I know that when I was divorced by my first wife and was on the outs with her AND the kids that it wasn’t long before an elder suggested that I leave everything to the Society. I told him to go jump as I found it unconceivable to leave what I had to an organization when I still loved my children.
Getting cut out of Mom and Dad's will
by journey-on 18 Replies latest jw friends
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Madame Quixote
I did not read your entire thread, but I am answering anyway.
I don't worry about it; I just assumed a long time ago that I was cut off. And it's not so bad an assumption. Even if they have a good little bit of money now, I doubt anything's left over after they finish paying for long-term care before they finally (if ever) "kick the bucket."
Who knows . . . I could kick the bucket before they do ( and yippee, they get stuck with my funeral expenses - gawd I hope so!)
Just not something I even consider. If they were multi-millionaires, I might have actually simply pretended to re-convert, but a few thousand bucks and a little bit of land (on which I'll owe taxes and have to figure out how to maintain) ain't worth the concern.
If I find out I'm wrong down the road, I will still have lived my life on my terms and not on theirs, and that's all that really matters.
My family owns a good deal of property, but there's a good deal of nepotism and a lot of debt I'm sure, so why would I want to take any of that on anyway?
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sass_my_frass
There needs to be a bevy of attorneys that are ex-jws ideally that have laid some heavy duty groundwork about mind control, brainwashing techniques used by the WTBT$, etc. in order to be prepared to prove mental incompetence of parents who leave everything to the Society.
No, we don't. People know exactly what they're doing when they write their will, even people in a cult. It's their money, and they get to choose what they want to do with it.
Well, maybe I'd feel differently if my parent's estate was going to be worth anything, but as it happens I know that a one-fifth share of the house they mortgaged to follow my BILs latest money-making plan, minus what they're going to need to live on for the twenty or thirty years they're alive after they retire in a couple of years.... isn't going to be worth fighting for.
Apologies for that very long sentence!
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bluesapphire
On the other hand:
I have a friend whose in-laws had four children. The dad was a doctor and they amassed a great deal of wealth. One of their sons joined the JWs about 10 years ago. He up and quit the Air Force and was gone.
He didn't talk to her FIL for many years, nor the rest of the family. When dad got sick, low and behold! Guess who came to visit. Yep, JW son and his previously *itchy wife.
So now the dude is dead and they are regular visitors to the mom. They are constantly trying to convert her. Well, before the dad died, he had taken his JW son out of his will except for $40,000.
Now the family is afraid that the mom will not honor the dad's wishes and make a new will and give the money to the JW son. Or even worse, convert to JWism and leave the entire estate to the Society.
I told them they better start showing her lots of affection and support or this may very well happen. She is vulnerable and that's why all of a sudden her previously neglectful son has become so attentive.
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unbeliever
A few years ago my mom cut me out of her will after a falling out and she told me she was leaving my part to the society. I did not give a shit and told her so. Recently she foolishly invested in her con artist elder husbands business. My brother and I had to bail her out of that one and we now own her house. The one that would have been sold after she died and my share would have gone straight to the society. Oh the irony.
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BluesBrother
The arrangement for Wills has, of course been in place for some years - just in case anybody wondered...
w98 11/1 p. 27 "God Loves a Cheerful Giver" ***
WillsandTrusts: Property or money may be bequeathed to the Watch Tower Society by means of a legally executed will, or the Society may be named as a beneficiary of a trust agreement. A trust benefiting a religious organization may provide certain tax advantages.
As the term "planned giving" implies, these types of donations typically require some planning on the part of the donor. To assist individuals desiring to benefit the Society through some form of planned giving, the Society has prepared an English-language brochure entitled Planned Giving to Benefit Kingdom Service Worldwide. The brochure was written in response to the many inquiries the Society has received regarding gifts, wills, and trusts. It also contains additional useful information on estate, financial, and tax planning. And it is designed to help individuals in the United States who are planning to make a special gift to the Society now or to leave a bequest at death to select the most advantageous and efficient method in the light of their family and personal circumstances.
After reading the brochure and conferring with the Planned Giving Desk, many have been able to assist the Society and at the same time, maximize the tax benefits of doing so. The Planned Giving Desk should be informed of and receive a copy of any relevant document pertaining to any of these arrangements. Those interested in a brochure or in any of these planned giving arrangements should contact the Planned Giving Desk, either in writing or by telephone, at the address listed below or at the Society’s office that serves your country.
Planned
GivingDeskWatch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
100 Watchtower Drive, Patterson, New York 12563-9204
Telephone: (914) 878-7000"
Does that mean that there is pressure on people to do this? No. I have never come accross that . Any elder would rather they left it to the local congregation. They would get really mad if they thought it was by passing them, especially if there was a building fund in place at the time.
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startingover
unbeliever, great story!
I was a lucky one whose parents still trusted their evil son even after he left the religion. It paid off for them as they got to live in a brand new house the last 5 years of their lives and had me and my wife living right across the street. I suppose the fact that I am an only child had something to do with it. They were smart enough to know they would need care in their old age. If they had decided to shun me I would have had a real hard time doing what I did for them, even though I probably would have. Until they died, they never mentioned anything about giving anything they had to the WTS whatsoever.
My mother, when her sister (a former DO's wife) died, was upset because her house went to the society. She said her sister wanted to change that but died suddenly before it got done. I could tell it bothered my mom because she thought if a family member was living it shouldn't go to NY, and I saw her scrambling in the paperwork to find a loophole. The house didn't get sold, but was turned over to a special pioneer couple, but stayed in the WTS's name. Since then the property value has doubled and I just did a check and the WTS still owns it, and it appears they are paying property tax on it.
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journey-on
The house didn't get sold, but was turned over to a special pioneer couple, but stayed in the WTS's name. Since then the property value has doubled and I just did a check and the WTS still owns it,
That's just obsene!!! HOW MUCH OF THIS KIND OF CRAP GOES ON?
This is what I am trying to forewarn people about (not that I'm any kind of seer or anything). It's just that there is probably more of this kind of thing going on than we can imagine.
It's the natural thing to leave your monetary achievements to the next generation. It builds family wealth and helps the next generation coming up: grandchildren's college, assistance in buying that first home, investing in a business, etc. etc. etc. Leaving it to the g*ddam*** WTB&T$ just makes me see red.
Sure, it's a person's right to do with their money and property whatever they want. But, it just chaps my a**s that the WTS has made it easy by encouraging and writing about just how these old-timers (and others, too) can will or donate their life savings and property to them. My God! They even have a DEPARTMENT set up to assist!!!! And I'll bet with the private issues of the WT, more and more of this kind of "encouragement" will be spouted.
I think it is a form of psychological manipulation and downright brainwashing. They twist and corrupt scripture and slowly, methodically, and deliberately MESS WITH PEOPLE'S MINDS. I just think for those that may be negatively impacted by this, they should try to legally prove that the person was not of sound mind based on years and years and years of slow indoctrination by a cult that calls itself a religion.
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Sunspot
I have an oddball problem.....when I became a JW, my parents disowned me, and my Father had a royal FIT when I didn't send him a birthday card six months after I was baptized. (I had explained all the cannots and do nots well in advance) but they both claimed that *I* broke up the family. (Sounds like the WTS---always blame the "other guy" for THEIR bad behavior)...
anyway my mother died a few years ago and never spoke a civil word to me after I got baptized. She left me NOTHING in her will, including "stuff" that was mine and given to me by my deceased grandparents. I had no way to "fight it" so all I could do was let it go. A replica of one of the antique dolls that one grandmother gave me---was on the "Antiques Roadshow" one evening----listed at $5,000. That was only ONE of several she had left me....that I left in storage at my parent's when my own kids were little and I was afraid they would be as careful as they should. We moved out of state two years after my baptism and I never had the chance to get my things back.....my parents wouldn't answer my letters or phone calls.
There IS a silver lining after all----At least the WTS didn't inherit their estate!