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Discussion Topic: Financial & Emotional Elder Abuse
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Jennifer0308 |
10-26-2009 @ 7:57 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
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The following is the coarse of events I obtained from my friend who suffers on so many levels with no relief in sight. Please read.
In April of 1997 my husband and I created a Living Trust and transferred everything we had acquired in our 40 years together; our home, furniture, furnishings, collectibles, antiques, vehicles, etc. into it. My husband fell sick with colon cancer but before he died in June of 1999, he asked our son and his wife to move into our home and take care of me for the rest of my life. There would be no rent to pay but they would have to help me with paying the expenses of living here, be responsible for whatever improvements and/or repairs deemed necessary to maintain the property’s “well kept” appearance. My husband’s intention was to make sure that I would keep my home and have loving family here with me for safety and security forever. With this arrangement made, my son built me an apartment over the garage.
In or around April of 2000 my son and his wife sold their home in Oregon (at a profit of over $46,000), and sold everything else they had except for some furniture my son made and all of their personal effects and moved into my fully furnished home as planned.
During this time I had been disputing a $10,000 hospital bill which had been ridiculously inflated for the services of transferring my husband from their facility to the Veterans Hospital in Santa Monica California. Their refusal to audit the charges and constant threats to lien my property and force it’s sale to satisfy the debt scared me so that I had my Estate Planning Attorney who had created our Family (Living) Trust draw up the documents necessary to transfer my property’s title into my son’s name for safe keeping until the medical bill issue was resolved. As I was recovering from a recent surgery, I enlisted my daughter-in-law’s help in getting the Deed finished. It wasn’t long before she informed me that it was ready for my signature. I was a little surprised to see my son’s AND her name in the “Grantee” section but I needed her help. I went ahead and signed then recorded it on October 1st, 1999.
As I was a little nervous signing over everything we had worked for in the last 40 years, so I asked her to please make arrangements for the Attorney to provide another quitclaim deed in reversing the transfer back into my name as I intended to get it recorded once the disputed bill was resolved. Over the next several months, then years I periodically asked her to get this to me, but never did get it. I never pushed the issue because I trusted her and they both seemed secure and happy in their marriage. Besides, if she survived me then my son, she would the successor beneficiary anyway.
Within the first few months of our new living arrangements, my Daughter-in-Law purchased a postal store through a business loan secured by an investment CD they had purchased with the profits made on their Oregon home. Although the business took a couple of years before enabling her to make a decent living, she was the “bread winner” and my son was the “Mr. Mom”.
Their “lifestyle change” resulted in a much lower income than expected so I had to go back to work after being a housewife for the last 20 years. For the next ten years they never paid for or at least contributed anything towards paying the property taxes, utilities, home insurance, repair bills, home improvements, etc. as they had promised. They did pay their own auto insurance, car payments, health insurance, credit cards, subscriptions, medical co-pays and the like.
In July of 2006…one month after my grandson graduated high school, my daughter-in-law emptied their bank accounts, moved out and abandoned their marriage of 24 years. In hindsight, her intentions are now crystal clear.
She filed for in October of 2008. Despite my pleas for her to give me my home back, she refuses. She wants us to m*rtg*g* half of the appraised value of my home to "pay her off". Now I am in jeopardy of losing my home as my unemployed Son nor I could not afford a $1500 per month m*rtg*g*. She also claims that she’s entitled to half my antiques, collectibles, vehicles, etc. as well as half of the furniture and furnishings I had bought for their use over the last ten years as she “wants her inheritance”.
The real slap in the face is not only did she pocket $40,000 profit from selling their home purchased a successful business for which she now draws over $80,000 a year. She never contributed any money the whole time she lived here.
After hearing her tell me that she had no problem “going though” me in order to hurt my son and that my property was the “first step”, I enlisted the help of a “quasi-paralegal” who in January of 2009 helped me record a “rescission of deed” citing that I was exercising the “Special Power of Appointment” that was recorded with the Quitclaim Deed, transferring the property back to me. Immediately after recording the rescission, I created a “Land Trust”, appointing my granddaughter as Trustee. The Land Trust Deed was recorded on January 2009. After years of worry and $2,000 of my meager savings I finally got my house back.
Recently I received a final decision by the Legal Department within the Los Angeles County Property Tax division. The concluded that since my property “benefitted” from their Proposition 58 “Exclusion for Tax Reassessment for transfer between Parent and Child” they would not honor my rescission. They informed me that unless “all parties agree” to the rescission, they would need a court order to cancel the original quitclaim. Of coarse since my rescission was cancelled, so was the deed to my Land Trust. I called my Living Trust Attorney for his help but he passed away in 2004.
I am back to “square one” and now more frantic that I will lose my home. I am 68 years old, on social security income and have become frail from the stress of these events. Can anyone please help me?
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AustenFan |
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10-27-2009 @ 12:27 PM
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Since your original attorney has passed away, I think you need to get a new legal professional to help you ASAP. It sounds like your ex daughter in law is trying to take advantage of you and your son, and I think you really need a lawyer to make sure your rights are protected. If you can't afford to hire a lawyer at this time, take a look at these links below:
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/guide/losangel_legal.shtml - CA Legal Aid Societies
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/directory/california.html - CA Pro Bono Directory
Since there are a number of issues here, a trust, medical bills dispute, real estate dispute, elder abuse, and a divorce, it just seems like it would be very difficult to handle this on your own. Sorry I can't be of more help, best of luck.
This message was edited by AustenFan on 10-27-09 @ 12:28 PM
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