Anthony D. Marshall was recently convicted of stealing from his mother, wealthy New York philanthropist Brooke Astor. In most families, questions of inheritance don't result in criminal activity, but families all across the country sometimes face lengthy squabbles over the family fortune — even if the family fortune isn't much. We speak to Lisa Belkin, Takeaway contributor and author of the "Motherlode" blog at The New York Times; and Eve Rachel Markewich, an estate lawyer and partner at Markewich and Rosenstock. They both say it's important to talk with your family, early on, about what you want to happen after you die.
"From the parents' perspective, it is absolutely the best thing that you can do. Don't present it as this is a choice, 'we want to get your input.' But just, 'look, this is what we've decided to do and we want you to be able to talk to us about it while we're still here. Yell at me, don't yell at your brother.'"
—Eve Rachel Markewich, an estate lawyer, on parents talking to their kids about what's in their will before they die
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The Takeaway is a national morning news program produced in partnership with The New York Times, the BBC World Service, WNYC, Public Radio International and WGBH Boston. More »
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Sorry, but you guys continue to infuriate me with your trying to "package" stories in totally misleading ways -- in order to attract naive ears, apparently. The issue with the Astor estate case did not involve fighting siblings; the Astor son was an only child. The case dealt with finding out whether the Astor son had abused his power as his mother's "attorney" in reworking the will in his own favor, even though she, with her dementia, had likely not been able to give her consent. This issue deserves attention on its own. It is no help to link THIS case to your "Cain-and-Abel" framework. Once again, your ability to be trustworthy news dispatchers is severely compromised.
Sincerely,
Kathy Ryan
(continuously disappointed by this show, even with the addition of Celeste. Sigh...)