Part I: The original contract.

My mom kept the family house in Phoenix, but spent a lot of time on a big ol' boat at a marina south of San Diego. The marina was a great place, where she made a lot of nice friends. It was a great crowd of people who shared a love of boats and a warm and winning joi de vivre.

Mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006. She kept up a brave and happy face, but it was apparent over the next year she was failing. In the summer of 2007 Joel agreed to buy the boat from her. A few weeks later, she left the marina for Phoenix for the last time.

Here's the contract they wrote up and signed:


Basically, it says he was buying the boat for $60,000, payable $1000 per month. There's a 5 percent late fee for each late payment, and an interest rate of ten percent per year.