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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 52
TOPICS
Topics: Wills and estates, “no big deal/whoop,” primordial soup, trouble vs.
problem vs. issue vs. situation, answer vs. response vs. reply, though, device vs.
gadget vs. gizmo vs. contraption
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GLOSSARY
will – a legal document with instructions on what to do with someone’s money
and property after they die
* When I made a will, I decided to leave some money to my close friends as well
as to my family.
estate – all of the money and property owned by one person who has died
* No one knew that her estate was worth over $2 million until after her death.
to inherit – to receive money or property when someone else dies
* My aunt told me that when she dies, my brother and I will inherit her house.
heir – the person who will legally own a property after someone else dies
* The family lawyer asked all of the heirs to meet at his office for the reading of
the will.
to cut (someone) out of a will – to not allow someone to get your money or
property after you die
* It was a surprise to everyone that his grandmother cut him and his entire family
out of the will.
to contest a will – to dispute a legal document with instructions on what to do
with someone’s money and property after they die
* Edward was surprised to hear that his sisters were contesting the will because
they thought it was a fake.
no big (deal/whoop)! – it’s not important
* Even though Lena was very disappointed when Manny canceled their date, she
told him that it was no big deal.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 52
trouble – difficulty; a bad situation
* We broke the neighbor’s window and now, we’re in big trouble.
problem – a bad situation that needs to be solved or fixed
* What was that loud noise in the kitchen? Is there a problem?
issue – an important topic
* There are three new issues we need to discuss at today’s meeting.
situation – a problem
* Can you come into the office right away? We have situation here with a group
of very unhappy employees.
response – a reaction to something; an answer to something
* What type of response do you expect when you suddenly tell your parents that
you have a new wife?
reply – saying something in response to what someone else has said
* If you want a reply, you have to ask me that question seriously.
answer – something that is said or written to respond to a question
* The answer to that math problem is in the back of the textbook.
gadget – a small machine or tool
* With this new gadget, I can open my car door and start the engine without a
key.
contraption – a machine that looks strange or that is too complicated, often
badly made or unsafe
* I don’t plan to ride in that contraption. It just doesn’t look safe.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 52
WHAT INSIDERS KNOW
“In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” – Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin is one of the most important people in American history. He
was one of the “Founding Fathers,” or one of the men who signed the original
documents to form the United States and who were leaders in making the U.S.
independent of Britain. He was an important “diplomat,” who represented the
U.S. in other countries, and shaped how people saw the U.S. through his political
activities and writings.
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706, and he became a
newspaper editor and a “printer,” or someone whose job is to print books and
papers. He wrote and published many books and articles, and is well known for
the interesting and clever things he said and wrote. This quote, “In this world
nothing is certain but death and taxes,” like many of his other quotes, is still well
known and used today. The meaning of this quote is that people can never be
sure about anything in life except that they will die and that they will have to pay
taxes. He is, of course, making a joke and a statement that the government
makes everyone pay taxes, no matter who they are. Many people have
developed their own versions of the quote. For example: “There is nothing
certain in life but uncertainty.” And, “In this world nothing is certain but change.”
Benjamin Franklin is also well known as a scientist and “inventor,” or someone
who creates new things. He made many discoveries, but he is probably most
well-known for his theories about “electricity,” a form of energy.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 52
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
You're listening to English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café
number 52.
This is English Café number 52. I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you
from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles,
California.
On today's Café we're going to talk about wills and estates, or what happens to
your money when you die. We're also going to, as always, answers some
questions. Let's get started.
Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com. You can find there information
about our Learning Guide. This is a ten page or so document that gives you all
of the words we talk about, the vocabulary, the definitions, additional definitions,
new information, culture notes, as well as a complete transcript of this podcast.
Well, today's topic is not one that many people like to think about, and that is
what happens after you die. What happens to the things that you own: your
money, your house perhaps, your car, your laptop computer - all of the things
that you own. In most countries, there are laws that say what will happen to that
property, and we use property here, “property,” to mean everything that you own.
The reason I'm talking about this is that there have been some famous stories in
the United States, famous cases, in the last six months or so about famous
people and what happens to their money when they die. Usually, in the United
States, if you have money or a house and you want that property to go to
someone specific, you will write a will, “will,” and a will is a legal paper, a legal
document, that says what you want to happen to your money and to all of your
possessions - everything that you own - after you die.
In a couple of famous cases recently there have been some surprises about
famous people who have died and what they find in the will after the person dies.
I'm thinking in particular of one actress, Tori Spelling. She was in a television
show that was very popular 10, 15 years ago, or more, called “90210” - “Beverly
Hills, 90210.” And, that was a show about rich kids in a high school in Beverly
Hills, which you may know is the most...one of the richest places in the Los
Angeles area.
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English as a Second Language Podcast
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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 52
Well, what happened was that Tori Spelling's father, who was a very, very
wealthy man - I think he had 500 million dollars - he had a will and he decided to
leave very little money to his daughter, Tori. The expression, to leave your
money, means that you are saying, “I want that person to have my money.” So, I
thought it might be interesting to talk little bit about what happens when you die,
not whether you go to heaven or somewhere - or for some of you, the opposite
direction - but what happens to your money, especially in the United States.
Well, I'm not an expert, I'm not a lawyer, but I did a little looking - a little research.
In the United States the government gets involved, we would say, the
government is part of the process after you die in terms of what happens to your
money. And, the reason for this is very simple: the government wants to charge
you taxes, even after you're dead. The word that we used to describe the money
and the property and the things that someone owns is called an estate, “estate.”
The word, estate, means all of the things that this person owns when they die.
If you have a will, you bring the will to the court, to a judge, and that court is
called a probate court, “probate.” At the probate court the judge looks at the will
and makes sure that everything is correct, and then you can distribute the money
and pay the taxes and all the other things that might be in the will. You have to
pay your taxes regardless of whether it's in the will or not, although most people
in the United States do not have to pay what is called an estate tax, at least not a
federal estate tax. Only very rich people have to pay a tax. But, some states
make you pay a tax. Remember we have two levels of taxes in the United
States: we have a national or federal, and we also have, in most states, a state
tax system.
If you die without a will, you still - or the people who are left in your family - still
have to go to the government, they still have to go to the probate court. And their
money is then divided and given out based upon certain laws that that state has.
So, in most states, for example, if you are married to someone, your wife or your
husband will get your money if you don't leave a will. Sometimes people write a
will so that you will not get any money. The verb to get money means one
someone dies to inherit, “inherit.” To inherit money means someone who dies
has given you - we would say has left you - some money. If you are someone
who got money from someone who died, we would say that you are an heir. The
noun heir, spelled “heir,” - it sounds just like the air you breathe, “air,” but it's a
different spelling. The person who gets money from someone is called an heir.
So, you inherit money - that's the verb - and the person gets the money is called
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