Grandfather gets a new wife and a new will
Make sure you reflect your positive reaction to his marriage: "I'm so happy that you have found such a wonderful partner. Shelly is such a nice addition to our family. I understand that you love one another and that you are thoroughly committed to each other. I also accept that you absolutely have the right to do whatever you wish with your will. I'm glad that you informed mother and me about your intentions. However, I feel the need to advocate for Mom..."
Describe her situation honestly. Repeat that you understand and respect his right to do what he wants to do, but ask him to also consider these other factors in his estate planning.
Dear Amy: I am an older woman, an introvert, who has kept diaries, journals and notes my whole life. And naturally, in them I "let my hair down." Now it is time for me to destroy them -- I wouldn't want anyone to find them after I'm gone.
Unfortunately, they are in various plastic-bound, hard cardboard or spiral books. I have no idea how to dispose of them, and there are a ton of them. The thought of having to extricate the paper from the covers is overwhelming.
One thing I guess I could do is take a few at a time and wrap them in black plastic and put them in the garbage and hope no one finds them.
Do you have a better suggestion?
-- Overwhelmed
Dear Overwhelmed: If you are absolutely sure you want to do this, you should think about shredding.
If you don't want to purchase a shredder and separate the paper from the bindings to do this at home, there are professional shredding companies that will send a truck to your location and do this onsite as you watch.
Some companies I researched advertise that they will shred books.
...continued
