I Love You Stepmother. Please Meet My Attorney.

Opening title card centered on screen.

 “…every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Leo Tolstoy

“Especially when it comes to money.”

Daniel Smith

FADE IN

Sunday afternoon about 1:00 p.m. in the present day.

Large living room in a luxurious home in a very wealthy neighborhood somewhere in Texas.

We see a close up of an older woman, eyes puffy from weeping.

CAMERA PULLS BACK TO A WIDE ANGLE SHOT

The well-dressed older woman is sitting in a high-backed chair surrounded by three large couches. Three young women and two young men are sitting on these couches. These are her stepchildren. Each one has brought an attorney.

DAUGHTER ONE (Shelia)

 With faux affection: “We love you step-mother and since you raised all five of us, we think of you as our real mother.”

SON TWO: (Biff)

Looks down at his feet. Quietly says:

“Truly. Each of us has only brought an attorney because, you know…uh…I mean…well, it isn’t, like, we don’t trust you…”

 DAUGHTER THREE (Anne)

Slurring words: “Speak for yourself, Biff.”

She and stepmother lock eyes for a beat, and we see hostility between them. Daughter Three pours herself a small scotch and knocks it back.

DAUGHTER TWO (Linda)

Loudly and bitterly: “Dad named you as successor trustee and never even told us. Now you are in control of his 350-million-dollar trust and its irrevocable!”

 Tears start dripping down her face.  

“I just want as much as Shelia.”

 She bangs her fist on the table in front of her.

“Dad loved Shelia the most…”

DAUGHTER ONE (Shelia)

Shouts: “Would you shut up?”

DAUGHTER THREE (Anne)

With bitterness: “Me and Linda want to be sure that Shelia doesn’t get more like she always has.”

OLDER WOMAN, touching a handkerchief to her face.

“Anne, I thought your behavior at your father’s funeral was……”

DAUGHTER THREE (Anne) CUTS HER OFF

“At Dad’s funeral, I should not have asked you how much money he left to each of us. Since there are five of us, I just thought the line would be shorter. That’s all. A faux pas was made.”

SON ONE (Scott)

While the other siblings are dressed in business attire, Scott is wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt and is completely relaxed. He is smoking marijuana. “Hey, like, I’m cool with whatever…”

EVERYONE EXCEPT SCOTT BEGINS TO SHOUT. 

FADE TO BLACK

Roll credits

    

“Daniel, how do you rate this short?”

             “I give it two thumbs up for accuracy and for depiction of a highly dysfunctional family coming apart under the strain of the step-mother being named as trustee of a very large family trust. For reasons unknown, her stepchildren don’t trust her to be fair with distributions. While seventy-five percent of grantors name their spouses as successor trustee, this is often not such a good idea as you can see from the film.”

“What should the Financial Advisor do?”

            “Every family dynamic is its own story. As the Financial Advisor to the family, the Advisor should already know how the family members relate to one another. While many of the family members do not evoke our sympathy, Financial Advisors must remember that these are human beings to understand, not math problems to be solved.”

“The children seem to be expressing intense feelings toward each other and their step-mother.”

            “True but not unusual in a situation like this. As I have already mentioned, the Financial Advisor needs to keep uppermost in his or her mind that these are people, not numbers, and this is a classic family dynamic at work. If the Financial Advisor has held family meetings with this group, then he should not be surprised at this. In the weeks to come, the Advisors needs to validate the intensity of everyone’s feelings. That isn’t taking sides. It just shows understanding.”

“Lots of things to learn from this film.”

            “Yes. It will be shown in the short film category this year at the Cannes Film Festival.”

“Wow!”

            “And two more will follow next year.”

“Thank you, Daniel. See you in Cannes!”

 

View our offerings: https://www.cannonfinancial.com/our-offerings#ind&

Copyright ©2019 Cannon Financial Institute - All Rights Reserved

Subscribe to Cannon Insights at http://www.cannonfinancial.com/newsletter/subscribe.

 

Contributing Writer: Subject Matter Expert Charles McCain