Post by Marie on May 31, 2005 7:00:37 GMT -5
Well where to start? My stepfather died leaving a huge legal mess. My mother had died some time back in 98 and my stepfather said the Will (turned out he destroyed it) was missing. He never probated the estate. We now know why. The property was not part of the community property given that every time they refinanced he would sign off the deed once the refinancing went through--basically like a prenuptial agreement. So he only had a right to 1/3 of the estate given that supposedly there was no Will. If he hadn't destroyed the Will, it stated he only had the right to live there as long as he did not remarry. Well he found a way to convince the banks that the property was his and he has been living off the equity the last few years. So the debt is now way too much for us. There is no way we can keep the family home. Also during the last 25 years he has let the house fall in disrepair. We found out also that the neighbor has been doing all the yard work to keep his place from looking trashy also. This man had been our neighbor for as long as I can remember. I used to climb the wall between the properties to watch him work when I was small--he was always improving his place. Well when he found out that we were not going to be able to keep it he said he wanted to buy it. He wants to guarantee that he will NOT have another neighbor like my step dad. Well he did not want to negotiate with women--he wanted to negotiate with my father. So Dad came out and they came up with a very fair deal. It would give us a small amount after the banks.
There happens to be some equity due to the redevelopment of the downtown area. It has made all the property nearby skyrocket. If he had lived though that would have been taken. So the only problem is to get the estate probated and sold in time to beat the bank from foreclosing. Well then we hit another snag his girlfriend had taken the death certificates and refused to give them to us. We could not go to the county due to the fact we are his step kids not his kids. My sister could not be made executor of the estate without it. We had to contact his kids and luckily they were very cooperative. Came to find out that the estrangement between them was due to him telling them to not to ever contact him. Then once that was settle, a clear title to the house could not be found due to him assuming ownership when he had no legal right to it. So now we had to first settle my mother's estate --1/3 sister, 1/3 me and 1/3 to his estate and then his estate. Well now at least my sister has been named executor of both estates. Now we need to get the appraisal and a few other things settled. We already have a buyer and a deal. Mom's will cut my sister out and her share was to go to her daughter because Colleen refused to let mom adopt Alice. Al's will cut me out--knowing him (and I do) he was trying to cause hate and discontent. But me and her along with our father had already decided to just split anything that was salvaged after the lawyers and her fees (for being executor). Although I myself had decided no matter what that I would not let my stepfather have his way. So it looks like things might be settled soon.
During all this mess we found out more. He and my mother had to get married twice. Originally we had thought it was all her. She had moved him in when my first stepfather was out to sea. Well there was a complication in the divorce but they had already set the wedding date. So they went ahead with the ceremony and got remarried in Las Vegas. Well going through everything we found that he was married also and did not get divorced until after the first ceremony. So they were both bigamists I guess. Also I know that his girlfriend is actually his wife but have no proof other than him admitting to it to me. The last refinancing went to pay for a bunch of stuff for her. She is not admitting it and it would complicate and delay things so we are not pursuing it as long as she leaves us alone. She is not going to though because she has more to lose. She has property in her name that I feel she is afraid we or his natural kids would go after but we don't want her stuff.
And that is what has been going on since February. Now that we have the ugly out of the way. Maybe someone will post some good or bad.
There happens to be some equity due to the redevelopment of the downtown area. It has made all the property nearby skyrocket. If he had lived though that would have been taken. So the only problem is to get the estate probated and sold in time to beat the bank from foreclosing. Well then we hit another snag his girlfriend had taken the death certificates and refused to give them to us. We could not go to the county due to the fact we are his step kids not his kids. My sister could not be made executor of the estate without it. We had to contact his kids and luckily they were very cooperative. Came to find out that the estrangement between them was due to him telling them to not to ever contact him. Then once that was settle, a clear title to the house could not be found due to him assuming ownership when he had no legal right to it. So now we had to first settle my mother's estate --1/3 sister, 1/3 me and 1/3 to his estate and then his estate. Well now at least my sister has been named executor of both estates. Now we need to get the appraisal and a few other things settled. We already have a buyer and a deal. Mom's will cut my sister out and her share was to go to her daughter because Colleen refused to let mom adopt Alice. Al's will cut me out--knowing him (and I do) he was trying to cause hate and discontent. But me and her along with our father had already decided to just split anything that was salvaged after the lawyers and her fees (for being executor). Although I myself had decided no matter what that I would not let my stepfather have his way. So it looks like things might be settled soon.
During all this mess we found out more. He and my mother had to get married twice. Originally we had thought it was all her. She had moved him in when my first stepfather was out to sea. Well there was a complication in the divorce but they had already set the wedding date. So they went ahead with the ceremony and got remarried in Las Vegas. Well going through everything we found that he was married also and did not get divorced until after the first ceremony. So they were both bigamists I guess. Also I know that his girlfriend is actually his wife but have no proof other than him admitting to it to me. The last refinancing went to pay for a bunch of stuff for her. She is not admitting it and it would complicate and delay things so we are not pursuing it as long as she leaves us alone. She is not going to though because she has more to lose. She has property in her name that I feel she is afraid we or his natural kids would go after but we don't want her stuff.
And that is what has been going on since February. Now that we have the ugly out of the way. Maybe someone will post some good or bad.
