Estate Planning Vault

Romeo & Juliet at 84: Tragedy at Playful Acres of Verona

In Shakespeare's great romantic tragedy , the star-crossed lovers were barely teenagers. Today, similar dramas are playing out among aged lovers - dramas that often end in tragedy too.

Romeo Montague, 84 and Juliet Capulet of the same age first met in the Sunnydale Assisted Living Residences and fell deeply in love. They never felt the need to get married. Years later, together they moved into the Playful Acres Nursing Home in Verona when their requirements were more than could be safely provided at Sunnydale.

One day about a year after the move, Romeo found his beautiful, silver-haired Juliet on the floor beside her bed and quickly summoned help. Juliet was taken to the emergency room unconscious, with a weak pulse. It was determined she desperately needed a medical procedure to relieve pressure on her brain.

There were no surviving relatives left in her family, but the nursing home told the doctors Romeo was a special friend and that their relationship was as strong as any marriage and longer than most. Sadly, the doctors shook their head and said Romeo had no legal standing and he could not give permission for the procedure. Further, as a non-relative, he could not even be allowed into the ICU to see her. Without the procedure, Juliet slipped away, leaving her stricken and bewildered Romeo. But our story doesn't end there.

Juliet had told many of her friends and staff, that if she died before Romeo, he was to inherit her small stock portfolio and a decent bank account, but there was no will. Once again, their non-married status prevented Juliet's wishes from being carried out. Her portfolio and bank account were liquidated and Romeo didn't even get the keepsake emerald ring on her finger she was wearing when she died. He had given it to her twenty two years before.

Sad? you bet. The lesson - make a will.

NOTE: The names and places are fictional, but the situation is real. Apologies to the Bard.