Chapter 17 - THE CAPACITY ATTACK
Mother’s final major legal argument targeted Vivienne.
Not Blythe.
Vivienne had been ill when she signed proxy-termination amendment.
Cancer.
Pain medication.
Hospitalizations.
Mother claimed diminished capacity.
If amendment invalid:
Trust still owned 63% economic interest.
But old enhanced proxy might have survived longer.
That could validate more of Mother’s voting actions.
So it mattered.
I hated hearing Vivienne’s final months dissected.
Medication charts.
Doctor notes.
Cognitive assessments.
Emails.
I almost walked out.
Naomi stopped me.
“You wanted process.”
“Yes.”
“This is process.”
Then evidence.
Vivienne signed key amendment at home after oncology appointment.
Medication:
Low-dose opioid as needed.
No sedative that morning.
Doctor note same day:
Alert, oriented, discussing treatment options coherently.
Attorney Jonathan Pierce documented:
Client understands trust transfer and governance separation.
Asked detailed questions.
Requested changes herself.
Strong capacity.
Then Mother produced one email from me.
Vivienne is exhausted and confused today. Don’t ask her about paperwork.
Date:
Two weeks earlier.
Real.
Could support fluctuating capacity.
But not signing day.
Then hospice nurse? She had not entered hospice then. Good.
Then one voice memo from Vivienne to Jonathan:
If Honora tells you I’m too sick to make decisions, ask me yourself.
I almost cried.
Was this too convenient? It was in lawyer file and consistent. Acceptable if not magical. Could be a contemporaneous recorded voicemail preserved.
Then:
I’m sick, not absent.
That line hit.
Mother looked down.
Then another legal point.
Capacity to execute trust amendments lower than some complex contract? Depends law. Counsel argued. Court would decide.
No instant.
Then my testimony.
Mother’s lawyer asked:
“Did Vivienne ever become confused?”
“Yes.”
“Forget medications?”
“Yes.”
“Repeat questions?”
“Yes.”
“Were you concerned?”
“Yes.”
“Then how can you say she understood this document?”
“I can’t from memory alone.”
Good.
No lying for wife.
“I rely on contemporaneous records and attorney.”
That mattered.
Then:
“Do you want the amendment valid?”
“Yes.”
“Because it gives Blythe control?”
“Because I believe it reflects Vivienne’s intent.”
“But you’re biased.”
“Yes.”
Honest.
Then Mother watched me.
For first time maybe she understood I would not turn Vivienne into infallible saint.
May you like
The final ruling would need evidence.
Not my grief.
