“Here is where we stand,” Adrian told me, plainly.

“The deed is real and it is yours.

But if your mother claims your father was incompetent when he signed, and the notary can’t quickly confirm otherwise, this can turn into a long, expensive competency fight that drags on for months.

There is, however, a way to cut the legs right out from under her defense, cleanly and immediately.

If your father voluntarily signs a sworn affidavit confirming that he was fully competent and fully aware when he made the transfer, her entire argument collapses.

If he refuses, or if he sides with her, we are in for a long fight.” And so it came down, as these things so often do, to my father.