TheBanyanTree: Frazzled

[Dale M. Parish]

"I'm about plum wore out to a frazzle."  That's an expression my
mother used to say that her grandmother often repeated after a long
day in the garden.  My great grandfather, after he "retired" from
timber surveying, tried truck farming and fed his family, but I
think, from what Moma says, that it was Grandma Rosa's 'butter and
egg' money that kept them in things that they couldn't raise.  

What's got me frazzled lately is probating Daddy's estate.  When he
died in November is when I found out that he'd appointed me as
co-executor with my step mother, and the lawyer who drew up the
thing as the third, "tie-breaker" co-executor.  After the funeral,
the lawyer told us that we needed to inventory everything and then
have it all appraised.  Which is what we've been doing weekends,
evenings, etc. Cows, hay, tractors, land, fence, mineral rights,
shop equipment, tools, fence posts, wire, guts, feathers and all. 
We've just about gotten a value put on everything and should have
the last land appraisal in next week.  

So today, at a meeting in his office, this same lawyer charges us an
arm and a leg to tell us that we really don't need appraisals put on
everything-- just as long as step-mother and I can agree on a value
that either of us would be content with if we ended up with that
property in the "partition."  Why in the hell couldn't he have told
us that to start with, months ago?  Makes no matter to him-- he's
sitting back charging us by the hour to tell us to go work our butts
off while he maintains that he will be content to only break a tie
if we don't agree on anything.  Danny DeVito was right in that movie
The War Of The Roses.

But now we need to hurry.  The lawyer's CPA is going to Las Vegas
next month and he wants her to close out the books before she goes. 
Which means that I've got to get all the remaining numbers in to her
and my step mother and I have to go through all the property and
agree on what goes into her marital trust and what my brothers and I
will split.  If I thought it would do any good, I'd run away, too. 

Looks like we three boys will be saddled with a ranch that's a
hundred and twenty kilometers away.  It's too far to manage from
here, and too far to commute to my day job.   With a little luck, we
could lease it out to pay the taxes and insurance, but then it's not
really all ours to enjoy.  As if one could enjoy it properly at a
distance.  Not to mention the "albatross" properties.  Daddy had a
way of collecting anything he could buy for a "steal."  Old Exxon
service stations (down to only one now, and the city is constantly
wanting to condem it), abandoned sand pits that are ground water
contamination liabilities, alleys, mineral rights under Interstate
10, etc.  All liabilities now but still "assets" that we three boys
will probably end up with in our bucket.  The lawyer suggested that
we just abandon some of them if there was no prospect to sell them.  
One piece of land is valued at $60.00 by the Cameron Parish,
Louisiana Sheriff who taxes it.  The tide rises and falls on this
marsh that's not big enough for a duck hunting lease and not located
anywhere anybody in their right mind would want to visit.  But we
pay taxes on it every year.  Maybe we should just let the sheriff
have it.  

Be a full moon PDQ.  Think I'll go howl.

Hugs,
Dale
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