382 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 3 MAY 2022
As he said the words, he realized that he had just stepped into a trap that
either by inadvertence or by design she had set for him. She said, “But part
of what remains and is passed to the children goes to you and Allison. Doesn’t
that also put you in, what did you call it, a conflict?” Then, inexplicably,
having closed the trap, she opened it and let him escape. She said, “Well, I
guess these things are just too complicated for me. I will just have to trust
to your kindness.”
Again the assemblage began to rise, and again Mary interrupted their
departure. She said, “I am sorry, but I do have one or two more questions.”
They all sank back into their chairs, and Peter asked, “All right, Mary,
what is it now?”
She noted he had dropped the “Mother”, and she wondered if he had
begun to realize that the dynamics of the meeting had undergone a subtle
change. She asked, “The estate—what property does it actually cover?”
An acute ear may have detected a change in tone, a wariness, in Peter’s
voice as he answered, “All the property. Everything.”
“Thank you, Peter, but can you be a little more specific? If I am to live off
the property, I would like to know what it is.”
“The house, the stock portfolio, the real estate, the shares in various businesses.
The will is intended to cover all those assets.”
“Intended to cover, or does cover?” She asked, “Actually, Peter, I don’t
think the estate owns any of those properties. I think I already own them.
Am I wrong?”
Of an instance, Peter had a moment of comprehension. For all these
years when this mousey little woman had been marched in to blindly sign
documents on command, she had actually read and understood what she
was signing. He felt offended, betrayed, snookered.
Mary felt ashamed that she was so enjoying his discomfiture. She had
thwarted him, and he knew it, and he knew she knew he knew it.
All of Peter’s feigned composure had now vanished. He said, “Oh for
Pete’s sake Mary, get real. Technically those assets may be in your name,
but we all know it was done as a matter of convenience simply to judgmentproof
your husband from creditors. It’s done all the time.”
“Does that mean I don’t own the assets? This is all so confusing. If I don’t
own the assets, and for the plan to work he couldn’t own the assets, and now
he is dead so he can’t own the assets, do I understand that nobody owns the
assets? How can that be?”
Peter knew she was toying with him. He lost it. “Damn it Mary, stop acting
like a Philadelphia lawyer. Yes, you legally own the assets, but we all
know that he could have got them back from you whenever he wanted.”