I Need Your Help
I am nearing completion of my book — well, ok, just the first draft — that compiles a lot of my columns and adds commentary and helpful hints. The issue I am having is the opening line. The subject matter of estate planning, wills, trusts, probate and guardianship just doesn’t lend itself to something catchy.
Here are some of the lines I have come up with, but — and maybe it’s just me — they all seem a little off.
- “Call me Virginia.”
- “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family springs from a lack of estate planning.”
- “It was the best of columns; it was the worst of columns.”
- “I am an invisible dead man.”
- “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of an ungrateful child.”
- “This is the saddest will I have ever probated.”
- “It was a dark and stormy night; their tears fell in torrents as they realized they had been disinherited.”
- “Father died today.”
- “It was a pleasure to burn, said the mortician.”
- “Through the cemetery fence, between the curling memorial flowers, I could see them plotting.”
- “It was a bright cold day in the graveyard, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
- “Where now? Who now? When now? Said the Judge in the heirship proceeding.”
- “Lolita, light of my life, let’s do a prenuptial agreement.”
- “Whether I shall turn out to the be the hero of my own life, or whether that station be held by anybody else, this estate plan must show.”
- “If I am out of my mind, it’s all right with me, thought Moses Herzog in his guardianship hearing.”
If these all seem a bit derivative, that is probably because I cadged them from the opening lines of great novels.
If you have a better idea for an opening line, then please send it to me at legaltalk@hammerle.com. I promise to publish the best ones in my column and, if I use yours in my book, then I will give you your very own footnote.
Why I Am Writing This Book
While we are on the topic, I might as well tell you about the book: it was born of frustration. I am limited in my column space and my blogs and often cannot give a topic the detail that it deserves. For example, one of my favorite blogs dealt with describing the Magnificent Seven estate planning documents, but I could only give a cursory description of each document. In my book I have given each document its own chapter, with an eye toward giving both you and your agent a guide.
I have other favorite columns. One addressed cemetery plots, which are often expensive and either go unused or are the subject of family strife. It is a complicated, but overlooked, topic. In my book, I delve into the statutes and case law and offer some suggestions on how to deal with family issues and recalcitrant graveyard operators.
But those chapters are all about documents. A lot of what I do in my practice is litigation, so I give a cheat sheet, and devote a full chapter, for probates, fiduciary litigation, and guardianships.
So many books try to handle these topics on a generic platform. But we are in Texas, and we have great laws that are unique to our state. My book is geared toward Texas law.
This will be your to-do book. Let me know what you would like to see in it!
Have an Opening Line — or a Legal Question?
Do you have an idea for the opening line of Virginia’s book? Send it to her at legaltalk@hammerle.com. She would love to hear from you.
If you have questions about estate planning, wills, trusts, probate or guardianship, Virginia Hammerle and the attorneys at Hammerle Morris can help you understand your options. Contact the team for guidance.
Virginia Hammerle is an Accredited Estate Planner whose practice includes estate planning, probate, guardianship, and contested litigation.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
