January 2020
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IN A MANOR OF SPEAKING
SHERLOCK HOLMES’ 166TH BIRTHDAY!
‘Elementary, My Dear Watson’
The most beloved of all fictional detectives, Sherlock Holmes, celebrates his 166th birthday this month. It’s speculated that Holmes would have been born on Jan. 6, 1854, and fans across the globe gather each year on this date to observe his “birth.” People don their pipes, top hats, and long coats and, with a chorus of “The game is afoot!” settle down for a weekend marathon filled with novels, short stories, movies, and TV shows. The character Sherlock Holmes was created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who published his first novel,“A Study in Scarlet,” in 1887. Although Doyle is best known for his four novels and 56 short stories about the private detective Holmes and Dr. John Watson, it wasn’t his life’s work. Doyle wanted to become a historical novelist and wrote several novels of the genre which were admired in his time but did not receive the same attention as Holmes. The author became so disgruntled with Holmes and his popularity that he finally killed the beloved character in 1893. But due to the public’s overwhelming reaction, Doyle grudgingly brought him back in the early 1900s. One of the most noticeable characteristics of Holmes’ character is his ability to use observation to solve cases. Through reasoning and scrutiny of the people and areas around him, Holmes solves seemingly impossible mysteries. These characteristics were inspired by a professor Doyle met while attending medical school, Dr. Joseph Bell. The professor impressed on the students how important observation was when diagnosing a patient. Bell also enjoyed picking a student from his class and guessing their particular profession based only on observation and inductive and deductive reasoning. Over the years, Holmes has influenced the creation of a number of characters in our modern world, including Dr. Gregory House from “House” and Spock from “Star Trek.” While many individuals enjoy the plethora of characters and shows inspired by Sherlock Holmes, there are also plenty of
outright remakes, from BBC’s “Sherlock” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman to classics such as “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” that ran from 1984–1994 and starred Jeremy Brett and David Burke. To this day, fans continue to drink up the phenomenon Doyle created. Although fans may come together to celebrate the birth of their favorite detective on Jan. 6, it isn’t his canonical birthday. Doyle never mentions an exact year or date. In fact, in all Doyle’s works, Holmes’ age is mentioned only once, and that is in “His Last Bow,” Holmes’ final adventure. The detective is described as “a tall, gaunt man of 60.” From this, fans deduced that since the book is set in 1914, Holmes must have been born in 1854. But why Jan. 6? The date was decided by a dedicated fan, renowned journalist and novelist Christopher Morley. Morley started the largest organization for Holmes fans, known as the Baker Street Irregulars. He speculated that Holmes’ birthday was on Jan. 6 because Holmes references William Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night” twice within one story. Morley wrote an article in Saturday Review, which was published on Jan. 6, 1933. In it, he proposed that Holmes’ birthday was on the twelfth day of Christmas — Jan. 6. Ever since, fans across the world have dedicated this day to Sherlock Holmes’ birthday.
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HELP YOUR KIDS ACHIEVE MORE THIS YEAR With Simple, Actionable Goals
will assign as much importance to New Year’s resolutions as you do, so by sticking to your own commitments, you can help them stay on track too.
KEEP THINGS SIMPLE AND ACHIEVABLE. When your kids are forming their resolutions, their first attempts will probably be very broad. Statements like “I want to be more kind” or “I will try to help more around the house” incorporate good values but don’t include any actionable steps. Help your kids think of tangible ways to act on those goals. For example, if they want to be tidier, a good resolution might be for them to clean their room once a week or take responsibility for one household chore every day. DON’T DO ALL THE WORK FOR THEM. While it’s important for you to help your kids formulate their goals, be sure that you aren’t taking over. If they’re ultimately responsible for their resolutions, they’ll feel more compelled to keep them. Instead, suggest different goal areas they could improve, such as home, school, or sports, and let them elaborate. When it comes to creating habits, nobody is perfect, so even if your kids falter on their goals in the middle of February, don’t worry. The important thing is that you continue to encourage them every step of the way.
With every new year comes an opportunity to reinvent ourselves or start down a new path toward self-improvement. Making resolutions is a big part of many families’ New Year’s traditions, and parents often have a desire for their kids to take part in that tradition when they’re old enough. Following through on resolutions is tough, especially for young children, but with your help, they can achieve their goals. PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH. You are your children’s role model for almost everything, including following through on New Year’s resolutions. So, ask yourself if you follow through on your own resolutions. When you proclaim that you will read more books or finally get a gym membership, do you actually try to do it? Your kids
WHO WEARS THE PANTS? LADY JUSTICE! How One Judge Lost a Frivolous Lawsuit and His Dignity
After losing an article of clothing from a dry cleaner, most would say “c’est la vie” and move on. At most, someone might leave a bad review and ask for a few dollars to cover the loss, but for one administrative law judge, that wasn’t enough. He decided instead to launch an all-out legal battle. Roy Pearson, a Washington, D.C., judge at the time, sought $54 million to cover the loss of his pants after his dry cleaner lost them. He argued that the “same-day service” sign located in the window of the dry cleaners meant that the company had to provide same-day service. However, Pearson never specified a specific time he needed his clothes returned. He also insisted that the “satisfaction guaranteed” sign meant that the cleaners had to satisfy a customer’s wishes without limit. Based on those arguments, he claimed the signs were fraudulent. After the initial allegations, the dry cleaners scoured their business to find the pants and, to their credit, found the judge’s trousers untarnished. Even so, Pearson argued that he didn’t need to prove the pants were lost or damaged to satisfy his “satisfaction guaranteed” claim. Unfortunately for the judge, the court found his position to be ridiculous and ordered him to pay the dry cleaner’s attorneys’ fees. In response, Pearson sought that his own attorneys’ fees be covered to oppose this motion.
In the end, Pearson did pay the dry cleaner’s legal fees, but the case isn’t the only thing he lost. The verdict also cost the judge his job and any semblance of professional dignity. Ten years after the case closed, the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility sought a 90-day suspension. As the board put it, Pearson “failed to conduct an objective appraisal of the legal merits of his position. He made and continues to make arguments that no reasonable attorney would think had even a faint hope of success on the legal merits.” From a legal standpoint, we’d call this judge’s behavior “dissatisfaction guaranteed.”
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PUT YOUR TRUST IN TRUSTS WHICH TYPE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
Trusts are useful tools for managing assets, but deciding which type of trust is the right one for you involves understanding exactly what trusts are and how they work, not to mention their nuances. In its most basic form, a trust is a three-part relationship by which one party transfers property to a second party in order to benefit a third party. If you create a trust, you are the grantor. The trustee manages the trust and its assets so that the beneficiary, the person or entity you created the trust for, can receive what you’ve outlined in the trust according to your specifications. Beneficiaries can range in number and type depending on what the grantor is aiming to achieve. They can be family members, friends, charities, organizations, or a combination. They can also
be governed under specific rules of distribution with caveats determined by time, limitations on assets, and more. Different trusts exist for different purposes. • Bypass Trust: If you have substantial monetary worth to pass on to heirs • Special Needs Trust: If you’re concerned about a family member with disabilities • Spendthrift Trust: If you’re concerned about the spending habits of your heirs • Life Insurance Trust: If you own a lot of life insurance • Charitable Remainder Trust: If you would like a charity to receive the money • QTIP Trust: If you have children and expect your spouse to remarry after you die • Living Trust: If you have assets that you’re unable to manage yourself • Generation-Skipping Trust: If you want your assets to go to your grandchildren Many people have a variety of trusts set up at any one time because their purposes are so versatile. If you meet the criteria of any of the above circumstances or if you have any questions about setting up a trust, call our office so we can help you get the process started.
HOPPIN’ JOHN MICHELE’S RECIPE CORNER
take a break
INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup dried black-eyed peas • 5–6 cups water • 1 dried hot pepper, optional (arbol and Calabrian are great options) • 1 smoked ham hock • 1 medium onion, diced • 1 cup long-grain white rice
DIRECTIONS
1. Wash and sort peas. 2. In a saucepan, cover peas with water, discarding any that float. 3. Add pepper, ham hock, and onion. Gently boil and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until peas are just tender, about 90 minutes. At this point, you should have about 2 cups of liquid remaining. 4. Add rice, cover, drop heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, undisturbed. 5. Remove from heat and let steam for an additional 10 minutes, still covered. 6. Remove lid, fluff with a fork, and serve.
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718-698-2200 | realestateplanninglaw.com WE KEEP YOU ON THE RIGHT PATH
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Who Is Sherlock Holmes? Helping Your Kids Make New Year’s Resolutions The Curious Case of Roy Pearson’s Pants Should You Create a Trust? Hoppin’ John Enter 2020 With an Organized Computer
ORGANIZE YOUR FILES Naming and arranging the files on your computer in such a way that they’re easy for you to find can end up saving you a lot of time. Declutter your workspace by creating one file for pictures, one for Word documents, one for spreadsheets, and one for programs to eliminate the hassle of frantically searching for the files you need. BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER Be sure to back up your computer before you start deleting things. This acts as a safety net in case you delete something you didn’t mean to. Additionally, consider installing a second hard drive. The extra space can help with storing important files without having to worry about how much room is left. CLEAN UP SPACE Any files you’ll never use again should be deleted. Likewise, any programs you haven’t used in a while should be uninstalled. Check your hard drive for files that might be taking up unintended space on your computer. And remember to empty the recycling bin — it’s easy to forget just how much goes in there. CTRL, ALT, DELETE YOUR CLUTTER Tips for National Clean Up Your Computer Month
Everyone relies on technology. Computers, laptops, tablets, and phones are staples of modern life. However, it’s easy for these devices to become cluttered with old photos, files, and general disorganization. Luckily, January is National Clean Up Your Computer Month and an excellent time to get your technology in order. START BY DUSTING Over time, computer towers can become clogged with dust, which creates additional, unwanted heat within your computer. Regular cleanings will increase the lifespan of your computer and protect its essential components. Compressed air is great for removing most of the dust and other particulates. If the fans or filters are too dirty, you can remove them from the tower to clean them better. If you use water or liquid cleaning products on them, be sure they are completely dry before placing them back into your computer.
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