Father's live-in sued his estate

[seeingred]

I will try to be brief: Father died--his live-in girlfriend of 2yrs. sued his estate for 25,000. Suit stated they had a verbal agreement she would pay for remodeling of his home with the $$ she received when she sold her residence in leiu of rent--Home was remodeled in Oct.'97-she sold her place in Nov.'98 (year after remodeling was done) Second, at the motion for declaratory judgment hearing the only proof she showed was handwritten cash receipts from home remodelor person showing cash was given to the homeremodelor person--was not as to show proof of where she got the $$$ i.e. other accounts she had that could show withdrawals for the specified amount etc.--My father was quite comfortable financially -- he was not the type that would expect to have someone else pay for this--plus, all the remodeling was done before she ever moved in and before she sold her residence--I am positive this is all a lie yet the judge is allowing the estate to honor the suit--Is there any recourse I can take--possibly something like turn around and sue her for theft by deception (which is exactly what she is doing) Any ideas? It really bothers me that the estate attorney didn't look for any kind of paper trail--and the judge didn't even ask for any specifics. TKS

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You should be asking your attorney these questions. I don't blame you for being mad. However, if she provided the court with receipts that she made significant payments for improvements to HIS home, then there may reasonably be an issue of fact that can proceed to court. The standard for declaratory judgment is that the evidence produced by the non-moving party (the "plaintiff") must be viewed in a light most favorable to that party. If that party can establish a prima facie case (a case that, on the surface would support, not compel the conclusion) then the case must proceed. If it does not support the conclusion, then the case is dismissed.

In a light given most favorably to the girlfriend, she produced proof that she paid for repairs done to the boyfriend's house. On the surface, it compels the conclusion that such an agreement may have existed because she did pay cash or had receipts made out to her that she paid them. If the receipts were made out to her then she may not need to prove where she got the money at this stage of the game. Were the receipts made out to her really paid through his bank accounts? I don't know and that is what we'll find out at court.

I'm only offering you one possible explanation for what happened. This could be wrong but the person to best explain it to you is your attorney. I tend to give the attorney and court the benefit of the doubt since, more often than not, I tend to find that there isn't corruption and the bad impression on the layperson is that they didn't understand all the complex rules regarding the reason for the result.

Regarding the "theft by deception," it seems a bit premature. You may want to ask for punitive damages and court costs if you can prove that she committed perjury and fraud upon the court with these bills. As stated above, that is for step two of the case.

 

[seeingred]

My attorney (met with him yesterday) after reviewing all material on what has transpired up to this point came to the conclusion that this whole case from day 1 was handled very poorly and was appalled at the court system in the county this took place--I am my father's only child--and he feels I should not have to fight tooth and nail for what I am rightlfully entitled to by law--He stated I could appeal but of course that can be costly--I need to way the pro's and con's--Right now I'm stuck on "the principle" and I know I must not let that affect my future decision---My attorney is a long-time friend of my dad's and he knows as well as I do my dad paid for his own home improvements--And, I forgot to mention in initial post--was told by another attorney in the same office of estate attorney 3 days after dad died that the live-in didn't have 2nickels to rub together when she met my dad and when he died--Anyway, thank you very much for your insight

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Unfortunately, I don't doubt your story. Some county courts are abominable and there is good reason why attorneys may wish to avoid them. There is a system to lodge complaints against incompetent judges when justified but it usually doesn't help the victim, only the court system as a whole.

Note that simply because the case will proceed doesn't mean that it won't be over quickly. I wish you luck.

 

[seeingred]

Thank you--With the "kangaroo-court" this whole mess is in I'll need all the luck I can get! I try to keep a sense of humor about the whole thing--it helps me get through it--If you only knew the whole story with all the "twists & turns" and bizarre happenings--including his death--it would make the hair stand up on the back of your neck!!! TKS again

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Kangaroo... don't doubt it. In fact, after seeing what I've seen I'm not sure I'm surprised by much these days! I was part of an estate fight where -- get this -- even after we proved that the conservator of an estate just withdrew funds and put them in her pocket, the judge allowed her nonsense defense to go on for over a year. During that time the true heir, a poor old lady, died, and barely got to see any benefits of the money with which this woman absconded with. I wasn't sure if the judge had just reached dementia or there was some other explanation.

Well... good luck... hope it's a quick case!

 

[seeingred]

That's horrible!!!---And I think I have problems!!! I think my only hope is that if there's someway-some legal loophole--that can be found where I can get this mess into the county court where I live--then I know our justice system will work for me---TKS