Franklin Sears
Pics above from the mid and early 2000s. This will be a tribute page to my friend, who left this world on Dec. 10, 2021. It will have a few great Frank stories, some answers and timeline of events for his circle of friends and beneficiaries, and an outline of the legal happenings around his estate which I headed up the defense of as his chosen Executor. And GREAT information on wills and probate law in Texas I’ve learned, as it applies to contests from long-estranged family.
1. TRIBUTE
This guy, right here. An absolute legend. You were allowed to pass on December 10, 2021. A good team fighting for the charity you asked to happen after you were gone made it happen, almost as you wished. Good has come of this, my friend; the best of you lives on in good lives and hearts. I encourage all who knew him to gather a handful of the good earth Frank loved, sanctify it in your own way, and toss it into the wind as if setting something sacred free. I encourage those who didn’t know him but are feeling loss in your lives today to do the same. And if you are struggling with addiction, to reach out for help with mental health too, to approach it from that way as well and feed your wellness from its roots. Know you too are loved and cared about. Please love and care for yourselves, and for each other. Feed the birds in peace but face the raptors like warriors. One of Frank’s favorite albums is Bob Marley’s Legend. May it both heal and encourage you to take the stand you’ve been given and be strong.
2. DEPARTURE
For Frank’s circle of friends, his real family as chosen by him, we all know of Frank’s struggles in the last years of his life as the pandemic kept him isolated and increasing legal issues from his slip-ups tied him from traveling. Please, through these details, always remember Frank for the good man of kindness and integrity he was - just making some poor decisions while battling addiction - and not the other Frank, OK?
The details posted here are public and Frank would tell you himself. He owned his slip-ups. And now that there is another party who swept in but didn’t get what they wanted from Frank’s estate, it’s important for the truth to be preserved. Frank was arrested after a traffic accident caused by his being impaired, and brought to jail. While there, he had a seizure and was taken to the hospital. He caused such a scene there - but still able to answer the legal coherency questions - that they had no choice but release him. He attempted to walk home on a busy road and was struck. He was readmitted with a catastrophic head injury and never woke up. As his friend - “trusted friend of over 20 years” he wrote - he never mentioned any living family to me that was relevant to him. I knew he came from DC, had a horribly abusive childhood, and left them all behind as a young man. He made brief mention one time of his mother passing, but that was it. I never asked.
I was one of his go-to people when he needed things done. Rides to the doctor, house-sitting early on when he’d travel, go check on his renters and collect a rent check when he was out of the country. My number was the one he gave as next of kin for doctors and hospitals, in case of emergency. It was my number in his wallet that weekend, and I got the call from the hospital. Despite the paperwork I’ll talk of next, I was unable to get the hospital to remove him from life support after they determined he was never going to wake up - a state Frank specifically wrote he did not want to linger in. That only happens when the official form is filled out, or by next of kin. The hospital spent days trying to find any relatives and could not locate any.
Every day, who went to the hospital? Me. I had a will and a written bunch of requests and instructions. I showed this ALL to the hospital to establish who I was in this scene and get Frank’s wishes known. Over time he had talked about wanting to help people with his stuff, and about a year earlier he left that to me to do - in his own writing, by his own will, in a hand written (“Holographic”) will, and then in several pages of clarifying instructions I asked him for once he told me I was “Going to handle everything.” “You know what to do with it.” This was a one page WILL leaving his home and personal property in my hands, and INSTRUCTIONS when I asked for specific organizations and individuals he wanted the house money (the house was to be sold) given to, and his wishes should he become incapacitated, and for the handling of his body.
These papers were openly presented to, and copied by, the hospital. But I was not able to help with Frank’s lingering in a comatose state. As I reached out and communicated with his circle, an old friend mentioned he had sisters and knew how to contact them. They passed this info to me, I passed it along immediately to the social worker at the hospital, they were contacted, one contacted me, and they came to the hospital and authorized his removal from life support.
They came in and took charge of the hospital dealings, and possession of Frank’s remains. He was cremated as he requested, I had supplied the hospital and the sisters with recommended choices for that locally. I did not publish public obituary of his death because they were now involved and obviously - from body language on - looking to take control. Plus, being in Frank’s life and understanding his property situation (something estranged relatives out of his life for decades would not), he had renters and un-securable buildings and security was a concern. I figured this would all form up quickly into a plan and those could be addressed. I did not form any kind of celebration of life party at that time because Frank wished his ashes be handled a certain way by his friends, and I was not in possession of them yet. (NOTE: Texas law is that kin, whether you hate them or not, has rights to your remains.) Plus a party would have been inappropriate given the man’s struggles with alcohol that ultimately killed him. And that was not my job.
In the hospital, when no staff was around I performed a quick ceremony over him with Native and Buddhist elements; his way of seeing this life had those in it. So he got a proper ceremony. Also, I was communicating with social and case workers, nurses and surgeons, financial department, Frank’s tenants, just doing what I was asked to do BY FRANK. Upon meeting his estranged sisters, one who is an attorney, I told them as his executor I’d be happy to work with them.
3. ESTATE
Frank had a house on a desirable piece of land that he had built over many years. It needed work and additional systems that would be expected in a place of the value it became. Other than that, some old bicycles, a non-running truck, a crashed car in the hands of an impound yard, and some books and thrift store clothes, Frank didn’t own many possessions. He had a quarter-full storage unit with some odd art and used furniture and rugs from the house he rented out. He had a dilapidated RV trailer he lived in.
4. THE BATTLE
I retained an attorney and filed for probation of the will. The sisters contested the will, claiming every manner of anything they could possibly accuse me of under the sun. Short answer, they wanted it all. But their accusations were one by one with the help of a second litigation attorney proven false. It was a two year fight. During which they did turn over some of his ashes, and he was ceremonially released off the back porch of his house, as he requested in writing.
5. THE AGREEMENT
Agreement was reached that the family get Frank’s personal items. The home and property were held as his estate and, as Frank wished, sold by third party administration, with ALL funds being distributed proportionally to the organizations and individuals FRANK wrote out. The sisters shrewdly negotiated for “residuals”, the amount left over if the assets are more than listed total beneficiary payments… they were so sure it was a fortune property and that was in the end what they fought for, to be last in line. Showing how much they knew about Frank, his house, and his belongings.
6. RESULTS
The house sold, but the sale didn’t cover his written amounts to give plus the expenses, directly because of the legal fees they instigated trying to come in and grab it all for themselves (which do get reimbursed); everyone who mattered took a little percentage haircut on the numbers, but there was nothing left. So Frank’s estranged family walked away with nothing from it. I was not involved in any way in the sale, third-party administration is what happens in these cases. Left to me, everything would have been sold and settled in 60 days at a peak time in the market, everybody would have gotten envelopes and anything left would have been donated. That’s not how it went. But Frank’s wishes prevailed.
Lessons, will advice and more detail coming soon!
And for his sisters, who I’m sure will read this…
”May you be blessed with all you deserve.”
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