I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! Her dad was on his last leg and I was making sure all of his estate matters were in place. Beneficiary designations, estate documents and such.
She was so kind and caring in the room with him … making sure he was comfortable and that all of his needs were being met.
Then we got into the elevator and the conversation changed … quickly!
“I don’t think it’s fair that my brother gets half and I get half,” she said. “I mean, he only has two kids and I have three … and he doesn’t have to be here or do anything for dad. But he gets half. I mean, c’mon, that’s just not right.”
As you can imagine, I was speechless. I didn’t know if she was looking for me to agree with her or just listen, or if she was asking me to encourage her dad to change the documents to reflect what, in her eyes, was a more “fair” distribution.
There was only one thing I could do, so I …
Once again, the reader is in the room or elevator with me and thinking about what their kids are saying about their estate.
Here’s another quick example that puts readers at the conference table as a retired couple talks about their investments.
After I finished my investment recommendations for the quarter, John asked Mary, “So what do you think, Honey?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “You know I don’t like this stuff and just want you to take care of it.”