Don’t act like (she paused to switch up her words), don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talk’n bout….you didn’t know”? I wasn’t sure if this was some kind of manipulation tactic to persuade me to keep staying at the hospital to care for Poppy or what but, I was going to do what I could regardless. I really didn’t know what she was talking about. After she said it the third time on the way up the elevator, I knew she was serious yet, I had no information on me being the heiress of anything.
My Poppy and I spoke briefly about his will, meaning I had only asked him if he had one, after realizing how iffy some of my Aunts and Uncles were. He responded by saying, “I do”. It was the same day he told me about an insurance policy he had together for me in my name- he said it was enough to take care of what needed to be taken care of. He told me he had insurance policies on all of his kids. Anyhow this conversation I had with my Aunt Linda happened when my Poppy had spent his first few days in the hospital, weeks after he was transferred to a pain management center. His knees were giving out- it was the decades of military service as well as the decades of postal service, feet to ground time delivering mail. Many miles were put on those legs, knees.
Quick flashback … .Before moving into my apartment in 2009, I was living with my Grandparents, as usual when I needed to get me and my finances right again. It was hard to watch him walk, his movement became slower and slower. Meaning, as he walked, the steps became shorter and shorter while his leg movement was even slower. He knew it and I knew it. I hated it. And I couldn’t do anything about it.
Back to the night I looked up my Grandparent’s address on the County’s Website….
Wait, Wait……I have an announcement. I didn’t write this post all at once. It’s been two weeks since I posted. I felt like if I told my story, I’d feel better. The fact is, I’m 41 and no longer in my 20’s, soo much time has gone by. I live in my Brother’s partners’ house, with her two kids as well as my brother and Ma’. The fact is, yes, I was treated unfairly but, what do I do now? I forgive and move on. Yes of course but, I’m still going to share my story. Once I’m done, I’m done.
Oh guess what? I just found out that my Grandparents house has been sold for around $180,000 to $200,000. I heard that it was sold so I looked on Zillow for the estimated amount it was sold for.
Affidavit Of Heirship
Anyhow, that night I looked on the county clerk’s website, I found an Heirship Affidavit of Earl Wallace Thomas, my Poppy. It was signed by Erica M. Hairston- my cousin and Aunt Joan’s daughter. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before but, Joan was the Power Of Attorney (POA) of my Grandfather at the time, she was also the POA of my Grandmother who recently passed away as well. The Heirship document listed all of his deceased and living children. It wasn’t the kind of document Erica would just create on her own then take to the county clerk’s office to be notarized, then recorded. Erica was and still is known to move, act and speak at her mother’s will- it’s pretty much always been this way, a bit eerie really. Ask the “family”, they’ll tell you the same thing. This isn’t just an opinion, this is fact. This was something she was definitely instructed to do.

I just literally looked up the definition of an Heirship Affidavit. It actually blows my mind abit. An Heirship Affidavit or Affidavit Of Heirship is a sworn statement averring that someone is a decedent’s heir under a state’s intestacy law and is entitled to inherit some or all of the decedent’s property. Now tell me something, why would Erica create a document like this? This was a document that Joan AND her daughter created. Erica’s address was listed as that of my Grandparents, which was a lie. She never lived there, ever.
There were a few things that stood out to me on this document. The first, as stated above, she listed her address to be that of my Grandparents. Second, the language she used made it sound like they were well acquainted, not true, they barely spoke. Grandma on the other hand was very acquainted with Erica and her mother. Third, there was one question out of three- did the descendant leave a will? Two letters in capital and bold stated, NO. This is definitely a LIE. Thereafter as I had mentioned before, it listed all living then deceased children. The document was notarized on November 12th 2010, three to four weeks after my Poppy passed on. He passed over on October 22nd 2010.
Wouldn’t it make sense for all eight of his living children to get together to create an Heirship Affidavit? Why would Joan and her daughter create one, notarize it then record it at the County and not inform any of her siblings? I’ll go into the reason why I’m asking why she didn’t tell someone another time.
An Honorable Man
I’d like to tell you a little about my Poppy, Earl Wallace Thomas. Or, my perception of my Poppy. He was/is a sweet man. Poppy was a bit reserved and pretty much stayed to himself. He didn’t go out much unless it was time to grab groceries or pay a bill. Literally lol. He had one friend from the lodge that would come over once and a blue moon to go over paperwork. This man would always come over with a briefcase. We called him Mr. Lotty (I’m not even sure if that’s how you spell his name). My mother told me the other day that Mr. Lotty passed over as well. To this day, I wonder what this paperwork actually was. My Poppy didn’t say much but, when he did, it meant something. I was raised by my Grandparents but with my Ma’ as well. They were the first faces I saw when I got here. Poppy did so much for my Brother and I. So much so that it seemed a few of his adult children in the family didn’t think it was right.
Poppy was a bit reserved while my Grandma’ was the opposite. She was very talkative, then and now (that’s another story). He loved to watch movies, movies with hidden meanings, just like me. One thing I noticed about my Poppy was, he was VERY ORGANIZED. He kept all of his paperwork and documents in files, files that were categorized in his computer desk/cabinet. He also kept documents and files in separate safes. I saw it, I lived with him, I know. Ask anyone in the family, well, don’t ask Joan.
Poppy served in the United States Air Force then retired. He served as a United States Postal worker then retired as well. He was also part of 2 or so Masonic families. My Poppy was/is an honorable Being. The way he was treated before and after he passed was horrible- believe me, there’s more. But, the way they made him look incompetent with his estate is pure evil. They stole from him, they stole from us.
My Aunt Joan conjured up this scam, it was all a lie. He told me he had a Will, I know he did. Also, Joan, the POA, you know the one who was in charge of all of his important documents including his finances, purposely let his insurance policies lapse when she was supposed to keep them current. Again, why would Joan and her daughter create an heirship affidavit when there were seven other of his sons & daughters that, truthfully, it should’ve been theirs to create. Why would Erica lie and say she lived there with my Grandparents???? WHY? Why didn’t anyone know this was going on???
But, Ofcourse Joan, the POA of my Grandfather at the time, knew what she was doing. She wanted to make sure an Affidavit, which is usually taken as “fact” within the court, was created to have some sort of blind proof that my Poppy did not have a will, right after his passing and without the other siblings knowing about it.
They Stole His Gold
Oh, I forgot to mention…. There were family members that stole his gold. He left his gold bars within a safe, the safe was cracked open. I was not living there at the time but, Joan and her daughter had flown in to “help” while Poppy was in his sick bed. There were a few other family members that were there that shouldn’t have been. My Ma’ was there so, I didn’t feel too bad but even so, I didn’t like what I saw…. I would come to visit while on break or after work to see him in the hands of thieves. One day I came and noticed he was being handled a bit too roughly and was told to “shut up and get out”. It was my cousin Rodney. What the hell was he doing there?
To be Continued….
