Just How Much?
How much money would have to be at stake before I would go to court against relatives to make sure that I received some share of those assets? Today I read an opinion from my state Supreme Court that reinstated an order declaring a woman to be the common law spouse of her now deceased husband. This decision will affect how the assets of his estate are distributed and will have a negative effect on how much money the other relatives will now receive, if any. Although the opinion provided certain details about the litigation, the justices were careful to protect private information about the size of the assets in the estate in question.
I did not recognize the names of the litigants as prominent individuals so I really have no idea whether these people were fighting over tens of thousands or millions of dollars. Because of the wide range of the unknown I found myself looking for a number that would lead me into a court battle against my family over money. But these questions are rarely as simple as, "No, I wouldn't sue," or "Yes, I'd sue, as long as it was X amount of dollars." Going to court might begin as a quest with a specific question to be resolved, but any litigation tends to morph into so much more.
As I read the opinion, I couldn't help but wonder whether these family members enjoyed a relationship before this case began. There were certain clues that suggested that they did. If that is true, I would consider it a tragedy if those relationships were ruined over something as trivial as money, even if it's a lot of money.
Perhaps the litigants had really good motives. It is very possible that some litigants believed that the assets would be mismanaged and lost without satisfying the desires of the person who had acquired them. I can imagine someone thinking about the good that she would do if she received the money instead of the other person. I can even imagine someone who had believed for years that he would inherit money only to find that, with the decision that someone was declared the benefactor's spouse, he was now on the outside looking in.
Because I've never really been faced with the situation, I am not certain what I would do, but I do hope that no amount of money would drive me to fall away from family relationships. I'd like to believe that I would even be willing to forego some portion of an inheritance if it would maintain a positive family relationship because those interactions are worth more than anything money can buy. I've heard it said that while money can't buy happiness, I'd really like some to prove that theory wrong; I've probably even said it a few times. All money received comes at a cost. That can be labor, investment, inheritance or something else. But when it ruins a relationship, it seems too high a price.
I did not recognize the names of the litigants as prominent individuals so I really have no idea whether these people were fighting over tens of thousands or millions of dollars. Because of the wide range of the unknown I found myself looking for a number that would lead me into a court battle against my family over money. But these questions are rarely as simple as, "No, I wouldn't sue," or "Yes, I'd sue, as long as it was X amount of dollars." Going to court might begin as a quest with a specific question to be resolved, but any litigation tends to morph into so much more.
As I read the opinion, I couldn't help but wonder whether these family members enjoyed a relationship before this case began. There were certain clues that suggested that they did. If that is true, I would consider it a tragedy if those relationships were ruined over something as trivial as money, even if it's a lot of money.
Perhaps the litigants had really good motives. It is very possible that some litigants believed that the assets would be mismanaged and lost without satisfying the desires of the person who had acquired them. I can imagine someone thinking about the good that she would do if she received the money instead of the other person. I can even imagine someone who had believed for years that he would inherit money only to find that, with the decision that someone was declared the benefactor's spouse, he was now on the outside looking in.
Because I've never really been faced with the situation, I am not certain what I would do, but I do hope that no amount of money would drive me to fall away from family relationships. I'd like to believe that I would even be willing to forego some portion of an inheritance if it would maintain a positive family relationship because those interactions are worth more than anything money can buy. I've heard it said that while money can't buy happiness, I'd really like some to prove that theory wrong; I've probably even said it a few times. All money received comes at a cost. That can be labor, investment, inheritance or something else. But when it ruins a relationship, it seems too high a price.
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