Wow, this gives "It''s a dogs life" a whole new meaning...

[Ellen]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070829/helmsley_s_pooch.html?.v=1


Helmsley Dog Gets $12 Million, but Real Estate Billionaire Leaves Nothing to 2 Grandchildren



Wonder where the leftovers go.


And I wonder what the two grandkids did, or didn''t do. If they even did or didn''t do anything.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

There''s a monsterous estate in Newport RI that was owned by an eccentric old woman who lived with several cats. She left her entire fortune and estate to the cats and their progeny....

 

[Skippy123]

I know. . . I saw that this morning!!!! She was a strange one.

I am glad she is taking care of her dog but some of that money should be given to charity for sure!

 

[Kaleigh]

Can''t say I''m shocked, she sure was a strange one.

 

[Ellen]

I wouldn''t call her strange, I''d call her something else, which I can''t say.



But it rhymes with itch.

 

[alexah]

Date: 8/29/2007 11:23:16 AM
Author: Skippy123
I know. . . I saw that this morning!!!! She was a strange one.

I am glad she is taking care of her dog but some of that money should be given to charity for sure!

actually, she is leaving $$ to charity too...

News Link

excerpt:
"She ordered that cash from sales of the Helmsley's residences and belongings, reported to be worth billions, be sold and that the money be given to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust."

the ny papers are having a field day w the headlines "rich bitch" etc (meaning the doggie of course)!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/29/2007 12:50:05 PM
Author: alexah

actually, she is leaving $$ to charity too...

News Link

excerpt:
''She ordered that cash from sales of the Helmsley''s residences and belongings, reported to be worth billions, be sold and that the money be given to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.''

the ny papers are having a field day w the headlines ''rich bitch'' etc (meaning the doggie of course)!

However, that did apply to the deceased as well.

 

[lumpkin]

Hummmmph. Well, I wonder what happens to the money when the dog dies? Could be the dog is not long for this world if its care taker is like its owner and stands to gain financially when the pooch dies.

Who knows about the two grandkids who were stiffed on the inheritance. Could be they just didn't show up to a family dinner once or something, or married someone she didn't approve of, or, MAYBE, they just had an independent thought once.

I believe it is really telling for someone to use their last will and testament as revenge by disenheriting someone. I can understand if the money would somehow harm them (like they had a bad addiction and the money would only feed that), but somehow, I don't really get that vibe here. I'm glad she's not in my family!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

This is OT, but SDL, I love that pic. I just want to snuggle that kitty.

 

[jas]

Ugh. When my grandmother passed away, she used her will as a final "gotcha" to punish and induce guilt in some members of the family. And that is how she will be remembered by my family, that she died as she lived, in judgement and in a place of malace, not love. The family members who were given the smackdown in the will are lovely people who are still struggling with the oddly felt shame of it all. Yuck.

Hopefully the dog upgrades to some premium Alpo.

 

[asscherisme]

jas, my grandmother did the same thing.

The grandchildren who were left out (including my brother and myself) feel its not a reflection on us in any way shape or form, rather its a reflection on what a bitter judgemental person she was. Using a will as a final "screw you" to someone in my opinion reflects an unhappy antisocial personality.

My other grandmother is still alive and healthy and the sweetest warmest person on the planet.

 

[CaptAubrey]

Incidentally, you can''t actually leave money to your pet. The most you can do is set up a trust fund for its support. When the pet dies, the money then has to go somewhere else.

Presumably, when Helmsley''s dog dies, her charitable trust will get the remainder.

Watch for the two stiffed grandkids to contest the will. Why not? They have nothing to lose.

 

[ursulawrite]

I met that Maltese in Central Park a couple of years ago. It was being held by this huge guy who told me he was Ms. Helmsley''s personal aide. I went to pet the dog, and it just about took my hand off. Nasty, nasty little thing--no doubt similar to its owner.

 

[Ellen]

My mom said something to me once when I was very young that I never forgot.

"People are funny when it comes to money"

Is true.

 

[door knob solitaire]

Lets see the little darling.

DKS

 

[KimberlyH]

While I think it''s odd, I don''t think the woman owed anyone, including her grandchildren, $$$. If she loves her dogs and wants to care for them, so be it (especially considering that a lot of the money is going to charity and the dogs can''t legally inherit it anyways). I think it''s strange that people believe they are entitled to family member''s money, no matter how rich they are and how many or few people they leave behind. I''m not a big fan of Warren Buffett (I think he trumps himself up in a very dishonest way, he is definitely not the simple farm boy he claims to be), but one thing I admire about him is that he agreed to pay for his grandkids to go to college but they get nothing else, it''s up to them to find their own way.

 

[VegasAngel]

Well, it''s her money & she is free to do what she wants with it. However, it never ceases to amaze me how some people treat their pet(s) better than their own kids, spouse, grandkids etc.

 

[door knob solitaire]

I agree with you KimH...It drives me nuttso to hear how families fight over SOMEONE else stuff. WORK HARD TO GET YOUR OWN STUFF.

First generation does all the work...long hours...sacrificing...saving...investing...risking...when it is handed to the next generation...what do they have to strive for?

Character is made, not bequeathed in the form of a bank account.

DKS

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

well, what happened between her and her grandkids I couldnt say. Maybe she was justified?

But today something was brought to my attention, and I bet when she decided to exclude two of her grandchildren from her will she never thought about this aspect of it. Today, when my Japanese fiances mom came home from work (in Japan) the first thing she did was bring out a newpaper, open up a translation service on the internet and show me some recent news with a good laugh.

Guess what it was. A nice big section in the local newspaper, A pretty good picture to go along with it actually:


"An American billionare didnt leave any inheritance to her grandchildren, but left 12 million dollars to the care staff of a dog."



So this woman not wanting to give any money to her grandchildren not only brought embarressement to her own name, reputation and memory, but is now bringing shame and embarressement on America as well.

The world is a pretty funny place.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/29/2007 10:52:47 PM
Author: KimberlyH
While I think it's odd, I don't think the woman owed anyone, including her grandchildren, $$$. If she loves her dogs and wants to care for them, so be it (especially considering that a lot of the money is going to charity and the dogs can't legally inherit it anyways). I think it's strange that people believe they are entitled to family member's money, no matter how rich they are and how many or few people they leave behind. I'm not a big fan of Warren Buffett (I think he trumps himself up in a very dishonest way, he is definitely not the simple farm boy he claims to be), but one thing I admire about him is that he agreed to pay for his grandkids to go to college but they get nothing else, it's up to them to find their own way.

I basically agree with you. The only thing I would say is, I don't think most (but certainly not all) people feel they are entitled to inheritance, it's just that based on the fact that most people do leave their money to the closest relatives, they assume they will get some. However, no one really should assume anything, as there can be several reasons (economic, personal, etc.) why one may not end up with anything.

The reason I questioned why the two grandkids didn't get anything was based solely on this particular individuals past behavior, and her overall greedy, warped attitude. It could just as easily have been that they didn't deserve this, as they did. Of course, we'll never know, unless the dog starts talking.

 

[jas]

Date: 8/29/2007 3:13:27 PM
Author: amylikesrocks
jas, my grandmother did the same thing.

The grandchildren who were left out (including my brother and myself) feel its not a reflection on us in any way shape or form, rather its a reflection on what a bitter judgemental person she was. Using a will as a final ''screw you'' to someone in my opinion reflects an unhappy antisocial personality.

My other grandmother is still alive and healthy and the sweetest warmest person on the planet.

I''m so sorry about that.

To this discussion, having had a similar situation in my family, I didn''t mean for it to sound like when a relative does this, that the family is usually sitting, twirling pencil-thin mustaches, rubbing their hands greedily and saying, "Ah ha! At last! It''s mine! MINE!"

Ok, maybe sometimes that happens. But not in every case; and I would venture, as I believe that people tend to be more decent than not, not in most cases.

Rather, my cousins (who were b****slapped and "schooled" in the will similar to the 2 grandkids of LH, i.e. "You know why") actually hadn''t expected a darned thing. They were in enough pain trying to work through the death and through the minefield that was their relationship w/ Grammie. My grandmother was so cruel it was not even funny. No one in my whole family would have been surprised if she set up a trust for the cat. That may have been, in a weird way, less cruel to the family and everyone would have been able to smile and grieve her death without feeling humiliated and shamed. (Yes, I have talked through this with my cousins quite a bit).

So, at least for me, please allow me to clarify that no one felt "entitled" to the money in my grandmother''s will. The ill feeling came from the tacit message that my cousins were so horrible that even in death they could not be forgiven, and now the discussion and pain can continue for more years beyond her death. The fact that they were specifically mentioned as NOT getting money was embarrassing. And, again, my cousins are really lovely people who, as someone above posted, dared to have a thought independent of my grandmother.

So if it sounded as though my family were greedy jerks who mistreated an old woman, sat around popping bonbons, waiting on pins and needles for their ship to come in via her will, I apologize...I just wanted to clarify. And, in re-reading this, I''m sure I probably obfuscated the situation.

I honestly would have no problem with LH doing *whatever she wanted* with her money...it''s the "calling out" in the will that intentionally muckrakes that bothers me.

 

[KimberlyH]

Jas, I wasn''t directing my statement to you, or anyone else on this forum, I''m so sorry if it came accross that way; I know nothing about your familial situation.

Just to offer a different perspective, perhaps it wasn''t about calling them out, it was to ensure that LHs wishes were carried out; perhaps LHs lawyer insisted her will state the names of relatives who were not to recieve anything so as to leave no questions.

Unfortunately I know a lot of people, who are otherwise good and kind, who have a laundry list in their head of monetary items they''ll be recieving when X dies. And it may not be about being out-and-out greedy, but simply counting on money to help them financially (e.g. to fund a house, pay for a kid''s college tuition, etc.). Either way it just seems so wrong to me.

 

[jas]

Kimberly -- I''m laughing because I was trying to apologize in my post because I worried I came across as too strident. Sheesh. PS people are so nice! No worries...I honestly didn''t mean for my post to sound like I was being all defensive, and it certainly was not in anger over your post, or anyone else''s. I was afraid I sounded like a nut job in my original post! What is that fabulous quote about staying quiet???

Ok, do-over!

I TOTALLY agree with everything you wrote! And I still think you are one of the coolest people here.

Now, on topic -- You made a good point about explicitly letting the grandchildren know they weren''t getting anything so as to avoid later problems. I hadn''t thought of that. It''s sad that this kind of thing can just tear a family apart just at a time they should cling to each other.

Maybe the solution is to find a way so that you can take it with you.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 8/30/2007 10:40:28 AM
Author: jas
Kimberly -- I'm laughing because I was trying to apologize in my post because I worried I came across as too strident. Sheesh. PS people are so nice! No worries...I honestly didn't mean for my post to sound like I was being all defensive, and it certainly was not in anger over your post, or anyone else's. I was afraid I sounded like a nut job in my original post! What is that fabulous quote about staying quiet???

Ok, do-over!

I TOTALLY agree with everything you wrote! And I still think you are one of the coolest people here.

Now, on topic -- You made a good point about explicitly letting the grandchildren know they weren't getting anything so as to avoid later problems. I hadn't thought of that. It's sad that this kind of thing can just tear a family apart just at a time they should cling to each other.

Maybe the solution is to find a way so that you can take it with you.

Isn't that why we hang out here, because PSers are so nice, yourself included!

I say spend every penny before you go so that the issue can't even rear its ugly head.

My mom's sisters are already angry over my grandmother's will, they have been for the last 4 years, and the woman hasn't even died yet. It's so dang bizarre!!!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/30/2007 10:55:25 AM
Author: KimberlyH

Isn''t that why we hang out here, because PSers are so nice, yourself included!

I say spend every penny before you go so that the issue can''t even rear it''s ugly head.

My mom''s sisters are already angry over my grandmother''s will, they have been for the last 4 years, and the woman hasn''t even died yet. It''s so dang bizarre!!!

Now that''s bad.

And yes, we are a nice bunch.

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 8/30/2007 10:59:20 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 8/30/2007 10:55:25 AM
Author: KimberlyH

Isn''t that why we hang out here, because PSers are so nice, yourself included!

I say spend every penny before you go so that the issue can''t even rear it''s ugly head.

My mom''s sisters are already angry over my grandmother''s will, they have been for the last 4 years, and the woman hasn''t even died yet. It''s so dang bizarre!!!

Now that''s bad.

And yes, we are a nice bunch.

It is bad, Ellen, and pretty common.

BTW, love your new avatar.

 

[VegasAngel]

Last night I read that she left out 2 of her 4 granchildren. "Mrs Helmsley’s only son, Jay Panzirer, died of a heart attack in 1982. She cut two of his children, Craig and Meegan Panzirer, out of her will entirely “For reasons which are known to them”. The other two grandchildren, David and Walter Panzirer, will be able to collect their money only if they visit their father’s grave “At least once each calendar year, preferably on the anniversary of my said son’s death”. So, she left some to family. I know that my family isnt entitled to my belongings when I die, but obviously I wont need them after I pass & would want my family to have them. It's very important to me that my child(ren) get my jewlery, money etc.. that I'm saving for them no matter what happens.

So I had to edit to add this:

Zamfira Sfara, a maid, filed a suit claiming that she suffered nerve damage after the dog repeatedly bit her as she followed the property queen’s orders to hand-feed it. Ms Sfara said that Trouble bit her every time she gave it a bath, while Mrs Helmsley cheered the animal on. Oh* my* goodness.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 8/30/2007 11:08:18 AM
Author: KimberlyH


BTW, love your new avatar.

Thanks!