Chapter 22 - The Vermont Lawyer
Noah Pierce, a Vermont attorney experienced in guardianship matters, met Miriam and me by video. He kept a map of the state pinned behind his desk.
“First, separate the child's care from the investment trust,” he said. “Related documents can create overlapping duties, but a co-trustee dispute doesn't automatically decide where a child lives.”
I felt both embarrassed and relieved. At the Plaza we'd spoken as if Vanessa's signature could transfer custody by lunchtime.
Noah had reviewed a certified copy of the guardianship appointment. Adrian remained Leo's legal guardian. Vanessa was seeking judicial review, with a temporary hearing scheduled. Neither an emergency petition nor an email alert changed the order by itself.
“What about the trust?” I asked.
“A separate fiduciary issue. The instrument names a mechanism for deadlock and replacement, but the terms and the applicable law must be followed. We won't use Leo's wellbeing as a shortcut around either.”
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After the call, I made two columns in my notebook. One read Leo: people, school, care. The other read Trust: signatures, accounting, duties.
I had thought Adrian's world was complicated because he had made it so. Some of it was complicated because children, estates, companies, and courts were separate things, even when rich people preferred to bundle them into one argument.
