Jacob's Entitlement

Jacob’s Entitlement

I, Theodore James McQuinn III, in sound mind and body, do hereby leave all of my worldly possessions to my dear nephew Jacob Michael Jones. He is entitled to all of my monetary assets, land holdings and each and every type of collection.  

Theodore took a deep breath.

He looked out the window and watched a leaf fall down innocently to its death.

He put aside the computer and a wave of emotions swept through him. 

First there was laughter. 

Just wait until Heather finds out everything is going to Jacob. She is going to be incredibly angry and will go absolutely crazy. The little princess thinks she is entitled to everything.  

But she doesn’t know that I know exactly how she feels about me.  

Four months ago, I hid a tape recorder under her bed and let it run. She had her friend Beth over and I had told Heather that the time was near and was deciding how much of my vast wealth she was going to get.

And the girls talked.

“Well, the old bastard is finally going to croak.”

“Cool, how much are you getting?”

“Well, I’ve been sucking up to the old codger a lot ever since I found out he was going to die. I mean, I was always pretty good at manipulating him and now it is even easier that he is so sick.”

“Do you think that he’ll ever catch on?”

“No, absolutely not because he is too stupid. He thinks he is so brilliant because he started with nothing and built an empire. He got lucky.”

“You really don’t like this guy do you?”

“No, I don’t. I can’t stand him at all. He is an overbearing, ignorant, son of a bitch and all I am interested in is his money.”

“I hope you get a huge amount.”

“So do I, but I am not the only one that wants a cut.”

She wasn’t.  

My nephew Leonard was another candidate for a share of the pie. He was a failure in life much like Heather. He had gone to the best of schools thanks to my generosity. Everything had been paid for including a free Jaguar. When the kid was drunk and wrecked it, it was replaced with an BMW.

The kid sponged off of me his whole life. He had never really held down a regular job and wasn’t exactly busting his hump to go and find one. A guy with more degrees than a thermometer, he was just lazy and wanted to life the easy life.

Leonard had also been caught in a trap. I had tape recorded him one night and what the kid had to say wasn’t very nice.

“Yeah, the old guy is dying and I really don’t care. He can die tomorrow, as long as I get my fair share of the money. I suppose, I have to share with that horrible cousin Heather. She is such a bitch.”

This is about the only thing Leonard and I agreed on.  

Leonard was going to be in really shocked when he finds out, along with Heather that they aren’t getting anything.  

But, Jacob is a different story. I also put a tape recorder hidden in his room.  

“I can’t believe that Uncle Theodore is dying. I don’t want him to go. I don’t want to lose him. He took me in when everyone else in the family wanted nothing to do with me. He is the best man ever.”

Heather and Leonard are blood. The girl belongs to my sister, Vivian and Leonard belongs to my brother Donald. But Jacob is different.  

Jacob was brought in when Margaret married Joseph. He was Joseph’s step-son and therefore not true McQuinn blood. Many in the family shunned him, but he is a kind, intelligent young man.

Like I had done with the other two, I had generously offered to pay for his schooling.

However, Jacob, had a different idea.

“Uncle Theodore, please don’t misunderstand me and I certainly don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I have been working for some time now and have saved up enough for college. But, I tell you what, if I run short of money, then I will ask you for a loan. I don’t want a hand out, just a loan that I will pay back with full interest.”

I smiled at the boy.

“It’s a deal. And, you did not hurt my feelings.”

“Phew! That is really good to know. One more thing, Uncle Theodore and once again I am not trying to hurt your feelings. I understand that you are vastly wealthy and I admire how hard you have worked. Some day, we are going to lose you and it will be a very dark day. I don’t want you to feel you need to leave me anything in your will. It would really upset the apple cart, because unlike Heather and Leonard, I am not blood.”

So there you have all the information you need to understand why the will is being written this way. Of course, I still have to go to the lawyer and get it done professionally, but Jacob has a pure heart. The others have a very cold, dark heart.

Is this going to upset the applecart?

It will, but I don’t care.

I have half of mind to leave the funeral expenses to Heather and Leonard. They would be instantly in debt and have to get a real job in order to pay for it. In fact, I think that is an excellent idea. They will be burdened with my funeral expenses and it won’t be cheap. I will leave them some money, but just enough to cover the cost of my burial.

I will have the most expensive casket, the most expensive ceremony and the most expensive flowers. Everyone will be invited and the bill will be astronomical.  

My only regret is that I will not be able to see their faces when they find out that their inheritance is a bill. I would also love to see Jacob’s face when he finds out that he has inherited everything.

It is time to write this will out.

Jacob inherits all monetary assets that includes….