Need some advice for a friend

[Orebell]

What is the name of your state? Oregon

Ok, here is the situation. I have two friends who are brothers. One is 74 years old and the other is 69 years old. Neither of these brothers have been married nor have any children. They are the only two siblings in their family and both their parents have passed away a number of years ago. Both of them live in Oregon, but with one another but about an hour away from each other.

In January of 2004, the younger brother went down to California to take care of some financial affairs in regards to a house that he owns but has not lived in for at least 7-8 years. When he was down in California, the younger brother became ill and had to be admitted to the hospital. It turns out he has a brain tumor and it is pretty serious. As of June 2004, the younger brother is still in the hospital in California.

Here is what I know about the younger brothers finances. He owns a house in California. He has not lived in the house for a long time. Obviously since he has been in the hospital, he has not made any payments on his house and the older brother tells me that it is being foreclosed on. The younger brother has some stocks (about $20,000 to $25,000) in value and a few other assets, but in total what he probably has amounts to less than $150,000 in value.

The younger brother has no power of attorney for the older brother and there is no will.

Where do I come in and what is the issue. I am a friend of both of them and I am trying to help the older brother deal with his younger brothers finances. The older brother has been getting bills from his younger brother and he has been paying the bills for his younger brother.

I told the younger brother that I think he should see a lawyer and get some advice on what exactly he should do and what he legally can or cannot do. He is 74 and quite stubborn. He (the older brother) seems to think that people will help him or give him information. I tried to explain to him that if he does not have power of attorney for his brother, most institutions such as banks, insurance, IRS, are not going to give him information on his brother. He is frustrated because he is getting the door shut on him repeatedly. Again, I told him that he should hire a lawyer and get some advice and come up with a plan. He hems and haws about doing that but has not done it. I was thinking of contacting a lawyer for him and taking him with me if that is what it takes.

I guess what I am looking for is have I given him the right advice. I feel frustrated myself because eventually his younger brother is most likely going to lose all or most of what he does have not to mention he might lose his life with the cancer. I told his brother that he needs to take charge, get a lawyer and come up with a plan. I am just trying to help.

Any suggestions?

 

[Dandy Don]

Whose money is older brother using to pay younger brother's bills--younger brother's money or older brother's money?

Advise older brother that getting the power of attorney will make it much easier for him to get access to all assets owned by younger brother, and if it is needed later on, the power of attorney can be revoked if younger brother becomes well enough to handle his own affairs again. I'm concerned that younger brother's estate may be rapidly depleting because of the medical expenses involved.

If there is any way possible for the younger brother's home to be saved, then this is what older brother should be trying to do. Figure out how much equity younger brother has in the home (how much in total he has made in mortgage payments, then figure how much of an outstanding balance due is left on the mortgage and then decide if younger brother has enough money now to pay off the balance or ask younger brother if he would agree to having the home sold (only if he died) so that younger brother's estate could get a portion of the sale with the other portion going to pay off the mortgage. If younger brother doesn't care that the home is being foreclosed on, then I guess there is nothing he needs to do.

Also it is very important for younger brother to get a simple will made (perhaps an attorney will come to where he is to get it done) but oftentimes people are reluctant to do it because it means facing up to their mortality.

Getting a lawyer to handle these affairs seems like not a good idea to me unless as a last resort, since the fees might tend to be exorbitant, but some type of professional might be needed (such as an accountant) to help get these matters settled if older brother doesn't want to do it full time or if older brother perhaps needs advice.

 

[Orebell]

Whose money is older brother using to pay younger brother's bills--younger brother's money or older brother's money?

The older brother is using his own money to pay the younger brothers bills out of his account. They also have a joint account. I told the older brother that he should deposit his brothers social security checks in their joint account and pay his younger brothers bills with that. And do keep good records just in case anything happens.

I'm concerned that younger brother's estate may be rapidly depleting because of the medical expenses involved.

Well, the younger brother is a veteran so I believe all his medical is covered. However there are other assets that I think are being depleted. The house the younger brother has in Ca is being foreclosed on. I don't know if the foreclosure process can be stopped, that is why I advised the older brother to at least get some advice from a lawyer.

Getting a lawyer to handle these affairs seems like not a good idea to me unless as a last resort, since the fees might tend to be exorbitant,

I agree about the potential for their to be high lawyer fees. That is why I am here on this website. I just feel at this point in time, the older brother needs some solid legal options. If he does not get any solid advice, I think the younger brother will lose all he has. He does not have a lot, but it should not go wasted. Anyway, I got the older brother to go to a lawyer with me on Monday (6/7/04) afternoon. I am hoping we get something solid.

 

[Dandy Don]

For right now try to concentrate on preventing the foreclosure from going through (it usually takes 30 days or more for those proceedings to go through the court process) by asking the man or his attorney to contact the mortgage company to find out what the balance due is on the house and whether there is enough money to get that paid off or some other arrangements made.