Our grandchildren from Virginia were visiting us last week. We planned a Geode hunting trip on the west desert of Utah, and rented two Suburban’s so the whole family could ride together. We took the same trail the pony express riders used to ride out past Simpson Springs (a pony express station) to a geode quarry where we spent the day digging for geodes. The temperature was 104 degrees and when a cloud blew over the sun we all thought we had died and gone to heaven.

We were well prepared for the heat. We even brought an extra five gallons of ice water in addition to our bottles of water. Just in case! Right after lunch one of the children accidentally knocked the Igloo out of the car and the lid popped off and the water spilt all over the ground. We figured we were OK, we still had some water bottles. Lee just kept feeling bad he didn’t think to tape the lid on. I don’t know whether it is the Boy Scout or the lawyer in him. There is a reality that no matter how well prepared you are, strange things can happen. You are never too prepared. It is part of lawyer’s job to think of every contingency and prepare you for it. That is one reason that Lee keeps trying to get everyone to get their legal work done now.

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Michael Jackson’s will probably wasn’t drafted well. Look, the attorneys are charging big bucks, and the family is already in court even though a family trust was in place. All we know at this point is that his mother is named by the will as primary guardian and Diana Ross as secondary guardian. In 2002, Jackson made a will that named his attorney John Branca, whom he fired in 2006, and John McClain, an old friend, as his executors. Rumor has it that the will gives pieces of his estate to his mother, his children, and charities, but he also has a family trust, and that may take priority. It is also rumored that the will dumps everything into his family trust. There are some obvious problems with the will and the way his estate was planned.

Although you are not in the financial position Jackson was, you don’t need to make the same mistakes he has apparently made. First, avoid the mistake of letting your attorney be executor of your estate. Although your lawyer may be your trusted consultant, do not appoint him as your executor. The attorney who drafts the will should not appoint himself as executor? It’s nearly malpractice. Funny things start to happen with no contest. Why did it take so long for the attorney to come forth with Jackson’s will? Jackson’s mother’s lawyer, Burt Levitch is noticeably aggravated that he started a proceeding for custody of the children on behalf of Katherine Jackson, and then a will appeared. Of course Mr. Branca knew he possessed the will. A lawyer doesn’t draw up a will for the likes of Michael Jackson and put it in the files and forget about it.

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Yesterday as Lee and I were headed home for lunch, we were stopped at a stop light waiting to turn right. Lee crept out into the intersection when suddenly we were hit from behind. There was not much damage to the car, but I was worried about the passenger who was with us, our new employee. Was she hurt? Would she sue?

We called the police and the officer arrived very quickly. The man who hit us was a Mexican national. He was uninsured and had no driver’s license. He spoke little English. They have just passed a law in our state that calls for the immediate deportation of aliens. This law has caused all of the Spanish communities to quit working with the police in fear. The police need cooperation so as a result, the police are refusing to deal with anything that goes wrong with aliens. We were out of luck. We will have to pay for our car to be fixed.

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