So my dad is making a will with a lawyer in Melbourne, even though he’s living in Croatia. Mum seems to think this is because he’s planning to move back over here. She still has a soft spot for him, despite wanting nothing to do with him these days.
Anyway, this will drafting process is proving to be bit of a three-ring circus. You see, dad already has a will that was drawn up by a lawyer friend of his, who has since passed away. Now, he’s trying to draft one on his own – which is, needless to say, ridiculous given that he’s had zero legal training.
He wants to leave his house here to his friend, Lola. She is awesome in every way and has been his companion for a good ten years, but there’s a hitch, which is that he’s still married to mum. Mother, for someone who behaves as if she’s divorced, is causing an unusual amount of mayhem in refusing to allow dad to go ahead with his estate planning strategy.
This all actually started about twenty years ago when dad had a bit of a health scare and gave mum enduring power of attorney. Lawyers in Melbourne – at least, the ones in my dad’s circle of friends – were buying into an obscure trend for entrusting things such as this to one’s estranged spouse. Dad went along with it because, well, he’s dad.
I keep telling him to just hire a new lawyer to look into – his cognitive health is fine and he has full capacity to make decisions. So I don’t see why mum’s power of attorney should have to have bearing on his ability to change his will to include Lola. Obviously, I’m not an authority on this kind of thing, and I don’t really have much of an idea of what’s involved.
I’ve also been telling mum to back off, and she says she would if it wasn’t for the fact that she’s worried about ‘this Lola character’ taking advantage of him. I wish I could just stay out of it!
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