Dear DW,

Our ongoing nightmare is that we put a new business idea together to take advantage of a tax savings opportunity for our parents. The children were to gain the advantage by getting a stepped-up basis on the purchase when our parents passed away. We overlooked the obvious. We all have different needs – different personalities, married to drastically diverse spouses with variances of appreciation toward what our folks sacrificed to put together.

All of us are now victims of the bad choices that were made by non-committed members of our family. We have all become joined at the hip. Currently, it has been mostly at the expense of our parents who gave us this chance, but in the future it will be at our expense and that of our children and grandchildren.

No, we didn’t put a buy-sell agreement together when we did this. Our folks’ attorney didn't seem to be in a hurry to do so, as our parents couldn’t agree on formulas to be inside. Besides, the attorney is very guilty of not pressing - the delay, of course, has created more work for him. I’m wondering if we shouldn’t hold him responsible for his failure to do what he should have done.

Sincerely, In A Quandry and In The Muck

Dear In The Muck,

Call this story an attorney alert. Others can learn from your experience. Dream Weaving goes to many lawyers, all of whom are expected to be responsible.

Your plight should alert everyone out there to under-stand that this can happen to them too. You thought this wouldn’t happen to you and apparently your attorney thought so too. Somehow years have rolled by and the troubles haven’t gone away – in fact, sadly they’ve multiplied.

Signed, the dreamweaver

Issue 52, Autumn 2004 - Nightmares