Squared Away (Out of Uniform 5)

Aunt Louise piped up her same tired offer, “We could do the oldest—”

“We are not splitting the kids up.” Isaiah glared at them both. “They are not puppies. You don’t get pick of the litter. They’re a family.”

“Dani and Cal wouldn’t want them split up.” It was the first Mark had spoken since their mad dash to the lawyer’s office, but his voice was hoarse, as if he’d been talking for hours. “Let’s settle down and see what they said in the will.”

“And that’s the problem.” Mr. Yates let out a dignified huff. “There’s not just one joint will. We’ve got two competing wills. Mrs. Whitley-Underwood wrote a will five years ago, after the deaths of her parents, and at that time there was only one child. That will establishes that Mr. Whitley—Mark—retained half ownership in the family home, as per the terms of their parents’ will, and it also names him executor of her estate. We’ll talk more about the complexities surrounding the family home in a moment. But relevant here, as to the child, she expresses a wish that Mr. Whitley be named guardian.”

“Whoa. Wow.” Isaiah couldn’t stop the words from popping out. He’d been at the hospital with Cal and Danielle. Been there for Daphne’s first smile, her first steps, when she’d became a big sister twice over, and it hadn’t even occurred to Danielle that he might be a better choice than an always-traveling SEAL who’d distanced himself from the family? The last week and a half now, he’d just assumed...

But wait. Before he could let the hurt win, he managed to speak. “You said there were two wills?”

“Yes. Mr. Underwood—Callum—wrote a will five months ago, one that names all three children. He expresses a wish that Mr. James—Isaiah—be named guardian. The language suggests that his wife shared this wish, but he’s the sole signatory on the will.”

Well. Thank God. Someone had some sense. He released all the air from his lungs. “So that one wins, right? It’s more recent?”

“Well, this is where it gets complicated. Even if the wills agreed, it’s a suggestion—short of joint guardianship, it’s not legally binding. The court will, of course, consider the wishes of each parent and the provisions of the will. Because certain financial provisions of the wills are in conflict with each other as well as with the wills of the Whitley parents’ estate, we could be looking at a lengthy probate for the assets.”

“And for the kids?” Isaiah really couldn’t care less about the money or the property. Give that to Mark. He and the kids would deal. “If I petition for guardianship, how long are we looking at?”

“Three to four months. Maybe longer. The court is always backed up. And if Mr. Whitley—or anyone else—is going to contest the guardianship, the court will order a full investigation for the best interests of the children. And because the children in this case have substantial assets, the court could choose to order one guardian for the physical well-being of the children and another for their assets.”

Assets. There was that word again that Isaiah was starting to hate. “Are you saying the court could give me custody but make Mark or someone else in charge of their money?”

“Exactly. And that might not be a terrible idea in this case. Mr. Whitley understands the finer points of the family trust and will have to arrange for the sale of the family home, if the probate court does find the children have an interest in the home, and the establishment of a new trust for the children with those proceeds. But that can’t happen for at least four months, until the wills make it through probate and the court approves the sale.”

Having two separate guardians was an awful idea, and just the suggestion seemed to mean that no one in the room found Isaiah trustworthy with large sums of money, but he needed to put the kids first, not let his temper get the better of him. “It’s the only home the kids have ever known. Does it for sure have to be sold?”

“Well, that’s a conversation Mr. Whitley and I will have to have at length. His parents’ will comes into play here, and there’s an interpretation where the house passes directly to Mr. Whitley.” Mr. Yates was fast proving himself to be an even bigger pompous ass than Mark had been that morning about the whole driving thing. “There’s a lot of nuance there, but in the interim, he could choose to allow the children to remain at the home.”

“And me,” Isaiah added. “I’m going to apply for guardianship. That’s a given here, okay?”

“And I’m not abandoning them either. If Danielle wanted it to be me...” Mark sucked in a breath, shoulders stiffening. “Then I better at least think about it.”