Estate Heist

Had my wife Shirley and I known the ending of this book and it would cover a period of time of 5 years to complete, maybe the both of us would of chosen a different path, getting to the end. Although now I know the end and how I wanted to protect my wife, I suppose we could have taken a different route. Did I have faith in my Brother-in-Laws guidance and his perception on running his Real Estate business, " Yes I Did" Our initial meeting with one another formulated a bond that lasted over 20 years. Our talks were not restricted to just personal subjects but also on his success in business. When we met in 1979 I was already a general partner with T and C Enterprises, so I had been around the block myself. He had a different approach to the real estate market and some of that rubbed off on me. Albert was very keen on people’s abilities and when Shirley left everything in California to start a Hallmark business in Colorado Springs his compliment ran high and he would praise her. She was his youngest sister and the one with the business sense that often stroked his confidence factor. He and his wife Joan started from nothing and amassed an estate worth over 5 million. Joan got cancer and although she was able to receive the best treatments that were available, she died in 1985. Having no children in their family, Albert made a call to Shirley for help. He immediately asked Shirley to come down to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and handle the funeral and reception. Remember, Shirley had a business to run of her own but when Albert called she didn't give it a second thought. She put her trusted employee, Artist in-charge and made plans to travel. I came down a short time later. During this period, Albert and Shirley had discussions about who would be the executor to his estate. He respected Shirley's opinion and judgment, so it was only natural that he would ask her to be his executor. Shirley agreed and some weeks later he sent her a bank card that gave her the authorization to both enter and remove items from his safety deposit box. When word came to Shirley that Albert had died she got the bank card out from her personal files. As I had mentioned, Shirley was now the primary trustee of her brother's safety deposit box. In the talks she had with Albert during Joan’s funeral he informed her that he had placed an envelope in the box that contained all the instructions she was to follow upon his death. In addition he told Shirley that a copy of his original will and insurance policies would be there. Shirley having recently had a hip replacement was in no condition to travel, so she authorized me to make the trip in her place. I told Mr. Shuck at the bank to Fax me the necessary paperwork so I could come to the bank and empty the safety deposit box. He sent me a specific power of attorney to enter the box. Little did I know that this was the start of our 5 year walk through the courts? As my story illustrates the safety deposit box was picked clean by the two Nephews the month before I showed up at the bank. During the month of March, 2010 the nephews had entered Albert’s safety deposit box 4 times, leaving not even a piece of paper. I came home empty-handed and that met the estate would have to go before the court to see if it met the bounds for intestate. It did meet those grounds and the two (2) nephews were elected by the Judge to be the Personal Representatives of the Kompare Estate. Do you think they had this figured out before hand? Read the book!