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The Ballad of Jackson Clyde

In the Chester District Registry   1932

No 50 64 34D

Whereas by Will did Billy Smith decree
That all he had should go to charity
Let all men by these presents know
The Court does not agree
And it is Ordered so:-
He gives it to his family
And since they all are dead and gone
(And no-one traced his only son)
It falls into the Treasury
By Grant de bonis non

1952

In the High Court of Justce
Now I Order this:
Chester Order set aside
Costs to grandson, Jackson Clyde

1954

In the Bedford County Court

Clyde v Clyde

Now I herein do so decide
Subject to this, and costs aside
And hereinafter and hereby
That Jackson Clyde did tell a lie

Great wealth he had and yet he chose
To waste his time with dominoes
At home he left his fragrant wife
And gambled drunk away his life

Wherefore I first his funds Mareva
And then I give a moiety
Unto his good wife Eva
Because he did deceive her
With Mistress Hoity- Toity


1956

In the Crewkerne Petty Sessions

Jackson Clyde of no address
We know you are the swine
Who gave our daughter "lessons"
We don't like your weedling whine
And our strong sons like it less


!956 Legal Notices

Take notice (in the Evening Standard)
That Jackson Clyde has foundered
Creditors will have a feast
And innocents he fleeced
Must write the Official Receiver
In Bankruptcy;the chief of these is Eva


!957

In the Snaresbrook Crown Court

You say you didn't strike your wife
We say you bloody did
You stabbed her with a carving-knife
And then her body hid

You thought her dead and didn't know
That somehow she'd survive
Else you'd have struck another blow
So she'd not then revive


The influence of speed and wine
Did play their part, we do opine
Your history's a sad one
Your ex-wife says you once were kind
Your action was a mad one


So though you are a danger
And though we very much fear
Some violence to a stranger
We'll give you just a year


1958

In the Court of Protection
In the matter of Jackson Clyde

Since he cannot manage money
And since he's barking mad
(His clothes are very funny)
He loses what he had

 

To be continued and properly revised
















Author notes

A Mareva Order was used to freeze assets

The Court of Protection deals with the affairs of those who cannot manage their own affairs because of mental disorder

A Grant de bonis non in English law enables the unadministered estate of a deceased to be administered; in the event that there are no close relatives, the money goes to the Crown, and the Treasury Solicitor deals with that.

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Comments

1 - 9 of 9

  • malmadre gold member
    November 15
    ?
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    Old court records and deeds bring to light all the shenanigans of their day, and then the grudges are carried through generation after generation. I found this an amusing and entertaining poem. A novel idea to write of.

    • abu nuwas
      November 16
      ?
      Edit | Reply

      thanks

      It is in much need of repair and I intend to go back to and do it properly. But then that applies to a great deal of what I have written

      E

  • That's very interesting. I didn't know all of that though I do have a friend (who has currently disappeared) whose affairs are managed by a Trustee. Her mother is quite wealthy so I suppose those monies will be managed by the Trustee also, in the fullness of time.

    It's quite a saga. I didn't realize the man was mentally ill but it set me thinking about Bleak House because the legal proceedings went on and on.

    • abu nuwas
      July 28
      Edit | Reply

      Dealing with the affairs of the incapacitated adult

      How's that for a mouthful! You see, I used to be the nasty man who said to people 'Yes, you may have an extra allowance for the purchase of a new coat' or 'No, you may not'. I was powerless on the black-sack question! I think in Canada you deal with these matters via a Public Trustee. I have to say, that from time to time, I came across people, where I wondered why they were not managing my affairs, rather than the other way around!

      Bleak House! Oh yes! One used to see people hanging around the Courts year after year, and Dickens actually knew the area v well, and refers to various streets around there, and 'The Old Curiosity Shop' still stands (just round the corner from what until recently was the Public Trustee Office) with floors at the strangest angles. But I had cases which put Dickens in the shade! In one instance, one of my predecessors had been appointed to sort out a tangled web, and proceedings had been going on for 27 years when I last knew -- it all hinged on a person who was alleged to have been killed in a Zeppelin raid on London in 1917, but who had in fact emigrated to the US. There were substantial funds there, but just as they were to be paid over, an American Trustee would die, only for it to become apparent that he had been defrauding the estate. Ah, happy days!

      I recall when I started thinking how Kafka-esque the whole business was, and wondering why more people did not violently object. As time went by, I realised that for some people, it was a great relief -- they would have ceased to pay bills, even though they had plenty of cash; they would not have claimed all the state benefits, at which I came to be an absolute whizz, and so summonses would be coming through the letter-box, or bailiffs and such. To say nothing of relatives whose intentions were not good- and there were plenty!

      TC
      Edward


  • Cynewulf
    July 27
    Edit | Reply
    Very clever. I think this is a great work in progress & could develop into something even better.


  • rbruce gold member
    July 25

    Edit | Reply
    English Law is more peculiar than any I have had the misfortune to deal with. It would seem that without an ironclad will the state will eventually get whatever there is. A bit confusing but then so is the !#!#!! law. Love the way you were able to progress this piece along a time frame.

    • abu nuwas
      July 25

      Edit | Reply

      Jackson Clyde

      It is not as bad as that! if one does not leave a Will, then the estate is administered according to the Intestacy Rules -spouse, if no spouse, children, if no children parents, if no parents children of parents, and so on out to Ist cousins, howver removed, ie children of a cousins are once removed etc, But children of cousins to children of cousins is no good: they are second cousins, and do not take. So the State only gets the goodies, if there is simply no-one. I think it must be similar in Australia.

      I do not believe in the 'ironclad' Will (or Lease for that matter). By trying to cover all the bases, the result frequently is more to argue about. I'm all for simplicity - in legal stuff,and in poetry..But thanks for wading through it!

      • rbruce gold member
        July 25
        Edit | Reply
        My limited association with legal stuff has always meant that I pay. Even when I won a case it cost me more than I was awarded to take it to court. I am most definitely biased against all things legal.

      • rbruce gold member
        July 25
        Edit | Reply
        My limited association with legal stuff has always meant that I pay. Even when I won a case it cost me more than I was awarded to take it to court. I am most definitely biased against all things legal.

1 - 9 of 9