Nov. 20, 2009 Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry Nov. 19, 2009 Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes) Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics Nov. 18, 2009 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes) Nov. 17, 2009 Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations? JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung Nov. 16, 2009 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes) Nov. 13, 2009 JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes) Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity Nov. 12, 2009 The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes) Nov. 11, 2009 Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes) Nov. 10, 2009 Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes) Nov. 9, 2009 Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes) Nov. 6, 2009 Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes) Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man Nov. 5, 2009 The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes) Nov. 4, 2009 Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered? JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes) Nov. 3, 2009 Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes) Nov. 2, 2009 Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes) Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review May 5, 2008 / 30 Nissan 5768 Accepting what partners, spouses and advisers tell you about your financial situations By Jan L. Warner & Jan Collins http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Q: I am a 75-year-old woman who is in quite a pickle: My second husband and I were married six years ago. We owned a condominium together, or at least I thought we did. We each paid half of the down payment, and each month, I paid half of the mortgage. I trusted him to look after all of the business, and he told me he had been to a lawyer and that I should not worry about anything. When he died in 2007, he willed what I thought was his half to me. But I have now learned that that he left me a "life interest" and gave the rest to his daughter, with whom I have never gotten along. Not long after he died, she had her lawyer write and tell me that I am responsible for the mortgage payment, the taxes and insurance, not to mention the upkeep and appliances or she will charge me rent. I would like to know the rights of the person who lives under "life interest." Does my stepdaughter have any responsibility to pay half of major upkeep on the property and the mortgage? Can she charge me rent? If I want to sell the property, can I do it? I don't think I can live under this pressure A: First of all, while it may be too late for you to recover from taking it on the chin, your dilemma should raise major red flags to all of our readers who, for whatever reason, choose to accept what partners, spouses and advisers tell them about their financial situations and refuse to become involved. Second, based on the facts as you state them, the lawyer who created this Frankenstein plan for your husband did a disservice to both you and your stepdaughter. Why would anyone put two people who don't get along in business with each other? For whatever reason, that is exactly what your husband's lawyer did. Here is where you appear to stand: A "life interest" and "life estate" are interchangeable terms describing the ownership of real estate during your natural life. This interest automatically ends at your death, meaning that you have nothing to pass on at your death to your heirs. As the life tenant, you have the right to live in the property for as long as you live. During this time, you are prohibited from committing "waste," that is, from damaging or devaluing the condominium because, in effect, your ownership interest is not permanent, but only temporary while you are alive. Therefore, you are generally responsible for taxes, insurance, repairs and upkeep to the property from your pocket. At your death, what was your life interest will merge with your stepdaughter's "remainder interest," thereby vesting full and fee simple title in your stepdaughter. About the mortgage: It appears from your e-mail that you and your husband both signed the note and mortgage. Therefore, you and your husband have financial obligations to the mortgage company. At his death, it would appear that you and your stepdaughter would each be responsible for half the mortgage payment. In that your husband left you a life interest, your stepdaughter can't charge you rent. If you decide to move out, you can rent the property and collect the proceeds from which you will still be responsible for half the note payment and all of the upkeep and repairs. Can you sell your interest and move? While your life interest can be valued, the first question to ask yourself is, whom could you find to get into business with your stepdaughter? No one, we suspect. You could try to sell your interest to your stepdaughter, but the value would be substantially discounted. And if you did sell to your stepdaughter or anyone else, you would remain responsible for the mortgage until the condo was refinanced. Taking the NextStep: You have a mess on your hands and need to see a lawyer who might be able to come up with a strategy to reduce your exposure and stress. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. JAN L. WARNER received his A.B. and J.D. degrees from the University of South Carolina and earned a Master of Legal Letters (L.L.M.) in Taxation from the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a frequent lecturer at legal education and public information programs throughout the United States. His articles have been published in national and state legal publications. Jan Collins began co-authoring Flying SoloŽ in 1989. She has more than 27 years of experience as a journalist, writer, and editor. To comment or ask a question, please click here. Archives © 2008, Jan Warner

Arnold Ahlert  Mitch Albom  Michael Barone   Dave Barry  Tony Blankley  Andy Borowitz  David Broder  Stratfor Briefing  Mona Charen  Linda Chavez  Ann Coulter  Greg Crosby  Larry Elder  Suzanne Fields  John Fund  Frank J. Gaffney  Lloyd Garver  Jonah Goldberg  Julia Gorin  Jonathan Gurwitz  Paul Greenberg  Lewis Grossberger  Victor Davis Hanson  Betsy Hart  Nat Hentoff  David Horowitz  Laura Ingraham  Cheri Jacobus Jeff Jacoby  Paul Johnson  Jack Kelly  Ed Koch  Ch. Krauthammer  Michael Ledeen  John Leo  David Limbaugh  Kathryn Lopez  Rich Lowry  Michelle Malkin  Jackie Mason  Dick Morris  Bill O'Reilly  Jim Mullen  Clarence Page  Kathleen Parker  Dennis Prager  Wesley Pruden  Tom Purcell  Jonathan Rauch  Celia Rivenbark  Robert Robb  Cokie & Steve Roberts  Pat Sajak  Debra J. Saunders  Culture Shlock  Roger Simon  Michael Smerconish  Thomas Sowell  Mark Steyn  John Stossel  Cal Thomas  Bob Tyrrell  Diana West  Dave Weinbaum  George Will  Walter Williams  Byron York  Mort Zuckerman  Robert Arial  Chuck Asay  Baloo  Chip Bok  Dry Bones   Lisa Benson  John Branch  Gary Brookins  John Cole  J. D. Crowe  John Deering  Brian Duffy  Everything's Relative  Mallard Fillmore  Jake Fuller  Bob Gorrel  Joe Heller  David Hitch  Jerry Holber  Steve Kelley  Jeff Koterba  Dick Locher  Chan Lowe  Ranan R. Lurie  Jimmy Margulies  Rick McKee  Michael Ramirez  Kevin Siers  Jeff Stahler  Ed Stein  Danna Summers  John Trever  Gary Varvel  Kirk Walters  How 2  Lori Borgman  The Savvy Consumer  Elder matters  Fixit  Dr. Peter Gott  GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko  Richard Lederer  Tech Maven  Every Monday Matters  Nutrition Myths  Bookmark These  Bruce Williams  How Stuff Works