Giving You My Estate
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - Original posting date
It came to me one day. Who will run my business when I am gone? I have nobody. I have developed a nice business, and it is growing every month. Each month it earns a nice income, and the business has no debt. I have spent many long hours building the business, and have only one friend. That friend, with her genes, will likely not outlive me. Even if she does, she has an excellent life, and figuring out how to close mine, would only be a burden to her.
I have envisioned that when I am gone, the site will stay live for about a year, then my credit card will have expired, and my hosting company will shut the site down. The income I receive, goes into an account, with a debit card attached to it, and that card is used to pay my hosting fees. So, it will run itself, more or less for a while. It seemed like such a pity just to throw the business away, after I had done so much work. I have ten years of work tied up in learning what I needed to know to run and launch this business.
So, I though about leaving it to a university, or a non-profit org. I discussed many possibilities, but none really seemed to reach out to me. I couldn't make up my mind. What has crossed my mind more recently is the fact, that if I have nobody to leave my business to, then I also have nobody to come to my furneral. That seems sad, and I had never really given it any thought, until the last few months. Then, I came up with this plan.
Not today, but sometime in the near future, I am going to offer, for sale, tickets to my funeral. Each person who buys one, becomes an heir to my estate. In order to become an heir, they must show up at my funeral, sign in, and wait until the reading of my will. For each heir I have, they will get an equal share of my estate, such as it is. Not much now, but I figure five to ten years down the road, if I make it that far, it is going to be huge.
Once the reading of the will is complete, the heirs will choose a seven member board. The board members will all become co-executors and will come up with a plan to either sell my business, or to select a committee to run it, and share in monthly profit sharing checks, equally.
Now, here are the details. Each person who is not in an excluded group (see: Who Is Disqualified) will have the opportunity to buy a ticket. They can buy as many tickets as they want, and each one will give them one share of my estate. I haven't decided on a ticket price yet, but right now I am thinking $10.00 each. You see, I want ALOT of people at my funeral. Each ticket, requires a person to attend the funeral. So, if you have a family of 6 people, then you can have six tickets, all must attend the funeral. You can buy tickets for children, grandchildren, friends, whoever you know. But, if they don't show up at the funeral, they don't get a portion of my estate. You can not buy 100 tickets, bring 4 people, and expect to get 100 shares. The will is going to be very specific about how the estate is divided, and the rules must be followed. I am hoping that thousands of people will buy tickets, and it will be the funeral of the century. The details of the funeral itself will be in the will, and the attorney in charge will make sure that the funeral is exactly as I want.
Over time, the ticket prices may rise, or I may quit selling them altogether. I don't want funeral expenses to eat up my estate. So, it would be prudent to buy as many tickets as you want early on. Later, I anticipate tickets going for several hundred dollars to a thousand dollars or more, as the business gets larger, I get older and enter into my final days of failing health. However, at any time I may halt the sale of the tickets, and end the search for more heirs. It is all a big gamble. If the process begins to overwhelm me, that is it. Those who have funeral tickets will be the final field heirs. It will leave only those who purchased a funeral ticket prior to that point, at the helm of what was once my life.
What are the stats now? High blood pressure, diabetes, 50 years old. That is not all. I have a spouse.
The spouse is in much worst shape. 42, diabetes, high blood pressure, family history of cancer, and has two heart stints at this time. It is most likely, I will be the last to go, as I have better genes, overall. But, at this time, I see me being around for another 5 to 10 years, and having plenty of time to grow my estate into something very much worth having.
If I go before the spouse, the rules are the same. The spouse keeps everything, continues to run the business and when the final day is done, then you get your inheritance.
There are going to be life insurance policys involved, as well as a home which is paid for now, vehicles which are paid for now, and other assets. The business is earning over $2000 per month now, and this is our slowest season of the year. I anticipate 2005 earnings at $50K, 2006 earnings and beyond to grow by 25-50% per year. But, who knows. I have an interest in seeing the business grow, because I have entered the hedonistic stage of the life, and want it to be fun and interesting to the final days. So, I'm not working here all day and all night just to make you rich in the end. I am spending my money. But, when the business is earning $10k, $50k a month, or more, that is really just too much to let it go. What you get is that monthly income, annual income, or share of the business when sold, if that is what you all decide, after I am gone. That and everything I own, which you will likely sell. If I were you, and I am not, or I would not be writing this, I would keep the business running, and get my share of those nice checks each month.
The business takes very little effort. This means I can pretty much run it to the end. Once I am gone, it will continue to run itself long enough to elect a board to make decisions on the estate. In the event I am not able to run the business to the end, I will chose 7 of the heir apparents, those who have bought tickets, to form a board and run the business until I am gone. Then, the established rules go into effect.
There are going to be conditions, and they are stiff. If you have ever committed a crime of violence, or any felony, you can not buy a ticket. If you have ever been treated for substance addiction, you can not buy a ticket. You can't ever have won a lottery winning over $10k. Gambling is prohibited. You may not go to casinos, or off track betting, nor buy lottery tickets. If you have known me, you can not buy a ticket. If you are related to me by blood or marriage, even remotely, you can not buy a ticket. You must attend the funeral to get your inheritance. You can 'will' your inheritance, but your heirs must attend the funeral, and you must make that fact known in your will, or your ticket becomes void. You can sell your ticket, but it has no face value. The only value it has, is upon my death. Before that, it entitles you to nothing, unless I had select you, in writing, to manage the estate, during my final days. If you lose your ticket, the person who finds it, is entitled to a share of my estate, if they follow the rules. If the ticket is destroyed, you have no claim.
Any person found violating the rules, by another heir, can be disqualified, if through a court challenge, the rules are found to have been violated.
There is much more. I will add to this as time goes on, and post the date that tickets will go on sale.
When the time comes, I will have the attorney numbers on the page. All will be verified through that large law firm. Once the legal documents are all in order, and the first ticket is sold, I will post updates on the web, every few days. It is how you will know I am still alive. Your name will be in the documents the attorney has, and he will notify you when I am gone, so you can attend the funeral. You must have a valid email address, and it will be up to you to maintain that address, and be sure that mail from him is not blocked. The responsibility in the end to attend the funeral, rests fully on your shoulders. I expect he will notify the media, so every person who is an heir, knows I am gone, and they need to head to the town where my funeral will be. That town, will be preselected, based on the number of heirs I will have, and the town's ability to host a funeral of that size if it is very large. Transportation costs to the funeral, are your responsibility, as well as any other expenses you incur as a result of owning the ticket, or receiving the inheritance, including any taxes.
Bookmark this blog, to watch for updates.
I have deleted this entry, and reposted it. As I add new postings, this one get pushed off the main page. I think it is important to keep it on the main page. So, after creating new posts, I will place this one back on the main page, and that will give it a new date. Orginal date for this posting is at the top of the post.
UPDATE: September 13, 2005 - Hurricane Katrina Offer
Any 10 refugees Hurricane Katrina from New Orleans, who can meet the guidelines for my heirs, and prove they were residents of New Orleans for 10 consequetive years, immediately prior to and up to the day before Hurricane Katrina arrived, will get a free ticket to the funeral, and will automatically become my heir. Heirs will be selected from essays written, describing why they think should be selected to inherit my estate, and what they will do with the estate finances once they are in control. There are no strings. Just show up to say good-bye at my funeral. I know this isn't much right now when you need it most. But, I hope it gives you hope for the future. Things do and can change in time. I want to give you that hope.
See the terms, who is excluded, and other posts, by clicking on the links to the right. Deadline for submissions is midnight December 31, 2006. Email address for submissions will be posted on this blog soon. Begin preparing your essay now. Spread the word to other Hurricane Katrina victims that we are offering our version of a grant for them.
It came to me one day. Who will run my business when I am gone? I have nobody. I have developed a nice business, and it is growing every month. Each month it earns a nice income, and the business has no debt. I have spent many long hours building the business, and have only one friend. That friend, with her genes, will likely not outlive me. Even if she does, she has an excellent life, and figuring out how to close mine, would only be a burden to her.
I have envisioned that when I am gone, the site will stay live for about a year, then my credit card will have expired, and my hosting company will shut the site down. The income I receive, goes into an account, with a debit card attached to it, and that card is used to pay my hosting fees. So, it will run itself, more or less for a while. It seemed like such a pity just to throw the business away, after I had done so much work. I have ten years of work tied up in learning what I needed to know to run and launch this business.
So, I though about leaving it to a university, or a non-profit org. I discussed many possibilities, but none really seemed to reach out to me. I couldn't make up my mind. What has crossed my mind more recently is the fact, that if I have nobody to leave my business to, then I also have nobody to come to my furneral. That seems sad, and I had never really given it any thought, until the last few months. Then, I came up with this plan.
Not today, but sometime in the near future, I am going to offer, for sale, tickets to my funeral. Each person who buys one, becomes an heir to my estate. In order to become an heir, they must show up at my funeral, sign in, and wait until the reading of my will. For each heir I have, they will get an equal share of my estate, such as it is. Not much now, but I figure five to ten years down the road, if I make it that far, it is going to be huge.
Once the reading of the will is complete, the heirs will choose a seven member board. The board members will all become co-executors and will come up with a plan to either sell my business, or to select a committee to run it, and share in monthly profit sharing checks, equally.
Now, here are the details. Each person who is not in an excluded group (see: Who Is Disqualified) will have the opportunity to buy a ticket. They can buy as many tickets as they want, and each one will give them one share of my estate. I haven't decided on a ticket price yet, but right now I am thinking $10.00 each. You see, I want ALOT of people at my funeral. Each ticket, requires a person to attend the funeral. So, if you have a family of 6 people, then you can have six tickets, all must attend the funeral. You can buy tickets for children, grandchildren, friends, whoever you know. But, if they don't show up at the funeral, they don't get a portion of my estate. You can not buy 100 tickets, bring 4 people, and expect to get 100 shares. The will is going to be very specific about how the estate is divided, and the rules must be followed. I am hoping that thousands of people will buy tickets, and it will be the funeral of the century. The details of the funeral itself will be in the will, and the attorney in charge will make sure that the funeral is exactly as I want.
Over time, the ticket prices may rise, or I may quit selling them altogether. I don't want funeral expenses to eat up my estate. So, it would be prudent to buy as many tickets as you want early on. Later, I anticipate tickets going for several hundred dollars to a thousand dollars or more, as the business gets larger, I get older and enter into my final days of failing health. However, at any time I may halt the sale of the tickets, and end the search for more heirs. It is all a big gamble. If the process begins to overwhelm me, that is it. Those who have funeral tickets will be the final field heirs. It will leave only those who purchased a funeral ticket prior to that point, at the helm of what was once my life.
What are the stats now? High blood pressure, diabetes, 50 years old. That is not all. I have a spouse.
The spouse is in much worst shape. 42, diabetes, high blood pressure, family history of cancer, and has two heart stints at this time. It is most likely, I will be the last to go, as I have better genes, overall. But, at this time, I see me being around for another 5 to 10 years, and having plenty of time to grow my estate into something very much worth having.
If I go before the spouse, the rules are the same. The spouse keeps everything, continues to run the business and when the final day is done, then you get your inheritance.
There are going to be life insurance policys involved, as well as a home which is paid for now, vehicles which are paid for now, and other assets. The business is earning over $2000 per month now, and this is our slowest season of the year. I anticipate 2005 earnings at $50K, 2006 earnings and beyond to grow by 25-50% per year. But, who knows. I have an interest in seeing the business grow, because I have entered the hedonistic stage of the life, and want it to be fun and interesting to the final days. So, I'm not working here all day and all night just to make you rich in the end. I am spending my money. But, when the business is earning $10k, $50k a month, or more, that is really just too much to let it go. What you get is that monthly income, annual income, or share of the business when sold, if that is what you all decide, after I am gone. That and everything I own, which you will likely sell. If I were you, and I am not, or I would not be writing this, I would keep the business running, and get my share of those nice checks each month.
The business takes very little effort. This means I can pretty much run it to the end. Once I am gone, it will continue to run itself long enough to elect a board to make decisions on the estate. In the event I am not able to run the business to the end, I will chose 7 of the heir apparents, those who have bought tickets, to form a board and run the business until I am gone. Then, the established rules go into effect.
There are going to be conditions, and they are stiff. If you have ever committed a crime of violence, or any felony, you can not buy a ticket. If you have ever been treated for substance addiction, you can not buy a ticket. You can't ever have won a lottery winning over $10k. Gambling is prohibited. You may not go to casinos, or off track betting, nor buy lottery tickets. If you have known me, you can not buy a ticket. If you are related to me by blood or marriage, even remotely, you can not buy a ticket. You must attend the funeral to get your inheritance. You can 'will' your inheritance, but your heirs must attend the funeral, and you must make that fact known in your will, or your ticket becomes void. You can sell your ticket, but it has no face value. The only value it has, is upon my death. Before that, it entitles you to nothing, unless I had select you, in writing, to manage the estate, during my final days. If you lose your ticket, the person who finds it, is entitled to a share of my estate, if they follow the rules. If the ticket is destroyed, you have no claim.
Any person found violating the rules, by another heir, can be disqualified, if through a court challenge, the rules are found to have been violated.
There is much more. I will add to this as time goes on, and post the date that tickets will go on sale.
When the time comes, I will have the attorney numbers on the page. All will be verified through that large law firm. Once the legal documents are all in order, and the first ticket is sold, I will post updates on the web, every few days. It is how you will know I am still alive. Your name will be in the documents the attorney has, and he will notify you when I am gone, so you can attend the funeral. You must have a valid email address, and it will be up to you to maintain that address, and be sure that mail from him is not blocked. The responsibility in the end to attend the funeral, rests fully on your shoulders. I expect he will notify the media, so every person who is an heir, knows I am gone, and they need to head to the town where my funeral will be. That town, will be preselected, based on the number of heirs I will have, and the town's ability to host a funeral of that size if it is very large. Transportation costs to the funeral, are your responsibility, as well as any other expenses you incur as a result of owning the ticket, or receiving the inheritance, including any taxes.
Bookmark this blog, to watch for updates.
I have deleted this entry, and reposted it. As I add new postings, this one get pushed off the main page. I think it is important to keep it on the main page. So, after creating new posts, I will place this one back on the main page, and that will give it a new date. Orginal date for this posting is at the top of the post.
UPDATE: September 13, 2005 - Hurricane Katrina Offer
Any 10 refugees Hurricane Katrina from New Orleans, who can meet the guidelines for my heirs, and prove they were residents of New Orleans for 10 consequetive years, immediately prior to and up to the day before Hurricane Katrina arrived, will get a free ticket to the funeral, and will automatically become my heir. Heirs will be selected from essays written, describing why they think should be selected to inherit my estate, and what they will do with the estate finances once they are in control. There are no strings. Just show up to say good-bye at my funeral. I know this isn't much right now when you need it most. But, I hope it gives you hope for the future. Things do and can change in time. I want to give you that hope.
See the terms, who is excluded, and other posts, by clicking on the links to the right. Deadline for submissions is midnight December 31, 2006. Email address for submissions will be posted on this blog soon. Begin preparing your essay now. Spread the word to other Hurricane Katrina victims that we are offering our version of a grant for them.
posted by Ms Tulip at 6:18 AM
