My sister has retained lawyer to sue me

What is the name of your state? Texas

My sister and I were beneficiaries of my Aunt's estate. The estate was split equally between us both. I paid out of pocket to have the items we (my sister and I) wanted from my Aunt's home to be shipped to the US. She didn't have the means to pay to have this done. I told her she could ship her the things she wanted to my house since she doesn't have a home to ship the items to or a place to store them.

I paid for the oversea shipment and paid for a moving company to ship the items to my house from the customs storage facility. She has since reimbursed me for half of the cost.

After she received monies from the estate, I told her she needed to pay to have the items shipped to her home state in NM. I called a moving company and got a quote for her items to be shipped to her. She is now refusing to comply and has retained an attorney to sue me for stealing from her. I have no idea what she is talking about. She suffers from depression which my be guiding her life at this time.

I have not stole anything from her. Every thing was 50/50. I want her items out of my house my the end of this month so I can put my home on the market. What should I do?

I thought about writing a certified letter to her informing her of the time frame to have the items gone or forfeit her right to the items being stored in my home. I have not nor have I asked for any compensation for the items that I have been storing since October of 2007.

I have no means to continue to store the items for her anymore. Nor can I move them to my new home because the items just want fit (there are 3 large items and 9 boxes).

Can she sue me? And what should I do? Do I have legal standing to follow through the the certified letter or could she come after me for dumping the items at a charitable organization?

Thank you.

Send the letter and give her 30 days to have them removed. Advise her that they will go either into storage, at her expense if she will make the arrangements, or they will be sold/given away. You can also charge storage from the 30 day notice and it can be significant but not unreasonable. $ 1-200 a month, more if they take a large area. Also, do not let them get damaged because you are responsible for them at the moment.

She can certainly sue you; however, it isn't likely that she will get anything other than some more aggravation. I would ignore her after sending the letter. She will have to sue you in your county of residence, not hers and this will not be simple if she is in another state. After the time has expired I would get rid of them and forget about it. Just keep a record if you give them away or if they are sold I would send her the proceeds.

For the amount of money you'll spend on an attorney if she continues to pursue legal action you could have just shipped her items to her. You know she is unwell. Speak to her directly again. Ask her where she wants the stuff shipped and then send it.

You could ship her items to her and consider it a gift or pursue her legally for reimbursement after you have shipped it to her. But she sounds willing to pay when she can because as you said she paid for her half of the overseas shipping etc.. You sound as though you expected her to use the money she received to pay you more.

She paid her half and yet you kept all the items. Is there some other issue about the items or between the two of you that is interfering here? You put yourself in this situation by bringing the items to your home instead of expecting her to be responsible for finding a place for her items immediately. That she says she doesn't have a place for the stuff is not your responsibility but that you have what you acknowledge is hers is a problem for you both.

You can put your home on the market even with the stuff there. Use a bit of the proceeds to send her the items. Do neither of you have friends who travel between TX and NM? Have you not seen each other face to face in all that time? Perhaps you could have a portion of the stuff delivered at a time.

If she has an address to serve a certified letter to she has a place you can drop off at least the boxes. It is not an ideal situation but having her property for five months is not ideal either. Dropping her stuff off at a donation center is wrong and leaves you liable to pay her back the half she paid for shipping it overseas. And might leave you criminally liable as well.

Send it to her. You say everything was 50/50 but after paying half she still doesn't have any of her items. That would not look very good for you in court if you got rid of her property. Thinking of charging her for storage at your house is petty. I am not sure you were right to have her portion shipped to you instead of her in the first place.

Best Wishes for a resolution to this issue that leaves you able to have a relationship with your sister after you have both put the boxes and objects behind you. God Bless you both.

Real pickle.

Idori:

If they came to an agreement, then they came to an agreement.

Sister in NM is responsible for getting the items one way or another from her sister's place in TX.

TX sister is holding the items at NM sister's specific request.

TX sister is not liable for the cost of shipping to NM and would be hard pressed to make a claim if she just wantonly shipped it to somewhere in NM (esp when NM sis has stated she has no home? )

The legal reality is seperate from what is good 'family'.

xylene said:

Idori:

If they came to an agreement, then they came to an agreement.

Sister in NM is responsible for getting the items one way or another from her sister's place in TX.

TX sister is holding the items at NM sister's specific request.

TX sister is not liable for the cost of shipping to NM and would be hard pressed to make a claim if she just wantonly shipped it to somewhere in NM (esp when NM sis has stated she has no home? )

The legal reality is seperate from what is good 'family'.

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True, the legal issue is separate from the personal issue. However, this is (and always will be) her sister. There's unfortunately no getting around that tie. So, at the risk of sounding like a sentimental fool, I think the OP should pay to have the items shipped to a place of her sister's choosing.

OP, if I were you, I'd send her a certified mail with return receipt stating that I am willing to ship the items at my expense to a place of HER choosing. She has a month to determine this place, and if you do not hear back from her WITH this information within this month, also via certified mail with return receipt, then you will put her belongings in storage for her. While you will pay for the storage for now, this is a loan, not a gift and when she's better AND has the means, she has to pay you back.

I'd also send a copy of this letter to her lawyer.

Yes, you're going out on a limb for her, but this isn't a pesky neighbor or an evil coworker or the village ne'er-do-well - this is your sister. NOBODY wins when family takes each other to court. Just my humble opinion, and yes, I'm not the most practical person when it comes to my kin.

Sorry for the delayed response. My sister was on a small pension with little funds after bills or home to store these items. She asked me to store them for her and I agreed but informed her that the items would have to be gone by the time she received her 1/2 a million inheritance. That time has come and gone since March 7, 2008. Now, she wants to sue me for keeping her property. She did reimburse me for the US Custom x-ray and physical inspection as well as shipping from Customs warehouse to my house.

I am not concerned with saving the relationship as she has gone too far this time. I just don't want to do anything illegal. I did send her a certified letter with a due date of when I expect the item to be gone. She picked up the letter from the post office in Albuquerque, NM. But I have not heard from her.

What if I do want to keep one piece of antique furniture? Can I do that and sell the rest at a yard sale?

I don't think I would owe her a dime, since she failed to comply with my certified letter and thereby forfeiting her right to the property. Considering that, it seems to me that I can keep what I want and sale the rest.

Please let me know your legal advise. I do not want or need an emotional reply.

integrity77 said:

Please let me know your legal advise. I do not want or need an emotional reply.

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How about an unemotional real-world bit of advice...

The cost (in time and money) that you will spend defending yourself, or otherwise responding to this lawsuit will FAR outweigh the cost of shipping the items to your sister.

Zigner said:

How about an unemotional real-world bit of advice...

The cost (in time and money) that you will spend defending yourself, or otherwise responding to this lawsuit will FAR outweigh the cost of shipping the items to your sister.

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Where will she ship it to?

Sis does not have suitable home or storage place... that and you can't just dump it off anyway.

Packing the material on a truck to MN is not much better than packing it to the curb or any other arbitrary destination, and does not resolve the bailment.

A very large amount of money is involved and apparently depressed sis is more than willing to use some of it to sling mud.

The best advice is get a lawyer, as this is not going to go away, and the last thing you want to do is pay for an expensive cross country field trip for this custom furniture and then still get sued.