A Legal Alien

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19 January 2006

Ah so the saga of my grandfather's estate continues...

While I was home in December, there was a meeting with my dad and his attorney. F's attorney offered a settlement possibility where we allowed her to sell the property, put the proceeds in a trust wherein she could live off the interest or have a monthly allowance. Upon her death, the principal would go to my dad and his brothers. Uh, no dice. All 4 brothers opposed any settlement so there was more discussion.

THEN, we found out F had transferred the property into her OWN trust AND taken a $65,000 line of credit out against the property just 4 months before my uncles put their names on the deed to the property. This was blatantly illegal and my uncle had copies of all the paperwork to prove it went down, thanks to the county clerk's office. So, we told her attorney we would not settle and that her financial transactions and changing of the trust were 'improper'. There was talk of suing the bank that issued the line of credit and even more talk of calling the DA.

Here's the kicker. We got a letter back from her attorney on Friday and apparently, she went to this same attorney 3 years ago to see if the original trust was irrevokable or not. He told her it was irrevokable and she was stuck with it. Not liking that answser, she had a paralegal draw up her own trust and transfer the deed of the property into her trust. Two months later, she took out the line of credit.

Her attorney did not know of any of this until she went to him when we blocked the sale of the property in October. Our attorney doesn't think there will be any trouble settling the estate now as what she has done is completely illegal. The bank may sue her to recoup their $65,000. We will not allow her to use the proceeds of the house to pay back the loan. She will walk away with nothing or face criminal prosecution. We're currently in an audit of the entire estate, going back to the day my grandfather died. She will have to account for all major transactions and show the disposition of the current accounts. She is not liking any of this but her attorney told her 3 years ago that any change to the trust was illegal and she had to abide by what she signed in 1994.

Let this be a warning. Talk to your parents about what their wishes are regarding their money when they die. Have it all memorialized. If there is a second marriage after the death of a parent, PLEASE have a trust or some clear division of assets. We knew there was a trust but we had no idea it was being defrauded until it was almost too late.

And another warning is to the harpie who married my grandfather. Don't mess with my family. We will kick your hillbilly ass.

For Paul Barrett

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