Estate-plan preview opens a real can of worms

Advertisement

Advertise with us

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I recently told my sons, who are in their early 20s, how my will is planned out. Now they are fighting. They’re upset about everything — who gets what and how much, who gets the family house and so on. It is unreal how immature they are behaving and every time they visit, it ends in a big fight.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/10/2022 (1403 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I recently told my sons, who are in their early 20s, how my will is planned out. Now they are fighting. They’re upset about everything — who gets what and how much, who gets the family house and so on. It is unreal how immature they are behaving and every time they visit, it ends in a big fight.

I’m sick of it and I told them if they kept this up they would get nothing and everything will go to charity. That kept them quiet for a week, but now they are back to fighting. I have read this is common, but I don’t know who to turn to. I don’t want to involve a lawyer as that will cost money.

— Father of Three, St. Vital

Dear Father of Three: There’s an excellent reason why wills get read out after a person dies. Instead, you wanted to play ‘god’ and witness your power over your three sons to see their reactions before you were gone.

Now you really do need a lawyer who specializes in wills, because you stand to really strain relations with one or more of your grown children over this.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I’m worried my wife is turning into a hypochondriac. She’s in a constant state of paranoia about her health and is always going to the doctor, asking for more medication, and making a huge deal out of everything.

I think there’s actually very little wrong with her, but I cannot get through to her. This all started after she retired three years ago. I think she has little else to focus on. What can I do? It’s become very difficult to listen to her.

— Sneering Husband, Fort Richmond

Dear Sneering Husband: Sneering at her hypochondria is not going to stop it. Putting some energy into helping her find some kind of interesting pastime or volunteer work she’d be passionate about could be the ticket to get her out of this depressive funk. Maybe even a return to some kind of work she enjoys would be a good move. She may find something that lights her right up, and your problems will ease.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I feel pretty inferior these days. I lost my job recently, and had to take the first one available. My wife is a professional, and she earns a lot of money. I used to make a lot as well, in sales. It’s hard to find jobs in my field, especially at my age.

My wife says it doesn’t make a difference to her, and she loves me, but I can’t help but feel like a loser. What can I do to get out of this funk? My wife used to feel proud of me — not sorry for me!

— Heart and Head Hurting, Winnipeg

Dear Hurting: The economy is just starting to heat back up after the lows of the pandemic, but if obvious jobs for your background are still not available, you may need to segue into sales in another area, bringing your experience. Alternatively, this could also be the right time to look at other employment areas that interest you. You might really enjoy a different second career.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6.

Maureen Scurfield

Maureen Scurfield
Advice columnist

Maureen Scurfield writes the Miss Lonelyhearts advice column.

Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts
Advice Columnist

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Transcona councillor faces new sex assault charge

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Preview

Transcona councillor faces new sex assault charge

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:40 PM CDT

A city councillor charged with sex assault earlier this year faces new sex charges in a separate incident, in a case Winnipeg’s mayor called “deeply concerning.”

Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt, 56, was charged Monday with sexual assault and administering a noxious thing with intent to aggrieve or annoy over an October 2023 incident.

Allegations of a 2023 assault were reported to the Winnipeg Police Service in April, a month after Wyatt was charged with sex assault in relation to a 2025 incident.

In the 2023 incident, a man told police he become acquainted with Wyatt through a website in July of that year and said they met in person on more than one occasion.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 6:40 PM CDT

Mom grieves loss of daughter, 4, on Long Plain First Nation

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Preview

Mom grieves loss of daughter, 4, on Long Plain First Nation

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Yesterday at 7:29 PM CDT

The mother of a four-year-old girl killed and two other children injured on Long Plain First Nation said she raised concerns about their care months before her daughter’s death.

Read
Yesterday at 7:29 PM CDT

A Winnipeg home with a mountain view? You won’t find a real one, but AI-generated visual suggests otherwise

Gabrielle Piché 6 minute read Preview

A Winnipeg home with a mountain view? You won’t find a real one, but AI-generated visual suggests otherwise

Gabrielle Piché 6 minute read Yesterday at 6:03 PM CDT

Manitoba’s mountain range peeked out behind a Scotia Street home.

At least, it did in a photo attached to a real estate listing for 232 Scotia St. in Winnipeg’s (flat) Seven Oaks neighbourhood.

Another picture — now removed — showed a cartoon cityscape viewable from the bungalow’s front porch.

Both photos had tags in their bottom left corners: “AI-generated content.”

Read
Yesterday at 6:03 PM CDT

Jarvis brings Stanley Cup to where it all began

Grace Penner 5 minute read Preview

Jarvis brings Stanley Cup to where it all began

Grace Penner 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 10, 2026

Seth Jarvis and Lord Stanley had quite the homecoming celebration with thousands of fans lining up for their arrival — some even before the sun graced the sky.

The Winnipeg community showed up to cheer on one of their own, wearing memorabilia of all of Jarvis’s achievements, with Tuxedo Lightning, Team Canada, and Carolina Hurricane jerseys aplenty in the crowd.

The Tuxedo Community Centre — where Jarvis’s storied career all began — had fans from all walks of life lined up, circling the building and fields, for the opportunity to meet the Stanley Cup champion and touch the trophy themselves.

Throughout the line, lawn chairs were assembled, picnic blankets were spread out, and umbrellas were opened — all prepared for the long wait ahead of them.

Read
Monday, Aug. 10, 2026

Signs the Carney approach is working

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Signs the Carney approach is working

Editorial 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

It was, if nothing else, a glowing review in trying times.

Matt Winkler, the editor in chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, spoke last week on Bloomberg Business News Daily about a recent Bloomberg analysis of the performance of the Canadian economy, and this country as a target for investment

“This is one of the greatest periods for overseas investment in Canada that we’ve seen in the century, and it may be unprecedented, because we have to wait for the rest of the year. … Money is pouring into Canada like we have not seen from everywhere. Stocks and bonds are the obvious beneficiaries,” Winkler said. He argued that Canada is both liked and seen as reasonable.

“The point is… Canada since Mark Carney became prime minister in 2025, has outperformed everyone in America and also the Eurozone and anywhere in the world. The 10 largest stock markets in the world, Canada appreciated the most, more than 40 per cent. … Its bond market is also doing great, partially because the inflation rate in Canada, unlike the Eurozone or America, is actually trending lower, and is outperforming both the Eurozone and the U.S.”

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Fun drop-in last chance to mentor grads of inner-city school with excellent track record

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

Fun drop-in last chance to mentor grads of inner-city school with excellent track record

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Summer break may be in full swing, but Gonzaga Middle School invited graduates back to the building for water balloon fights and academic, employment and support services this week.

Roughly 30 alumni, including teenagers and twentysomethings, stopped by the grades 6-8 school in North Point Douglas on Tuesday afternoon. They were greeted with slime-making kits, ice cream sundaes and staff ready to answer questions.

The initiative — the final grad drop-in organized this summer — is a new extension of the mentorship and holistic programming baked into the funded independent school’s mandate.

“We have 22- and 23-year-olds coming back and checking in and asking for help on their university papers,” principal Rex Ferguson-Baird said.

Read
2:00 AM CDT