My colleague, John A Warnick, has written in his Blog (Seedlings) about Ray Charles in a way that will change your thinking today and maybe forever. Stop by http://johnawarnick.typepad.com/seedlings/2010/08/howling-your-way-to-success.html and see if you don’t agree. Then, share your thoughts and the blog piece with a friend or colleague.
What is the story behind that watch?
You have a lot of stuff. I have a lot of stuff. Most of my things will probably grace a garage sale one day and then suffer the final ride to the dump. But then there are a few gems, with a story or two attached.
Frank told me about the radio he had found up in his parents’ attic when his dad passed away. His brother and sister didn’t want it, so he gladly carted it home. He spent the next couple of years carefully restoring the radio to its original state. He told me about some of times when the family gathered around the radio to listen to the Jack Benny Program, or a radio episode of Gunsmoke. You know, the shows we can only find now on Sirius XM. He told me about events in his family’s life that centered on that family gathering and the time spent together by the radio. We spent more time than we should have, but I was fascinated. That old radio, that admittedly was a pretty neat old object all by itself, took on the lives of Frank’s family and held a key to volumes of family stories. Frank told me that he planned to leave the radio to his daughter when he died. I told Frank that I’m sure the gift of the radio would be appreciated, but would mean so much more if he would take the time to tell the story behind the radio. It was really the stories tangled up in those old fashioned tubes and dials that would mean the most to his daughter.
Take the time to tell the story behind that gift of a watch, a ring, a radio, a whatever. Write it down and tape it to the back of the item if you have to, but get it down.
So, when we’re done, do we kill the cats or what?
I remember when Alan came by the office to talk about his planning. His wife had passed away and it was now just Alan and the six cats. No kids. No close relatives. Alan came by the office several times to talk about his will, but he never got around to actually doing it. We had some great ideas. His cats would be cared for until they went to cat heaven and then the remaining assets would start a fund to help low income seniors pay for pet food and vet bills so that they could have a pet too. “Pets are really good for lonely seniors,” Alan would say. Yes, Alan was all ready to get going, just as soon as he got around to it. I still remember that call. It was on a Monday afternoon. The lawyer asked for Mr. Pittman (I’m Bob to anyone who knows me). He wanted to know if I knew Alan. He said that he had found all kinds of notes about planning and a will when they discovered Alan dead. My card was on Alan’s nightstand. The lawyer on the other end of the line had been hired by the distant relatives to take care of Alan’s estate, clean up and sell the house, and get rid of the cats who were still alive. “Did Mr. Jones (no, not his real name) have a will” asked the lawyer? My answer was no, he never got around to it. I still get annoyed at Alan. I still wonder what I could have done to make him take action. I have discovered that I can’t “make” anyone do anything. Don’t be an Alan.
If you have pets, you need to make sure that they will be ok if you are ever in an accident or when you die. I can’t tell you how many clients care for their pets as much (if not more) than their kids. So, what happens if you are in an accident and your dog, cat, bird or other friend is waiting at home, depending on you for food, water, and the trip outside? Do you carry a Pet Alert Card™ or some other id card that tells someone who to call? Have you made provision in your power of attorney for the care of your pet? Who will take your friends when you die? It is really not difficult to provide properly for our pets and animal friends, but most people don’t take care of something so important.
There is a great book on the topic of estate planning for pets, All My Children Wear Fur Coats, by Peggy Hoyt. You’ll like it.
Selection or Election of Judges; You Be the Judge
Watching the process of selecting our newest addition to the United States Supreme Court reminded me of how we do it in Washington State. We have the right (and the obligation) to elect our judges here in Washington. In the federal system, we sit by and watch the President pick our judges and observe the circus we call Congress, or more specifically, the Senate, go through its confirmation process. From the Supreme Court all the way down to the local Federal District Court, judicial vacancies are filled by lifetime appointments. I’m not saying this is necessarily bad. But, contrast this with the State of Washington, where we elect our judges. For better or worse, our trial court judges are elected by you and me. Our appellate court judges are also elected, including seats on our highest court, the Washington State Supreme Court.
We can debate the advisability of electing our state judges (and we will on a future edition of Legal Line with Bob Pittman), but the reality is that we will be voting in a handful of days on judges across the state. These are people who affect our everyday life. These are people who can decide whether you win or lose a very real lawsuit you find yourself in. These are people who could send you to prison. These are people who could decide on the status or your marriage, your partnership, and whether you live or die. Who will you vote for? What information do you have? How will you decide? Too little information exists about judicial candidates. Too few questions are asked of judicial candidates. Before you send in your ballot or go to the polling place, do a little homework. Ask people you know and trust who they are voting for and why. Call an attorney and quiz her about the election. Most attorneys are happy to discuss what they think is important and who they think will do the best job. Become informed and vote. It is a solemn obligation.
The Confirming Letter; Big Legal Secret (don’t tell anyone)
Over the many years of taking legal questions on Legal Line, we all learned a lot and a number of legal “secrets” were revealed. None were bigger or simpler than the confirming letter.
You’re in the middle of a dispute with your neighbor over tree limbs and sharing the costs of trimming and clean-up. You come to an agreement and breathe a sigh of relief. Don’t relax just yet. You have a dispute with a local retailer and come to what you think is a full resolution of the issue. Don’t stop yet. Whenever you agree with someone on an important issue, rush to your computer, crank up Word, and write a confirming letter. “Dear Jane: It was really nice talking to you today. Let’s get together later this summer for that barbeque. This note will confirm our agreement that I will engage Honest John’s Tree Trimming Service to cut back the cherry tree that is on your property near the boundary between our houses. You have agreed to chip in $100.00 towards the cost of pruning and trimming the tree and we’ll both share in cleaning up the debris. I’ll go ahead and contact Honest John this week and we’ll get the work started as soon as he is available. You agreed that Honest John can go onto your property to do his work and that I can keep the tree limbs trimmed right up to the property line. We’ll ask Honest John to be really careful and not damage the tree.” If Jane does not respond to the letter, it will be really hard for her to change her mind and cause trouble when Honest John shows up. If she does object, it is better to know before Honest John arrives. You can use a confirming letter for almost anything that two people can agree on (and where a written contract is not appropriate or simply not in the cards). Obviously, lawyers like thick contracts with lots of clauses that nobody ever reads. Real life won’t tolerate the lawyers most of the time but will accept the confirming letter. Try it and see the next time you have an agreement that is not ripe for the big time lawyer contract, but is important to you.