The Suitcase Lady

Lawyers

September 15, 2009, 10:13 pm

Shakespeare is almost always right on the mark, but he missed the target when it comes to lawyers. They should not all be killed.

My lawyer is wonderful, and I would have had a hard time coping the last 23 years without him. Anyone who could guide us through five estates and one attack by a hugely talented scam artist who preyed on one of my relatives is a treasured person.

I did not choose this lawyer, my Aunt Vi found him. Her original lawyer had died, she needed a new will and she could not drive. Being staunchly independent, Aunt Vi hatched a great scheme for finding a new attorney. She decided to ride the Lincoln Avenue bus that ran in front of her apartment to the end of the line. She knew there were many office complexes where the bus route ended. Then she would start walking (my Aunt Vi was a great walker), pick an attractive office complex and check the lobby index for lawyers.

Her plan worked like a charm. Her choice has been our family lawyer through thick and thin.

My beloved Aunt Vi was the first of our elders to die. She was 89 and died of a massive heart attack that hit her at the end of a 6 mile walk on a frigid January day.  My first job as an executor started, and three more have followed. My husband had one estate to execute as well.

I believe an alarming “do-it-yourself” trend has invaded America. Lawyers are replaced by a “Write Your Own Will In 30 Minutes” book, teachers by home schooling, doctors by a crop of Echinacea or St. John’s Wort in the front yard and police by the fully loaded home gun cabinet.

Do we live in a nation of multi-tasking geniuses? I prefer to rely on the professionals… I need all the help I can get.

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