Chapter 8

College was a lot of work for all of us. It was a challenge for me but I excelled. Most of my electives in art were, of course, photography. The Pregnancy series got me a lot of good recognition in the art circles.

Beth was struggling, being pregnant and studying. She was having a lot of morning sickness. Annette didn’t seem to have that yet. We would see how long that lasted. We made it through the first semester without a major problem. The second was tough, but only because of the pregnancies. Thank God the babies were not due until summer vacation.

That happened to coincide with the copyright infringement lawsuit against the paper. It was an open and shut case. No matter how the defense defamed the two of us, the suit was not about whether I deserved anything or not. It was about publishing a paper and making money without paying the artist for his work.

That cost them a lot, but the blatant printing of material that was not authorized by me for release was the real killer. The paper pointed the finger at the FBI, and strangely, the paper found itself under so many federal indictments that it made their heads spin. I was awarded one week of the paper’s total gross sales for my part. Beth only got one day.

Now that might not sound like a lot. But remember I said gross sales, not net profit. The paper’s insurance only covered the first million; the rest nineteen million came out of the paper. They really should have gotten a signed release from me before they printed them.

Mom, well she sold the house and moved in with her girlfriend. Grandpa had a heart attack over it, but not a real one, thank God. I think he changed the will leaving me as the only one to inherit anything. Not that mom had anything to worry about. I was a good son, and I would always make sure she lacked for nothing. It was strange that he had such a double standard though. I mean I had two girls in my life and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that they were a bit more than overly friendly. Then again, I was a guy. I think Grandpa thought it was great I got two women but my mother? Well, she was a bad example to me. I tell you it was nothing but a stupid double standard.

The girls were born two days apart. We named them after my first two daughters, Amy and Debbie. I thought it was so sweet of the girls to do that. Even Annette’s dad softened to me when he held the little bundle of joy in his arms. He had to admit that I was taking care of his daughter. Good thing he’d never seen the pregnancy photos I did in college. Well, two pregnant women engaged in sex would have given him a heart attack for sure.

Beth’s mother traded off with Annette’s mother to help us care for the kids the first month. After that, we were on our own. Of course, the neighbors complained about crying babies at all hours of the night. I guess the wild parties they had at all hours of the night didn’t count as a problem.

The property manager for the four-plex we lived in, Jack, told us to keep the kids quiet or move out. Now, how does one stop a baby from crying when it needs to cry? Just what did he think we could do to stop it? You got me! Maybe the owner should put in soundproofed walls. That comment got us an eviction notice.

Ok, I was miffed and did the one thing that so far has worked the best for us. You guessed it! We called a lawyer. There was little he could do if the owner wanted us out, he advised us to look for a new apartment. That was easier said than done. Apartments would be plentiful in two more months at the end of the semester but right now, they were kind of in short supply.

Annette suggested, “Why not just buy a house? We are going to be in the area another seven years at least.” Beth seconded her and to tell the truth, it was a good idea. Well, if we could find a house that was already empty, we could get closed quickly because this was going to be a cash deal. Only ten million was locked in long-term stocks, and between the three of us, we could lay our hands on about three and a half million in short order. Not that we would need that much. I don’t think there were even many million-dollar properties in the area.

The five of us descended on the campus real estate office that Saturday morning. We ended up with a nice young college-aged agent named Sue. Sue was fascinated that we were a triad. She wanted to know what one I was married to. That was different. Normally we just got weird looks. When I said neither legally, Sue said that we could have problems with joint ownership. She suggested we form a partnership and have that company purchase a property when we found one. Great, I thought, back to the lawyer’s office for more paperwork.

She took us out and showed us three properties that morning. By then, we had established that it was a cash deal, and the price didn’t matter, they were the three most expensive places currently on the market. The problem was we liked them all. The first was $500,000 and had an indoor pool area that screamed buy me. The second was only $400,000 but didn’t have the pool. Other than that, this one was already furnished, and it had been tastefully done. The third place was $380,000, had an outdoor pool, and was also well furnished. We just couldn’t decide which one we liked better.

Of course, during the tour, Sue learned more about our apartment plight. Well, we were shocked when she said the four-plex we were in was also up for sale. And the price was only $120,000. Since the apartments were rented for one thousand dollars per month, each, that was technically four grand a month. Even if you had a mortgage on the place, you could still clear three grand every month.

That’s how we found ourselves in the real estate business. Sue thought the whole idea was hilarious. She backed us all the way on the plan we came up with. She so impressed us that we decided to hire her as our personal property manager. But first, we needed to pull off the coup. We offered the asking price for the 4-plex under an undisclosed corporate name. Sue had suggested that she would just say that the incorporation was pending and that we couldn’t give the name until we were sure what it was going to be.

Monday, we walked into an attorney’s office. Yes, we didn’t even call for an appointment. Sue had recommended him as a bright new attorney, who was just striking out on his own. The place certainly looked like he was just getting started ... folding chairs in his office waiting area? Come on that was tacky in and of itself. The secretary was an old lady. I think she was his mom.

She called out, “Sweetie, you have some potential clients out here.”

Lance stuck his head out the door and looked us over. Then smiled when he saw the two children. He came out and introduced himself and took us back into his office. It only took us a few moments to explain what we thought we wanted. Yes, that’s right ... what we thought we wanted. Then he started asking very pointed and personal questions about our relationship. He explained that he needed to know this because of the potential of us splitting up and how he should structure the corporation. Didn’t we ask for a partnership?

“Excuse me?” I asked, “I thought we were talking about a partnership?”

He smiled at me. “Yes, we are doing just that. The difference between a partnership and a corporation is just the size, for the most part.”

I looked at him with that questioning look in my eyes.

He smiled back, “If all you ever buy, is the one place, a partnership will be fine. However, if you do more than that, the tax structure of a corporation would work better for you.”

I looked at the girls and they were as confused as I was.

Lance continued, “Also since each of you would own equal shares ... well, let’s just say if you broke up in the future, the corporation would still be there, and everyone could continue to benefit from it. If one of you wanted to sell out the others would have the first right of purchase before the person could offer the stock to the public, so to speak.”

I thought I could see where he was going with this. It occurred to me that each child could be given shares when they were born and inheritance taxes could be avoided. Then I had another idea and almost fell over backward at my brilliance. “Lance, could the corporation be set up in such a way that it would function like a marriage?”

The word marriage had always worried the girls because ... let’s face it, they both worried I would choose one of them over the other for the official marriage.

“Tim, what are you talking about?” Annette asked first.

“Well, if I understand correctly, a corporation acts like an individual.”

“That is correct. It is considered a legal entity, in the eyes of the government,” Lance said.

“Then, it seems to me that if we all own equal shares in a corporation, the corporation could act the same way as a marriage does as far as legal matters are concerned.”

“Interesting! I see what you are thinking, and you know what, I think it would work,” Lance said, then he looked at the girls and added, “As long as everyone is willing to accept it as their legal marriage, it would.”

“Tim? Are you saying you just figured out a way for all of us to be married, legal like?”

Lance broke in, “It would be as close as current laws would allow. You see, marriage is viewed by the law as nothing more than a partnership. A corporation under this idea would be viewed the same way.”

I was glad he had worded it that way.

“Yes!” the two girls said in unison. I laughed and soon we were all laughing.

“So how long to set it up and what will it cost?” I asked.

“Hum, well to tell the truth it will take me a few days to review the corporate laws and then a day to write up the letters of incorporation. Then there is the name search, and we’ll have to do up a business plan, as a statement of operations for the federal trade commission.”

Ok, he was losing me with all the things that needed to be done. I held up my hand and stopped him.

“That sounds like a lot of work. How much of it can you do and how much do we need to do?”

“Except for a meeting or two to explain how it works, I can do everything but pick out the name.”

I smiled. At least it was not going to interfere with our class time. “Well, that’s good, so the bottom line will be...”

“Let me think ... Oh, heck. I can have it done in two weeks. It’s not like I have any other clients at the moment. Say $5000.00 and $120 per corporate meeting that you need me to attend.”

“Need you?”

“You need to have a ‘Corporate Attorney of Record’. That means I must be on a retainer. The law requires at least one meeting a year. So, I am giving you a bargain. Of course, if you need more advice or representation during the year, I will bill that at $120 an hour.”

Prior experience with lawyers told me this figure was more than fair. I looked at the girls. They nodded their agreement, so I pulled out the checkbook and started writing out a check for $10,000.

When I handed it to him, I said, “I have included a retainer of $5,000.00 that you should bill your extra time against. Just send me a statement and when we need to give you another 5K, I will do so.”

Talk about ‘making Lance’s Day’! He was almost falling all over himself, now. Then I dropped the eviction problem on him.