Estate Planning Basics

Estate Planning Basics: What you need to know about wills, trusts, & avoiding probate (2024) 228 pages

This estate planning guide is from Nolo, the group that offers all kinds of legal help in books and software, as well as online. I found it clear, with thirteen chapters filled with good information and examples, along with a thorough index and helpful appendix. I found it a good prelude to a visit to an attorney's office, but the book can also be used to determine whether one can make one's own estate plans without using an attorney.

Six Feet Below Zero

Six Feet Below Zero by Ena Jones 288 pp.

Rosie and Baker are orphaned siblings living with their great-grandmother until their great-grandmother is no longer living. Unfortunately she died just a little too soon after making almost all the preparations to keep the kids safe from their grandmother, Grim Hesper who only wants her mother's money and to send the kids off to boarding schools. Rosie and Baker follow their great-grandmother's instructions, which includes hiding her in a basement freezer but things begin to go wrong and the kids must stop Grim Hesper from taking everything. This is a Mark Twain Award nominee book, but it didn't grab me enough to want to include in my Treehouse Book Club suggestions.

The Search For My Great-Uncle's Head

The Search For My Great-Uncle's Head, by Jonathan Latimer 297 pages

Peter Coffin is a young, staid college professor visiting the large estate of his great-uncle Tobias Coffin. Even though his death doesn't appear imminent, Tobias has summoned several other family members there as well, wanting to see them before he dies. However, during the houseguests' first night in the mansion, Tobias is found headless at his desk in his study. With a madman at loose in the area, it's unclear whether the gruesome murder is a random act by the madman or a deliberate act by a relative wanting to get a greater cut in the considerable estate left behind. There's said to be a new will, but if so, it has disappeared along with Tobias's head. Peter and the others search for clues, not quite trusting each other, while waiting for the detective from Tobias's life insurance company to come onto the scene.

This somewhat old-fashioned book (written in 1937, after all) is set in a time when wealthy people routinely "dressed for dinner," and were attended to by butlers and maids.  In spite of the story being a bit predictable, it was still an enjoyable read for a winter day.

The Crying of Lot 49

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon  192 pp.

I haven't decided if I liked this book or not. It's been on my "to read" list for years and, while I can't say I was disappointed, I think I expected more. The story centers around a woman's search for the meaning of a symbol she keeps stumbling upon, a muted post horn with one loop. Oedipa Maas is named executor of the estate of her ex-lover, Inverarity Pierce. The estate includes an large stamp collection. Oedipa first sees the mysterious symbol in a restroom, then learns of the alternate postal system called Trystero. Oedipa then finds references to the Trystero in a play and delves further into investigating. The tale is a convoluted one and includes satirically named characters including Oedipa's therapist, Dr. Hilarious, Manny diPresso, Stanley Koteks, Mike Fallopian, and Genghis Cohen. The story ends at the auction of where Pierce's stamps will be sold as Lot 49.

5 @ 55: the 5 essential legal documents you need by age 55

5 @ 55: the 5 essential legal documents you need by age 55 / Judith D Grimaldi & Joanne Seminara 141 pgs.

This book is short and sweet with just enough hair raising examples to make you take their advice seriously.  The idea is that by 55 you are at a solid place in your life to make decisions about your health, your assets and how to leave things if you become incapacitated.  All of the advice comes from lawyers who have handled estates law and seen the worst and best case scenarios. I'm sure the advice is good - don't wait to deal with these issues.

Saffy's Angel

Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay  152 pp.

This is one of a list of contenders for the Treehouse Book Club. Saffron (Saffy) Casson is one of a family of children of artists, all named after colors. Her sisters are Cadmium (Caddy) and Rose, her brother named Indigo. When Saffy accidentally learns she was adopted, she is upset and convinced she is no longer a real part of the family even though she is the daughter of her adopted mother's twin sister who died in an automobile accident. Saffy has dreams of a mysterious place that she later realizes are memories of her home in Siena, Italy which she hasn't seen since she left at age three. When the children's beloved grandfather dies, each child except for Saffy is mentioned in the will. However a handwritten note with the will bequeaths Saffy her "angel" but nobody knows where the angel is. Eventually Saffy remembers the angel and, with the help of a friend, travels to Siena to find it. They do not find the angel but reconnect with the woman who lived upstairs from Saffy and her mother. While this is happening, big sister Caddy is unsuccessfully learning to drive, Rose is making bizarre artwork out of food and other household items, and Indigo is trying to conquer his fear by sitting on the edge of a high window in the house. Eventually the whereabouts of the angel is discovered by Saffy's siblings who finally make her realize she is indeed a part of the family.