Honestly, I never thought twice about daddy’s will, or whether I would receive anything or not, because in my mind he would live forever. I was forced to think about it when he sent me an email and left voicemail messages on the telephone reaffirming his wishes. I loved my dad and I knew that this was important to him, so naturally it became important to me (Click here to see the will).
I received several calls (voicemails to be released soon if I feel it necessary) telling me that he felt as though his wife did not have his best wishes at heart and that he wanted to amend the will. Initially, the beneficiary would distribute the items he requested verbally, she was the beneficiary and that was her job. The amendment would put in writing what they discussed verbally and she was to distribute what he wanted everyone to have. He said that he had a conversation with her explaining that he did not trust her, which she does not deny. I recently learned that he had this same conversation with other people about her as well. They are willing to testify to this.
I asked him why he felt that he couldn’t trust her and he gave me several reasons. He proceeded to tell me that she would not spend time with him, or that she would get angry when he vomited blood, and that she was an uncaring and unloving person toward him. I was aware of most of these issues, since I witnessed her disgust myself, and she always said that she was not a caregiver and that my dad should understand. I was well aware of her disdain for my father, and apparently, he was aware of it too.
He also mentioned having to work until a few weeks before his death to support a household of seven, while dying of liver cancer. No one contributed money towards the bills; the money that did come in went on various things including hobbies and addictions.
When I visited my father, he was so concerned about amending his will that he made it his mission. I had to tell him on several occasions to relax and focus on getting better. He even had me contact a notary while I was there. My husband and I walked in on my father and his wife having a heated discussion about him changing the will and him not trusting her enough to carry out his wishes. She was clearly upset and left shortly after we arrived. My dad talked to us about it, I told him that if it was meant to be changed, that he would change it. I wanted him better, but he must have known something, because he was so adamant.
His wife knew his wishes and all of a sudden, the next day, the doctor told him that he could not change the will until he left the hospital. She sat there with a smirk on her face and daddy was furious. He did not change the will then, in fact, he had another conversation with his wife, and they went to the bank together to amend the will after I left Texas. I had no idea how livid she would be about the changes.
On July 26th, I spoke to daddy’s wife as I always did. After one of our many conversations about daddy’s wishes and the funeral and the obituary, and everything else, I asked his wife about the will. Since she felt comfortable making arrangements for his death while he was still alive, I wanted to know if she wanted to discuss the will before daddy died, so that if it were any issues, he could clarify it. I asked her to text me a picture of the notarized copy, since all I had was the email of the changes that he was going to make. She abruptly got off the phone after we had been talking for almost an hour. I received the picture of the amended will that night, and suddenly…
On July 27th, at 5:52 am, I received a text stating that my father is dead. Not a telephone call, not a voicemail, but a text message, from the women that I spoke with several times over the past few years, about her life and my dad. Now, my father is gone and I received a text. I could hardly believe it. I would have thought that she was too hurt to call me, but that was not the case, because she called other people, she was angry about the will, that must have been it. She was angry, my dad was in her care, at her disposal, with all of the morphine she could wish for at her fingertips. Now, he was dead. Those were my initial thoughts, but I had to believe that God took him and not her.
I called three days later, once I got over the fact that I received the worst text of my life, and she did not answer. My husband called and finally she answered, from his phone, a number unfamiliar to her. He asked how she was doing and she told him all of the issues she was having with the will and money. I wanted to know if I needed to pick up the items, my daddy left me (pictures, car, computer, etc…) or if she was coming here with them. I hadn’t heard anything from her and I needed to make arrangements of my own. I had no idea she would begin cursing and lying and screaming and blaming and yelling that my dad did her wrong for making the changes, and all she had left would be $XXX,000 and how dare he want to give me $XX,000 and my siblings $X,000 and I weren’t getting $HIT! I was caught off guard, I had no idea what I was walking into.
I told her the reason daddy made the changes was because he knew she would do this, and now that she had just found out that she was exposed, she was angry. He knew what she would do. She threatened to sell the car and keep the money. She said I could have the pictures and my bikes, but that she was not giving up any money to my siblings or me. At the time, I did not ask about the money, I wanted to pick up my car and the pictures and things while I had the time to do it before school started. Since this is what my father left me, it was mine. Especially, since she was planning on leaving Texas and not going back for a while. I wanted to handle business so I could get that out of the way and mourn for my dad. She went on to say that if I showed up she would not open the door and that I would not get in. I told her I would have to see her in court and she told me to call a lawyer. When she dropped the phone and started screaming and cursing at the top of her lungs, I knew I had finally seen the woman that my father saw in her truest form. The jig is up.
Her children began comforting her by saying that she didn’t have to give me anything, and that it’s okay, and that’s all I wanted… the irony of this was that I have no other dealings with this family at this point but what my father left for me. The text telling me that he was dead told me that she felt the same way. It was time for business. I hung up, because it was all too much for me.
That was three weeks ago and I have not heard anything from her. She has been lying on me, playing the victim when she is the one doing wrong. She has contacted two of daddy’s exes asking them to help her with his funeral.
I will be taking her to court, but this is so unnecessary. I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, since she gets to speak out to whomever will listen, I figured I should do the same. I just want peace and I want to mourn my father properly. Even typing these words makes me relive these events again, and while I didn’t have to do this, it was time. I have been silent for long enough. With all of this proof, how can my daddy's last wishes be denied? Seems like the amended will would have been enough.
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:11