Questions About The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. (D.O.D.O., #1)

by Neal Stephenson (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (20)

Is this book appropriate for young adults?

Joby Elliott imo basically any book is. If they're interested in reading let them read whatever they want.

I haven't read this one (yet), but I read my first Neal S…moreimo basically any book is. If they're interested in reading let them read whatever they want.

I haven't read this one (yet), but I read my first Neal Stephenson book when I was about 12 and have been a huge fan ever since. I think I turned out all right.(less)

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Michael Souris

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M. Anderson

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)[You've actually combined two different questions into one. You're actually asking whether there is a legal advantage to (1) having the house in a trust and (2) allowing others to control the trust. I'll answer both questions:

1. There often is a benefit to transferring ownership of assets into a trust. It is usually done for estate planning purposes, and in some U.S. States, can be used to avoid or defer certain estate taxes (taxes imposed when someone dies), particularly when one spouse dies but another lives on. However, trusts generally won't avoid or defer any taxes when non-spouses are beneficiaries. So, generally speaking, I would expect these two elderly persons to have a family trust and to have their house and other major assets titled in the name of the trust, regardless of anything else that happened in the story.

2. There is no tax advantage to giving control over the trust to a non-spouse or family member. The people who control the actions of a trust are called the Trustees. Typically, the terms of the trust control what they can, cannot, must, and must not do. The Trust can give very specific directions to the Trustee, or can allow the Trustee great discretion on what to do with the Trust assets. So, for example, the Trust might tell the Trustee to allow the grantors (the persons who set-up the trust) to use the property as they see fit for their lifetimes. Alternatively, the Trust might tell the Trustee to use the Trust assets to generate as much income as possible, and leave it to the Trustee to decide how to best accomplish that (i.e., by renting the house out or by demolishing the house and bulding an apartment complex).

A Trustee is supposed to follow those instructions, but doesn't always do so, which is why it is important to make sure you select a Trustee that you believe will follow your instructions. Generally, when a husband and wife set-up a family trust, they make themselves Trustees, and they make living parents or adult children who are beneficiaries after them the successor Trustees.

So, in sum, I cannot see any reason why the house would be put into the kind of trust described in the book. Rather, the house likely would already have been in a family trust used for estate planning purposes, and there would have been no reason to change it because of anything that happened in the story.

The more logical thing to do would have been to simply transfer ownership of the book to an LLC or Corporation created to hold and sell it... (hide spoiler)]

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Okay, so I just finished this, and the ending left a lot of possibilities open. Does anyone know if that's because there's a plan for a sequel? (And if so, when it's likely to be released?)

Garrett Seney In case you haven't found out yet, there was a sequel released last year. Nicole took over the story but I'm sure it continues just excellently.…moreIn case you haven't found out yet, there was a sequel released last year. Nicole took over the story but I'm sure it continues just excellently.(less)

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Is Grainne related to Enoch Root?

Rebecca I haven't got the faintest what's the "real" answer to that, but it's a swell question! If they are related, then perhaps Root isn't immortal - as it …moreI haven't got the faintest what's the "real" answer to that, but it's a swell question! If they are related, then perhaps Root isn't immortal - as it seems from his not insignificant appearances in The Baroque Cycle, Cryptonomicon and Fall, which cover the 1600s through the not-too-distant future. Perhaps Root is being Sent in and out of time Strands, as is Grainne, and has friendly witches ever available to him in the same way that she does... He can't be a witch himself, as they are exclusively female, and can't be Sending themselves, anyway. It's a very cool thought. (less)

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