• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Ex fiance refuses to return personal property.

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

pricepl

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessse

Recently my fiance and I ended our engagement after months of trying to reconcile. We were living together and I moved out while we were trying to work things out. Now however she has changed the locks and refuses to allow me to collect my personal items. She has everything i own. Furniture, jewelry, clothing, musical equipment, electronics, and even firearms. What are my legal options to get my things back. Also if she has already sold or given away some of my items can she be held liable for the monetary value?
 


justalayman

Senior Member
why didn't you take your property when you moved out?


What is her justification for keeping the items?


have you asked the police to do a standby while you retrieve your property?


and, if all else fails; file a replevin (action to recover personal property)
 

pricepl

Junior Member
why didn't you take your property when you moved out?


What is her justification for keeping the items?


have you asked the police to do a standby while you retrieve your property?


and, if all else fails; file a replevin (action to recover personal property)





I didn't take my property when i left because i had every intention of moving back in. I left to go out of town with my job for a week and while I was gone she changed the locks. I have contacted the police and they told me there was nothing they could do other than just the firearms but i need to proper documentation proving that they are mine which are all also in her house. A friend suggested i send her a formal inventory of all my items along with a contract agreeing to return them to me which i did. I had a contract made , signed and notarized with a detailed list of all my property and sent it to her in a certified letter for which i have the return receipt. She never responded. She has no reason for with holding my things. I honestly beleive she has probably already sold some of my valuables such as electronics and musical equipment. The only other option i know is to hire and attorney and file a formal lawsuit against her.
 

latigo

Senior Member
I didn't take my property when i left because i had every intention of moving back in. I left to go out of town with my job for a week and while I was gone she changed the locks. I have contacted the police and they told me there was nothing they could do other than just the firearms but i need to proper documentation proving that they are mine which are all also in her house. A friend suggested i send her a formal inventory of all my items along with a contract agreeing to return them to me which i did. I had a contract made , signed and notarized with a detailed list of all my property and sent it to her in a certified letter for which i have the return receipt. She never responded. She has no reason for with holding my things. I honestly believe she has probably already sold some of my valuables such as electronics and musical equipment. The only other option i know is to hire and attorney and file a formal lawsuit against her.
As justalyman has written, you civil remedy is through a court action for replevin of your goods –(also called “claim and delivery”) and/or the fair market value of those items.

But I’m curious as to why you are not entitled to legally access the former jointly occupied living quarters.

Whether she is the sole owner of the property or the only person on a rental or lease agreement, as a consensual occupant you have some tenant-possessory rights, subject of course to being evicted following statutory notice to vacate – which hasn’t happened.

Since you are already contemplating hiring the assistance of an attorney – which is the smart thing to do because there is huge chasm between the clerk’s office and the courtroom –

So . . . I would have you consult with the lawyer as to your joint rights to occupy the premises. Then if established, have the bloody locks changed again!

Also talk about lodging a criminal complaint for conversion of your stuff.

And if I still have your riveted attention, let tell you all you need to know about “love”.

Its that nerve cord that runs from the brain to _______ , (well, you know where).

[SUP]When turkeys mate they think of swans. (Johnny Carson)[/SUP]
 

justalayman

Senior Member
is this a house, apartment, hovel? does she own the unit or rent it? If renting it, are you also a named tenant or occupant on the lease?
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top