Chapter 24 - SHOULD WE SELL?
At twenty-five, Emily became eligible for expanded trust authority.
She asked the question.
“Do we still need Carter House?”
James and I had already bought a smaller home near the city.
I no longer lived there full-time.
Emily lived in Boston.
The house stood mostly empty except maintenance staff and occasional family stays.
Trust paid enormous costs.
Roof.
HVAC.
Grounds.
Taxes on nonexempt portions.
Preservation for preservation’s sake could become another burden.
Emily commissioned options.
Not me.
Full sale?
The medical center wanted remaining acreage but historic restrictions complicated demolition.
Preservation nonprofit offered less.
University offered partnership.
Final plan:
Sell four additional acres to medical center expansion.
Transfer house and two acres to a local nonprofit as a family-transition and child-advocacy training center with historic preservation easement.
Trust received fair value.
Not maximum.
Court approved because Emily was adult beneficiary and governance requirements met.
Carter House stopped being our private home.
I cried.
Emily did too.
Then she said:
“Still right.”
“Yes.”
No ghost punished us.
May you like
No family legacy collapsed.
A building changed use.
