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This is the story of Alfred Hilroy, a recently widowed, 68-year-old man who believes that estate and money matters should be kept private. It is also the story of Alfred's three grown children, Bev, Michael, and Judy, who love their father dearly but worry that he is going to squander away his retirement savings -- and their inheritance. Alfred believes his affairs are in order. He has part-time work at the pharmacy he co-owns and runs, reasonably good health, and a modest but steady amount of retirement income. However, he misses his late wife terribly and does not look forward to navigating through old age alone. Then "The Bolt" hits. Mary Beth Cain, twenty-five years Alfred's junior, is an athletic, confident, outgoing woman who knows what she wants. Within weeks there is talk of a future life together. Bev, Michael, and Judy are soon swept up into a sea of conflicting emotions as their new step-mother moves into—and redecorates—the beloved Hilroy home, appears at Alfred's birthday party wearing their late mother's spider brooch, and vacations with the family at the cottage. Will Alfred leave everything to this newcomer to the family? Will cherished family belongings suddenly disappear? The Hilroys' struggles are becoming more and more common as baby boomers confront their parents', and their own, mortality. As Bev, Michael, and Judy screw up their courage and begin discussions with their father about his estate, we learn about, Powers of Attorney, capital gains tax, probating a will, US estate and gift tax, trusts, joint ownership, cottage inheritances, communicating with aging people, and more—all in an intriguing, suspenseful, and ultimately liberating story.
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THE COTTAGE, / Irtt j l lUtK. DKvJUv^rl, AMD TH F SECOND WIFE How to Overcome the Challenges of Estate Planning SAN DY CARDY ktod? --fit 1^. JL ^ "Sinnui-^ ^_ ^Waa^ -«L ^- ^M^ ^ PLuMui^ ^P^ WITH MICHAE L FITZGERAL D ECW PRES S Copyright © Sandy Cardy, 2003 Published b y ECW PRESS 2120 Queen Street East , Suite 200 , Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4E IE2 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form b y any process — electronic, mechanical , photocopying , recording , or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and EC W PRESS. NATIONAL LIBRAR Y O F CANAD A CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATIO N Cardy, Sandy, 1958The cottage , the spider brooch and the second wife : how to overcome the challenges of estate planning / Sandy Cardy. ISBN 1-55022-596-0 I. Estate planning — Canada - Popula r works. 2. Inheritance an d succession Canada - Popula r works. I. Title. KE5974.z82C3T'1 "A J 1 ' 121 This page intentionally left blank Chapter 14 GOTHIC NOVEL NIGHT BEV LOOKE D AROUN D th e roo m at he r eigh t fello w boo k club members. Normall y sh e woul d hav e devoure d th e assigne d novel in a few sittings and hav e been ready to tal k about i t at the monthl y meeting . No t tonight . Sh e had rea d onl y a few chapters of Daphne DuMaurier's gothic novel Rebecca and was quietly sittin g tryin g t o remembe r scene s fro m th e variou s movie and T V versions. But he r min d wa s wandering bAack t o thoughts o f the previous night's estate-planning seminar. "What do you think, Bev?" asked Vi, the evening's leader of the discussion , blinking her eye s and pursing her lips. "T Tl_ T Un, 1. . . . IT' m sorry:•}" "The implie d relationship between Rebecca and the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. How important do you think it is to th e resolution of the story? " "Well, I don't know, " said Bev, flipping through th e paper back's pages as if an intelligent answe