- 8 - survivorship to Bell and himself, and (8) decedent asked Bell to serve on a committee that was created to make decisions about his medical care in the event that he was unable to do so. Bell and decedent had a loving relationship. They never married. Decedent also established a close relationship with Bell's family. In the will, decedent left cash bequests to several members of Bell's family. The Ledgers Decedent was a meticulous record keeper who maintained handwritten journals of his personal expenditures (the ledgers). In the ledgers, decedent recorded the checks he wrote, showing the payee and classifying the payment by purpose (e.g., “Cash” and “Travel exp.”). One classification is variously labeled “Rose Exp.”, “RAB Exp.” or something similar, and refers to payments to or with respect to Bell (the Bell payments). When decedent became too old to maintain the ledgers personally, Bell's daughter-in-law, Carol Bell, maintained them at decedent's direction. Bell never made any entries in the ledgers. The Bell Payments The Bell payments commenced in 1986 or earlier and continued until the time of decedent’s death. The Bell payments were made from a checking account of decedent’s (the checking account). Bell enjoyed a power of attorney to write checks on the checking account. During the last 2 years of decedent's life, Bell wrotePage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011