Estate Stuff

[MakersDozn]

Brother number 1 is in town this weekend. We and he and brother number 2 spent several hours today going through some of our father's things, as well as throwing out household junk and general junk that has no value. Brother number 1 calls this "low-hanging fruit."

There are also several estate-related matters that we all have to handle by making phone calls, filling out forms, etc. Brother number 1 got a headstart on a lot of this. We/MDs are continuing to do what we do best, making sure that household expenses are paid and that things stay organized.

The big challenge is convincing brother number 2 why it's financially impossible for him to remain living in the house indefinitely. We and brother number 1 are aiming to have the whole matter resolved sometime in 2015.

Lest anyone think that we're rushing brother number 2 through his grieving process, we're not. Our father stipulated in his will that the house was to be sold as soon as was feasible. The fact that B2 is an office clerk means that he just can't afford to live there. He didn't even know his annual salary. He had to get a recent pay stub so that B1 could multiply two weeks' pay by 26.

It ain't that much.

And it won't come close to being enough to cover costs. His take-home pay is 75% of the total cost of the mortgage, utilities, and property taxes. He also has to consider the cost of food, gas, and all his other expenses.

So his idea was to take on one or more roommates. B1 took great effort to point out to B2 that not only would there be no privacy, and no way of ensuring safety and trustworthiness, but the house would cease to be a home. It would become a rooming house, a building full of strangers. It would cease to have the same attachment value it had when our father was alive. Not to mention the fact that the house belongs equally to the three of us, and B2 can't afford to buy us both out.

For now, all we can do is reassure him that he won't have to move soon, at least in 2014. But we have to balance it out with some sense of realism so that it won't be a shock when he does have to move on.

Tomorrow is another day. And it'll be much like today.

MDs