LOUISE FOWLER SPEAKS UP

This is a reblog

DO NO HARM?

How do you measure harm?  So much of us is hidden behind a smile.

Who can you trust to NOT willfully, deliberately and consciously do something that will change your life forever.

I propose, sadly, NO ONE!

In the quotes and italic print are statements made in a court of law.  I will offer inserts of my perception.

This is about THE HOUSTON CLAN, my mother Mrs. Angela Houston and her husband Dr. (Bob) George F. Houston.

What they did to me will come later, their collateral damage, when they found they couldn’t get what they wanted from harassing our parents.

“My late husband and I were married for 34 years prior to his death.”     

“On September 4, 2003 my late husband and I purchased a condominium at 206-2277 Oak Bay Avenue, Victoria, BC….”

“On July 22, 2005 my late husband executed a Power of Attorney naming myself (Angela Houston) and his son, James Gregg Houston from a previous marriage jointly and separately as his attorneys……”

“Subsequent to the aforesaid execution of the Power of Attorney, on March 12, 2008 my late husband revised his Power of Attorney and I became the sole attorney with my late husband’s son James Gregg Houston (Dr. James) becoming my husband’s attorney should I be unable or unwilling to act as his Attorney…..”  Mrs. Houston does not recall why her husband decided to make this change; but in reflection there are suppositions we can now make. Later blogs will address this.

“My late husband’s son, James Gregg Houston has since December 5, 2008 attempted to change the intent of his late father’s (prior to Dr. Bob’s death) will by asking your affiant (Dr. Bob and Angela Houston) to sever the joint tenancy on our residence…… ”

“James Gregg Houston, initiated a letter from a Solicitor, David A. Humphries.” David Humphries drafted a letter to Dr. Bob and Mrs. Angela Houston, requesting an amendment to Bob’s will. In part, the letter said,

“…..I wish to clarify that the main two assets of both of you are the condo held in joint tenancy and the securities portfolio, also held in joint tenancy. What joint tenancy means is that when the first of you pass away the survivor ends up with the entire interest in the condo and the portfolio.   Three steps would be taken: was David Humphries suggestion by Dr. James to Dr. Bob and Angela. ” 1. Dr. Bob Houston would sell his half to himself for a dollar (or Mrs. Houston) This servers the joint tenancy.  Now the condo is still registered in both names but now both of you are no longer “joint tenants”. You are what is called “tenants in common”. Now what happens is that on the death of, for example, Mrs. Houston, her half no longer passes automatically to Dr. (Bob) Houston as the survivor. Now her half passes to her estate and therefore passes to the beneficiaries in her Will.  Therefore, regardless of who died first, one half would go to one side of the family and half to the other side. 2. Basically the same for the portfolio. 3. Write a new will.”

Mrs. Angela Houston, after 34 years of marriage, is being asked to forego her spousal rights should her husband die first so that his 4 adult professional children can have their inheritance right away. Since it seemed clear that Dr. Bob would likely pass first they were scrambling to get their share upfront with no regards for their step-mother who had done everything for their father and them. This would deprive Mrs. Houston her own money.  When they married Angela paid  off all Dr. (Bob) George F. Houston’s debts incurred as a result of paying for the education of his children prior to their getting married. She paid out of the money she brought into the marriage 3/4 of the expenses for 3/4 of their marriage.

“My late husband and I never discussed changing the intent of our wills prior to his death from liver cancer from which he died on May 8, 2009.”

“I am shocked and deeply hurt by the actions of James Gregg Houston….”

“My late husband made a will, I, in turn, made a similar will (Mirror Wills) to that of my husband in which the residue was to be split between our two families.” 

“……I do remember the suggestion (made by David Humphries for Dr. James) of how we should change our wills. And I don’t think we even replied to it because Bob and I spoke about it and we were very happy with our first wills. We couldn’t see any point in changing it. We didn’t want to change it….. We figured it was just up to us to say what we wanted to do.

“Did you understand what (Dr. James) James was trying to do?  “No” (said by Angela Houston.)

Now,  Dr. James tried ambushing Dr. Bob and Angela into going to yet another lawyer to get them to change their wills.  That didn’t work for they didn’t want to.  Dr. James and Shelagh took Dr. Bob for tea and tried talking him into betraying his wife. This is what they built their case on.  They said Dr. Bob agreed to their proposal.  They have never produced one shred of evidence that indicated this was the case.  Dr. Bob could have written something on a table napkin and signed it in front of the restaurant owner (friend) as a witness; they did not do that.  David Humphries office was just upstairs from the restaurant but they didn’t call him down to officiate this transaction, why?  Because Dr. Bob Houston adored his wife. Dr. Bob did NOT agree to this (please see my 1st post) Bob new that his wife had paid for most everything over the years and this man of character would never ever have done what his children wanted in this regard.  It is too bad his children had so little respect for their father they would ask him to betray his beloved wife. Then later lie saying he did while producing NOTHING.

The HOUSTON CLAN which is the 4 adult professional children and their spouses harassed my mother and Dr. Bob to such an extent Dr. Bob’s and Angela’s lawyer had to threaten an “injunction” if they didn’t stop this abuse.

When they could NOT get these 2 old fragile people to cooperated with their agenda to deprive the other of their spousal rights they tried another tactic.

“After much tooing and froing about the issues raised by Dr. James through Mr. Humphries it was agreed that matters would rest as they were and sent a letter dated January 29, 2009“

“April 14, 2009 appears to have been an important date in the egregious conduct of Dr. James towards his father and his wife.” James Gregg Houston filed the first Power of Attorney in the Victoria Land Title Office under FB258952. He did not advise his father or his wife of this action. 

“On April 22, 2009, unbeknowns to Dr. Bob and his wife (Angela) James Gregg Houston filed a Form A – Freehold Transfer in the Victoria Land Title Office under No. FB261090 severing the joint tenancy in the property and creating a tenancy in common.”

“My late husband went into the hospital on April 27, 2009 and was then transfered to the hospice within a week from his hospitalization.  My late husband died.”

“A few days before my late husband death James Gregg Houston using the first Power of Attorney attempted to remove his father from the hospice.  The use of the first Power of Attorney made little if any sense to me at the time until I realized in hindsight the significance of that attempted action given the use of the first Power of Attorney at the Victoria Land Title Office some days earlier.”

“Subsequent to my late husband’s death I attended at the Victoria Land Title Office to delete my late husband’s name from the title to the family residence and was advised by a clerk that the joint tenancy had been severed by James Gregg Houston on April 22, 2009 less than 3 weeks before my late husband’s death without consultation with your affiant (Angela Houston) and using a prior Power Of Attorney……”

At hearing this my mother, Mrs. Angela Houston, collapsed and cried until she was spent. She was almost 89 at the time.

This, sadly, is only the beginning.