Chapter 23 - The Trust MeetingAt eighteen, Juniper attended her first formal trust meeting.
Naomi was still our attorney.
Older.
Sharper somehow.
The independent trustee explained assets.
Juniper saw the total.
Thirty-six million dollars after growth and recovered funds.
Her mouth opened.
“That’s stupid.”
Naomi laughed.
“Technical financial term.”
Juniper looked at me.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
“Roughly.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Age-appropriate information.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Convenient.”
Then we showed her Mara’s trust documents.
Original.
Amendments.
The attempted Mercer loan.
The safeguards added after.
She read silently.
Finally:
“Mom did all this?”
“Most of the original planning.”
“She trusted Aunt Tabitha.”
“Yes.”
“Then changed her mind.”
“She was trying.”
Juniper nodded.
“People are allowed to update decisions.”
Exactly.
She asked:
“What do I have to do?”
“Learn.”
No sports car.
No mansion.
No immediate distributions.
Education.
Financial literacy.
Philanthropy.
Taxes.
Investments.
Juniper groaned.
May you like
“Money is homework with commas.”
Willa had succeeded.
