two more Basic Laws of Human Stupidity that we will discuss next week, stay tuned!

The Fourth Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

Non-Stupid People Always Underestimate The Damaging Power Of Stupid Individuals. In Particular Non-Stupid People Constantly Forget That At All Times And Places And Under Any Circumstances To Deal And/Or Associate With Stupid People Always Turns Out To Be A Costly Mistake.

The Fifth Basic Law Of Human Stupidity

A Stupid Person Is The Most Dangerous Type Of Person

Traditional Planning Is Stupid Planning

Traditional Planning Is Dangerous To You And Your Family

Traditional estate planning is concerned with avoiding probate, saving taxes, and dumping your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long- term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family? Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now.
(800) 317-2812