Oh! my gosh! I have been to a wine tasting, and to a taste of Atlanta, but I had never heard of a Chocolate Tasting Club before. That sounds like this girl’s dream! YUm!
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Those of us who have enough money to live on, with not much else to worry about, usually do the ordinary thing when drawing up our wills. We leave our money straight up to our spouses and our children, and maybe a little something to one of our favorite charities. My friends at Probate Sydney asked me what I thought the most entertaining stories from celebrity cases would be. Have you ever wondered how rich or famous handle their last will and testament? Here are some examples that I found:
Janis’s will provided for the payment of all her bills and debts, then asked that her personal belongings and household furniture, furnishings, jewelry, pictures, souvineers,clothing and other personal effects be distributed to various friends and acquaintances. She went further to say that preference should be given with respect to the distribution of such items be given to any female roommate with whom she had resided for some time prior to the date of her death and with whom she may be residing the date of her death.
She also asked that one half of her estate be left to her parents, and one fourth of her estate to her sister, and one fourth to her brother. Aside from her personal belongings, she left everything to her family.
While Paul Newman left his Oscars, Golden Globes and other awards to the Newman’s Own Foundation, his race cars and his private airplane were ordered to be sold by his executor. He made it clear in his will that his hobby cars would be sold. He also made it very clear that his wife, Joanne, would receive the bulk of his estate – including all his “tangible personal property,” noting his musical instruments and his works of arts. She also would control his several production companies and his substantial real estate holdings.
Also known as Samuel Clemens, had a rather lengthy and detailed will, in which he left all his estate in two equal halves, in a trust to be held, and paid in quarterly payments, to each of his two daughters. He also stipulated in his will that he had discussed his wishes and desires pertaining to to the administration of his literary productions and since they were especially familiar with his wishes, his executors and trustees should confer and advise with them in all matters relating in any way to the control, management, and disposition of them, whether they were published or unpublished, and also mentioned copyrights in his will.
Frank Sinatra’s will was really interesting to me in that it named all of his ex-wives by name in the first paragraph, which made me think that he stated their names so that there would be no confusion at all concerning the fact that he did not leave them anything, except for Nancy Barbato Sinatra, the mother of his three children. He also left specific cash amounts to his children, a trust fund for his grandchildren, and named three other people by name to receive cash payments. His will did not specify who these people were or how they might be related to Frank, but a google search of the name Jilly Rizzo turned up an article that said he was Frank’s aide. Dorothy Uhlemann was his secretary, and Elivna Joubert was a friend.
Because there was long standing tension between Sinatra’s last wife and his children he added a clause to his will that automatically disinherited anyone who contested it. He left the bulk of his estate to Barbara, his last wife.
Benjamin left his son, William, land in Nova Scotia, books, papers, and other things already in his possession, as well as forging outstanding debts owed to Benjamin by his son. Mr. Frankling wrote in his will “The part he (his son William) acted against me in the late war, which is of public notoriety, will account for my leaving him no more of an estate he endeavored to deprive me of.”
To his daughter, Sarah, Benjamin left the house he was living in at the time of his death, along with several other properties, and “also all my silver plate, pictures, and household goods, of every kind, now in my said dwelling-place, to my daughter, Sarah Bache, and to her husband, Richard Bache.” Franklin also stated in his will that he would forgive an outstanding loan to his son-in-law, provided that he “manumitted and freed his negro, Bob, immediately upon my death.”
To his daughter, Sarah, he also wrote “The king of France’s picture, set with four hundred and eight diamonds, I give to my daughter, Sarah Bache, requesting , however, that she would not form any of those diamonds into ornaments either for herself or daughters, and thereby introduce or countenance the expensive, vain, and useless fashion of wearing jewels in this country; and those immediately connected with the picture may be preserved with the same.” I really hope that his wishes were met in this request so that the jewels remained in the frame and not made into jewelry for his daughter and granddaughters to wear.
Did you know that in the state of Indiana if you die without a will that your estate will go to your siblings? If you are widowed or divorced, your brothers and sisters are the first in line to inherit your assets even if you have children. That was something we discovered when my aunt passed away. Her children had to hire an attorney to legally pass ownership from my mother back to themselves, which my mother was more than willing to do.
In other places, if you don’t have a will, your estate , or all the things you own and all your money, go to your spouse automatically. In case you were planning to leave part of your things or part of your money to your children, or to a charitable organization, having no valid will when you pass away insures that only your current spouse, husband or wife, will inherit your things, even if you no longer live with them.
In some states, though, the state becomes the beneficiary if there is no will designating who your beneficiary will be. The very best way to insure that your estate, your assets, your diamond rings, and your grandpa’s walking cane will go to the person you want them to go to is to make a will. And the best time to make a will if you don’t have one is right now.
It is especially important to make a will if you have young children. If you fail to appoint a legal guardian who will be able to take responsibility for them upon your death, they may wind up being taken care of by people they barely know or whom you would never leave them with. Make sure your children are adequately provided for by making a will now.
There are so many things to consider when making a will that it is suggested that you contact an attorney to make sure that all your bases are covered. In most places, you can do it yourself with forms that you can find online. While that would be much cheaper alternative, paying an attorney a little more right now insures that your wishes are followed later. Just like with wine, cheaper is not better where legal documents are concerned.
How do you find an attorney if you don’t already have one? What things do you need to know before you go? What questions should you be prepared to ask? How much will it cost? You can find out about all this and more with quick tips about will writing from Prime Lawyers
That is Fabgrandpa’s Mom and Dad in 1965, looking all sweet and cuddly in front of their Christmas tree. When I think back over the years about Christmas trees, the earliest one I can remember was the aluminum tree that my Mother had back in the early 1960’s. I don’t have a picture of hers, but I found this one in the internet and it looks a lot like the one we had:
I can’t remember if it had any ornaments on it or not, but it did have that light circle that spun slowly around, changing the color of the tree as it did. After we moved to a new house in 1965, Mama got a live tree and put it up after dinner on Thanksgiving day. It had what seemed like millions of Christmas light sets, etc on it. I know there were ornaments that she had been saving year after year, even some she had been given from her mother.
Mama’s Christmas trees in her new house seemed to fill up the living room. They were huge, and because there were six kids in our family, it also seemed like there were a million gifts under the tree.
When I got married and started putting up my own Christmas trees, we usually went out in the woods and cut one down. This one from 1972 was a cedar tree. The weight of the ornaments and lights on the flimsy limbs made them droop, and the ornaments fell off often. That didn’t matter to my son, though. He loved it.
I found this photo of Fabgrandpa and my step-daughter, Becky, in 1980, sitting in front of a Christmas tree. I don’t know if it was it at his home or somewhere else, but it was a nice full tree. Becky looked so happy with her Christmas baby doll.
This photo of my children in front of the Christmas tree in 1983 shows the first artificial Christmas tree we had. We put the Christmas tree up the day of Thanksgiving, and she had an asthma attack that night. The first thing the doctor asked me at the hospital was “do you have a live Christmas tree?” He told me to go home and take it down. We did, but put up the artificial one the next week.
My sister Linda always has a big live Christmas tree at her home. This is my niece, Stefanie, in 1987. I have always loved this photo of her. She was so happy with her new pink jacket.
Poor Santa! This was me and my oldest daughter, Becca, with the Wal-Mart Santa Claus in 1990. What a sad looking Christmas tree that was!
After Emily moved out of the house, I had a live Christmas tree again in 1994. This one was a leyland cypress tree, that we planted in the back yard after Christmas was over. That tree grew to over sixty feet tall, but it looked like a Charlie Brown tree when it was in the house.
We haven’t had a Christmas tree in our house for about 14 years now, but I think I am going to put out my ceramic tree that my sister made for me years ago, and light it up this year. I can move a little table over by the window in the living room, and plug it up. I may also get some Christmas light sets to go around the windows, too. That would be fun, I think, and and nearly as much work as a real Christmas tree would be.
When does your family put up their Christmas tree? Is it a live tree, or an artificial one? How many sets of lights do you put on it?
I was compensated for this post.
If you don’t have a debit card already through your bank or credit union, or you would like a Visa Card but don’t want to go into debt, then you should think about getting one of these Card.com Visa Debit Cards. Setting up your account is easy. Just go to Card.comand open an account.
Then, load your card with money: You can set up direct deposit, load it with cash at Western Union, or use a Green Dot MoneyPak, or even transfer money from your Paypal or your bank account. This would be a good way to send money to your kids away at college on a regular basis, or even to set up an allowance for a teen so they can learn how to spend and save money.
Last, show off your card, and have fun using a cool card! I got mine with a picture of bacon on it! Everyone who knows me knows I love bacon, so this was the perfect card for me. There are tons of different pictures to use so you can get a unique card to use.
Remember, this is a Visa Debit Card, and is:
Go to Card.com to find out more information and get yours today.
Since we have been discussing retirement and insurance coverage, one more type of insurance you need to think about having is a funeral plan. A funeral plan is different from a personal life insurance plan, in that you family can get access to the funds from the funeral plan in as little as twenty four hours after they submit the claim.
Having rapid access to funds is very important when your family is preparing for your funeral. It assures them that they can make the best plans possible without the worry of how to pay for it. They will know exactly how much they can spend to send you off to your eternal resting place.
While a personal life insurance plan can be bought with coverage that pays out in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, a funeral insurance plan is more in the $30,000 coverage range. Although a funeral may only cost around $8,000 to $15,000, your bereaved my need to take some time off from work to recover from your death. The knowledge that they will be able to do so because you took the time and paid for a funeral plan can really ease their mind in a difficult time.
What should you look for in a funeral insurance plan?
A good funeral plan should be easy for the survivors to file a claim. Getting the payout quickly is one of the most important features of a funeral plan because most funerals take place within a few days of the death of the insured. A straightforward, uncomplicated claim form would be most helpful for someone who is under the great stress of having lost someone they love.
Second, look for a plan that will cover you for as long as you live. A plan that expires when you are seventy is not good enough if your family tends to live into their late eighties or nineties. Ask before you buy a plan if it will cover you for as long as it is needed.
Another good feature of a funeral plan is one that lets you receive a portion of the premiums you have paid in every two or three years. Some plans refund 10% of the premiums every three years. That is one benefit of a funeral plan that you can take advantage of yourself. Shop around, and find a plan now that fits your needs to the end.
Whether a person drives his or her car everyday or just a few times a month, regular vehicle maintenance is an important part of car ownership. There are a few things that most car owners look for when they are searching for a place to get this service. Owners want to make sure that their cars will be in good operation whenever they are called upon. Tire rotation, oil change, an air filter check, a battery check and a fluid check are the basic maintenance services that a car owner wants. Learn about some other things that car owners look for when they want car maintenance service.
A car owner wants all of the basic maintenance services done in a thorough, effective way. They don’t want any aspect of the service to be overlooked. The technicians or mechanics who are performing the maintenance service should have a checklist of things that they do. A car owner should be able to examine this checklist after the service to make sure nothing was left undone.
Most car owners want to learn about the overall condition of their car. If something needs to be replaced or is wearing out, the owner wants to know about it. That’s why it’s helpful for a mechanic or qualified technician to perform the maintenance service. He or she can determine when a part needs to be replaced or worked on in some way. One example of a place to get car maintenance is Pittsburgh Toyota maintenance service.
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I never thought I would have such a hard time finding a simple basket to put on the back of my toilet to hold a couple of necessary items. I have looked everywhere, from thrift stores to the dollar stores, and in stores in the mall. I have found some large baskets, and some hamper type ones, but not just a simple small basket. That is why I was so happy to find these baskets at World Market online.
Handcrafted of willow, these Espresso Isabella Baskets provide handy storage space for … [More]
I think they are pretty, and would good in the bathroom, don’t you think?
I also like these:
Espresso Carrie Basket Collection
Handwoven of sustainable water hyacinth plants in the southern Philippines, our thick-t… [More]
Now to look for some more for the living room.
