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The Nest


A funny and acutely perceptive debut about four siblings and the fate of their ...
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Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

Created: 03/26/17

Replies: 19

Posted Mar. 26, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

Leonard Plumb set up the trust so that it would become available to each of his children when the youngest turned 40. What do you think of his plan? Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?


Posted Apr. 02, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Navy Mom

Join Date: 04/12/12

Posts: 294

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

Leo should never have gotten the loan. He had money, he should have had to spend his own. The way the Nest was set up was crazy. It actually created tension between the siblings. Why would they all get the money at the same time even though they were different in age. I didn't like the mother. She did not protect her children.


Posted Apr. 02, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kimk

Join Date: 10/16/10

Posts: 889

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I was fascinated by Francie's willingness to give Leo the loan. Maybe because he was the eldest, and consequently the one she "knew" the best? She'd been such an absent, uncaring parent that I'm amazed she didn't think that Leo just needed to figure it out on his own.


Posted Apr. 02, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
somanybooks...

Join Date: 04/02/17

Posts: 22

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

The trust was a good idea no matter when it paid each of the four beneficiaries...of course, you wouldn't have had the same story if it had paid out chronologically to the siblings. "The Nest" made for an interesting test of
everybody's values and what good they might achieve with a handsome little windfall in middle age. Leonard wisely let them find their own way into the world without benefit of the money, but the safety net did not really help all of them. I was not surprised that Francie bailed out Leo with most of the fund even though she could have done it with her own money. Too bad nobody realized Leo had resources he selfishly hid from all.


Posted Apr. 02, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
vivianh

Join Date: 11/14/11

Posts: 160

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I think Francie paid off to protect herself and the family from adverse publicity. Leo should have been lef to figure it out for himself. Leo was a loser and Francie enabled his addictive, boorish behavior. But it was short sighted that all of the siblings relied on the concept of the Nest to justify bad judgment.


Posted Apr. 02, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
audrey1

Join Date: 09/02/13

Posts: 43

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

No. In some way each of the siblings lived a lifestyle based upon this cash windfall. That set them up to put more meaning on it for their lives than was good. On the other hand, Leonard must have been out of touch when he named Francie as the executor. If their had been a non family member named as executor, this would not have happened. Each of the siblings would have been consulted before Francie loaned the money to Leo.
In his way Leonard did not use his intelligence when it came to family matters.


Posted Apr. 02, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Lois Irene

Join Date: 01/20/16

Posts: 76

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I think that the trust achieved the opposite effect in many ways of what the dad had in mind. Each of the children approached it differently, but it had a dramatic effect on the way they planned their lives. The loan was just so inappropriate. The mom shouldn't have allowed it. Leo should never have taken it, knowing all along that he had the off shore money available. What a creep he was.

I think the dad would have been better off to have hired a lawyer to handle it and to have had the money doled out upon the birthday of the youngest as a surprise to all.


Posted Apr. 03, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
susiej

Join Date: 10/15/14

Posts: 363

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

Trusts are, I guess, usually created to (hopefully) make the lives of those receiving them better - I mean, they are created, with good intentions, to make the receivers' lives better. In three of the four sibling's cases, I think this occurred - just not in the way the father may have intended. But thank goodness for that! Yes, the loan circumvents George's original purpose, but that turned out not to be a bad thing in that the gifts of personal understanding and insight will enable three of the siblings to live more successful and happy lives in the end.


Posted Apr. 03, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
marys

Join Date: 05/24/11

Posts: 59

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I agree with Vivanh's opinion of Leo (loser, with addictive, boorish behavior). I was dismayed that Francie "lent" him the nest money without consulting the other siblings. However, money seems to create the most tension in all families so it was a good vehicle for the author to use to advance the story. I completely think that giving Leo the money circumvented the intent of the trust. That said, it all seemed that the parents (George and Francie) were pretty terrible parents so who knows what his true intent was!


Posted Apr. 04, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
annar

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 114

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

The loan should not have been given to Leo. He needed to be responsible for his actions that caused the accident. The mother gave him the money because it made her feel like a "good mother." She wasn't.


Posted Apr. 04, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
elainew

Join Date: 08/28/15

Posts: 15

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

The Interesting part about the trust was that it was set up to provide a small amount of money to his children and then the trust grew to a much larger amount and that is when the children started depending on receiving it some day. But of course that is what started the main story of the book.


Posted Apr. 05, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
melindah

Join Date: 12/25/12

Posts: 52

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

The intent of the trust was not to set them up for life. George just wanted a little something to pass on to his children. But, ultimately, the trust was his and Francie's. As a mother, remember, she has no idea Leo has all this off shore money either, she is trying to maintain the reputation of her family and save her child. As generally misguided and self centered as she was, I think she would have done the same thing for whichever child found him or herself in that situation. It's just maddening to us because we know all of the terrible things Leo is, she and the siblings have only a limited understanding. The other siblings were also in the wrong, just not as overtly; all but Bea built their lives on the assumption they would receive this windfall. They lied to one another, and their spouses; they manipulated one another, and their spouses. They had set themselves up to depend on money that wasn't theirs. They were all awful when they discovered they weren't going to be saved from their own choices.


Posted Apr. 06, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
aleksandrae

Join Date: 02/25/14

Posts: 40

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I don't think the trust did what it was meant to. It became something that everyone lived their lives around. Something that drove their spending behavior and their mental attitude toward spending. To me the trust was set up as a gift to perhaps make life a little easier as they aged but instead it did nothing but create arguments and distrust. Personally, I would never have given Leo a portion of the trust to cover ridiculously insane behavior. It would have been one thing to give a loan if a family member was sick or unemployed. It was altogether ridiculous to pay for a complete cover up of his indiscretions.


Posted Apr. 06, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dorothym

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 37

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

Not sure what Leo's intentions were but a trust that allows people to think they don't have to manage their responsibilities is generally a bad idea and certainly giving the mother the opportunity to show favoritism was a mistake. Thought this was a really good caution tale about the damage you do to your children by giving them (or in this case promising them) too much.


Posted Apr. 15, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccak

Join Date: 05/26/12

Posts: 78

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

To me, it seemed like what Leo received wasn't as much a loan as it was an unfair portion of "The Nest." Their mother didn't take actions to ensure Leo paid back the money, and I'm not even sure whether Leo really needed the money in the first place. He seemed to have more money than his siblings. If the money was meant to provide for everyone equally, I certainly don't think it did that.


Posted Apr. 17, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
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patriciag

Join Date: 07/11/14

Posts: 69

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I think the trust was intended to be what every parent wants to do for his/her child/children. We all want to provide for our kids and share what we've been able to accumulate in a fair, even-handed way. That said, Francie was the worst choice as executor. She seems to have no idea how to best help her adult children grow; she seems to care less what happens to any of them once the scandal is out of the way via the loan. I think the trust ended up by keeping all four siblings as dependent juveniles despite their ages. Their only chance of becoming true adults occurs when the trust is no longer the safety net they'd come to depend upon. A cautionary tale about the destructive power of money.


Posted May. 04, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
scottishrose

Join Date: 07/24/11

Posts: 220

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I don't think the trust did what it was meant to do. It was meant to provide a little extra for each of the children when the youngest turned 40. The intent may have been carried out better if the four of them either weren't told about the trust until it paid out or if they had never been aware of its true value. I don't think it was a problem for Francie to give Leo the money. After all, Leonard had set things up so she could access it in an emergency. But I do think that Leo should only have gotten what his share was worth at the time of the accident and what was left should have gone to the other three.


Posted May. 04, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
scottishrose

Join Date: 07/24/11

Posts: 220

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I don't think the trust did what it was meant to do. It was meant to provide a little extra for each of the children when the youngest turned 40. The intent may have been carried out better if the four of them either weren't told about the trust until it paid out or if they had never been aware of its true value. I don't think it was a problem for Francie to give Leo the money. After all, Leonard had set things up so she could access it in an emergency. But I do think that Leo should only have gotten what his share was worth at the time of the accident and what was left should have gone to the other three.


Posted Jun. 06, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
audrey1

Join Date: 09/02/13

Posts: 43

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

No. Francie should have gone to the other siblings and asked their thoughts about giving Leo the loan.
It is not so much the money but that she gave it Leo without a family discussion. Between all of them, someone would have come up with a compromise to get Leo at least part of the money he needed without the other siblings having to pay for it.


Posted Jun. 06, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
audrey1

Join Date: 09/02/13

Posts: 43

RE: Do you think the trust did what it was meant to, or do you think the loan given to Leo circumvented George's original purpose?

I think in someways the trust became a Golden Calf that impeded each of the siblings.


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