In the Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite #3)(50)

“As long as the divorce continued, she had something to hold over Tim’s head.”

“But I’d imagine going to trial would be expensive for both parties,” Kins said.

“It already was expensive, but, yes, once you step foot in court, the price escalates quickly. Since the fees come from the estate, though, Tim would bear much of that burden.”

“How big was the estate they were fighting over?”

“Not all that much in the scheme of things. Roughly a few million dollars. Tim owned a rental property before they got married and never put Angela on the deed of trust, but Angela was alleging they’d used community funds to fix it up and that she was entitled to a percentage. She also accused Tim of hiding money.”

“Was he?”

Holt smiled again. “No. Tim wanted to get this resolved. He was reaching a breaking point emotionally. I was the one telling him to hang on.”

“What do you mean, ‘reaching a breaking point emotionally’?”

“Angela had worn him down pretty good. Tim was ready to just throw in the towel, give Angela what she wanted, and move on with his life. It isn’t uncommon in divorce proceedings, but often the person who caves ends up regretting it. I kept telling him not to rush, that it would play out, that he’d already given Angela the house.”

Tracy had been taking notes. Upon hearing the latter comment, she sat up. “What do you mean, he gave her the house?”

“Tim had agreed to let Angela keep the house so Connor wouldn’t be displaced from his home until after graduating. He was worried about Connor’s emotional well-being.”

“He was just giving her the house?” Tracy said.

“No, not exactly. We were proposing a settlement in which Tim would get the rental unit outright and be compensated for his share of ownership in the house with other assets. Basically, it’s just a matter of how you balance the assets in each spouse’s column.”

“The home wasn’t being sold?” Tracy asked, remembering that the night she’d arrived she’d gotten that distinct impression from the condition of the yard and the interior.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Holt said. “That would have gone directly against Tim’s wishes and the interim agreement we’d reached pending final resolution.”

“What agreement?”

“Angela had to get Tim’s consent to sell, and anything obtained over the appraised value at the time of separation would be split at the time of sale.”

“You have a copy of that agreement?”

“I do, and I can get a copy to you.”

Tracy nodded to Kins to let him know she was through. He said, “We understand that Mr. Collins was also redoing his will.”

Holt slid documents across the table. “My partner was creating a trust for Connor. It isn’t uncommon in a divorce. Tim was also changing his personal representative from Angela to his brother, Mark, and appointing Mark as the trustee of his estate.”

“Practically, that means that if anything happened to Tim, his estate would go to Connor, with the brother keeping a watch on it, not Angela,” Kins said.

“Correct.”

“Angela wouldn’t have any right to any portion of that trust or control over how the assets were distributed?”

“None. The brother would serve as a trustee until Connor reached the age of thirty-one, or he deemed the trust was no longer necessary.”

“Thirty-one?” Kins said. “That seems really old.”

“Tim didn’t want Angela to have any ability to get at the money, if anything were to happen to him. Connor isn’t the strongest personality. Tim wanted his brother to remain involved to ensure the money went to Connor—for his school, a down payment on a house, whatever. Tim wanted restrictions. By thirty-one, most of the estate would have been distributed.”

“But that new will and trust were never finalized?” Kins asked.

“No. Tim was coming in that Friday to sign everything and have it witnessed.”

“The day after he got shot?”

Holt nodded. “Yes.”

“So what happens now?”

Holt shrugged. “Everything goes to Angela as the surviving spouse, and she remains the personal representative.”

“Even though they were separated?”

“Even though they were separated.”

“And it is against Tim Collins’s express wishes.”

“His express wishes don’t matter without a signed and witnessed new will.”




Kins was quiet on the drive back to the Justice Center, appearing to be deep in thought.

“We should call local real estate agents,” Tracy said. “To find out if Angela spoke to any of them and when. When are we supposed to get her cell phone and computer files?”

“Cerrabone said Berkshire promised them any day now.” Kins looked at her. “You think that’s where the forty-five thousand dollars went?”

“Sure looked like the property was being fixed up to sell,” Tracy said.

“She was depleting the estate to fix up her asset.”

“One way to get more money out of him, and if she turned around and sold that asset, she’d get the full benefit.”