Doghouse Estate

"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts." - John Steinbeck

One of today's Wall Street Journal front page headlines reads, "Little Dog Caught In Big Estate Feud". The little dog, "Conchita" is a dolled-up chihuahua who was the favourite of Gail Posner, a well-known Miami heiress who died this past March. Conchita and her canine friends inherited the $8.3 million Miami Beach mansion as well as a $3 million trust fund and the paid care of several housekeepers and personal aids. The doggy in that window is worth millions!

Ok, so she was a bit eccentric. So what? Well, the will and trust are being challenged by Mrs Posner's son, on the basis that attorneys and household employees used undue influence in estate planning decisions. Perhaps he's onto something. The courts will decide. And while most of us don't have a Miami Beach estate, this story does remind us of the importance of good estate planning.

One of the largest issues facing us is just making the determination that we are going to invest a little time and money to plan for the legacy we will build and leave through our estate. We procrastinate, thinking that we don't need to do this now. We can always do it later.

Maybe it's no wonder dogs think we're nuts!