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contesting of deed

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S

suzyqsopira

Guest
What is the name of your state? NJ

My 93 yr old granfather who my children and I have lived with for 4 years died sept 03. he left his estate to his 3 children-my two aunts and my mom. he left a provision in his deed for me and the girls to remain in his house and pay reasonable rent and if i desire to purchase the home for 150,000 in this two year period. my one aunt has filed a suit. she has asked for 25,000 for us to settle...we said no...then 10,000 we still said no and no 5,000 and my mom is offering her 2,000 because she can not take the stress of this messs. we have spent 7,200 in legal fees and we did not do anything wrong. our laywer said that if we went to court we had 100 chance of wining based on all the testimony we have.

my question....can i file a suit in the civil court asking for my attorney fees and other expenses to be paid by my aunt? i lost 600.00 on a graduate class i had to drop due to my kids being stressed over this. this is their home and they thought we were being thrown out. their teachers would agree with this.

thanks

susan
 


Dandy Don

Senior Member
What do you mean she is asking for $25,000 to settle--is that the total selling price of the house or is that rent?
 
S

suzyqsopira

Guest
Hey Dandy,
She has asked for 25,000 ontop of the 50,000 that she is willed from the closing of the house.Plus another 40K from his assests. My aunt mother and I have hired a Lawyer and from the start she has been asking for 25,000 then reduced to 15,000 and she would like 5,000. to go on her way and I proceed to exersise my option to purchase the house.

Since my DEAR AUNT has started this case she has cost me Approx 7200 in legal fees, I have had other monitary setbacks as stated and there are a few more that have added to 15,000.

I would like to counter sue her to recoop some of my losses. I don't want to be an ambulance chaser but at this stage of my life and a single mother on a very fixed income and working on my masters I am about tapped. Yes I did take care of my grandfather cook clean and such but her case is based on my coercing him to sell his 90 year old house. My grandfather wanted to leave it to me and I felt it wasn't fair so that's how he came up with the 150,000 price, it was appraised at 195K but needs about 40K in repairs.

Is this suit feasable or should I just get on with my life.
Thanks
 
H

hexeliebe

Guest
What does the deed say exactly as to your possession (purchase) of the house? Or are you saying that the will specifically gives you the house? If so, please type exactly what it says and not your interpretation or assumptions.
 
S

suzyqsopira

Guest
deed

Hi,

thanks for your reply....

I am not named at all in the will.

The deed states, " Grantor further grants and transfers an edtate of two years, to commence after the date of my death, to my granddaughter, Susan. At any time during the two year period, I hereby grant my granddaughter, Susan the option to purchase this property from my daughters, the 3 Grantees named above, at a price of $150,000. Susan shall be responsible for all utilities, and a reasonable rent during the time of her stay on the property after my death. This two year estate and option to purchase are in consideration of the care Susan has provided and continues to provide to me."

i hope this helps

Thanks again

Susan
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
Re: deed

suzyqsopira said:
Hi,

thanks for your reply....

I am not named at all in the will.

The deed states, " Grantor further grants and transfers an edtate of two years, to commence after the date of my death, to my granddaughter, Susan. At any time during the two year period, I hereby grant my granddaughter, Susan the option to purchase this property from my daughters, the 3 Grantees named above, at a price of $150,000. Susan shall be responsible for all utilities, and a reasonable rent during the time of her stay on the property after my death. This two year estate and option to purchase are in consideration of the care Susan has provided and continues to provide to me."

i hope this helps

Thanks again

Susan


My response:

You and your attorney are, apparently, trying to say that what Grandpa wrote into the deed is, in fact, a Will. Was the abive statement signed, dated, and witnessed - - or, was it just that statement?

The Aunt, from what I gather, is saying that the above statement does not constitute a Will, and that your claim to the house is invalid as a result.

IAAL
 
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H

hexeliebe

Guest
It helps alot Susan. Now please answer IAAL's questions as you are in good hands. On that note, I will step aside.
 
S

suzyqsopira

Guest
Hi Again,

Yes both my grandfathers will and the deed were executed on the same day by the same attorney in the prescence of my mother and my one aunt. I was not made aware of this until after the fact. This transaction took place in May of 03. My aunt who was not present was notified of the change by both my mother and my aunt. She claims she wasn't. My grandfathers prior will left his estate to his 15 heirs equally.

When I received the papers saying there was a suit against me of course I was in a panic. Prior to our first and only court appearance we obtained affadivits from my grandfather's only doctor, his chiropractor, another doctor who he raised some chickens for this past summer and thus they spoke often. we also made statements ourselves, had the house appraised and had a house inspection.

we arrived in court expecting that the judge would have looked at this but he didn't. my aunts lawyers filed the case in the wrong court. the judge presiding over the court we were in also presides over the court it was supposed to be filed in. he listened a bit but basically said the rent remains the same ( this was also a complaint of hers, that i am not paying enough rent i pay 800.00 a month) he also said as long as the house is owned by the three sisters that it must be maintained ( also a problem-a tree fell on the barn where i keep the animal feed and the roof is damaged. her solution is to put a tarp over it) and then he said he would schedule a new date i guess for trial.

prior to this she and her attorney had not read all the documents we provided. for her to continue on she would need to pay a lot more money plus have a plan. there are no others that would testify on her side. my grandfather was 93 and mowed his lawn a week before his death. he was not your typical 93 year old. he would walk 3 minutes on my treadmill at night.

i just find it very unjust that someone can file this suit without any basis. she pays a lawyer 2,000 to do so and we have to pay 7,200 to prove we didn't do anything illegal plus now she wants money to drop the case. i feel we should sit her out but my mother is very upset over this so she is willing to pay her money to sign off. in this case i do not feel justice has been served at all and it is frustrating.

since my grandfathers death all have been very stressed over this situation.

i appreciate you taking the time to read and digest this and your input. i would like to file a small civil suit on my own and do not want to initiate the process if i do not have a leg to stand on.

thanks

susan
 

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