reversal of a donation

[Rob Mendrop]

I purchased a house with a partner 3 years ago. I worked endless hours days and nights on the house and exhausted myself from all the work to the point that my partner and his niece thought I was sick and could possible collect disability and that we should sell the house. To make a long store short, the niece munipulated me into donating my half of the house and all my assests for nothing to her. She said that if I was going to collect disablity it was best not to have anything in my name. The donation was done on June 5, 2000 through a title company but not recorded to the city of New Orleans. On June 6, 2000, my partner and I decided that this was a mistake and we called the title company and asked them not to have the donation recorded and we made a mistake and wanted the title to the house to be left as it was. The title company said that it was no problem and to consider the donation null and void. The niece had gone back to Arizona where she lived. A week later we got a phone call from the title company and they said that they had to record the donation because when the niece found out that we had changed our mind she threatened to take the tilte company to court if they did not record the donation. She or someone paid for the donation to be record and the title company said we could not stop the transaction even though we had our lawyer contact the title company and asked them not to record the donation. According to Louisaina Napoleonic Law, a person can not legally donate all their assests for nothing. My question to you is: How can we get this donation reversed with out a large expense. The niece will not consent to having it reverse. Also, should we take the title company to court for letting this transaction go through with out our consent.

 

[advisor10]

1-5-2002

DEAR MR. MENDROP:

(1) Call another title company in the city area (NOT the one you did business with) to ask them their opinion of what you should do. (If possible, please don't tell them the name of the company you did business with, since that should normally be confidential.)

(2) Verbal instructions are not enough when doing business. Immediately send your title company a CERTIFIED LETTER informing them of your decision to reverse the donation and asking them for instructions on how to do it. If this case goes to trial, you will need documentation proving your intentions.

(3) Your situation is serious enough that you need to consult with a local real estate attorney about what you should do. Call 3-4 different ones to get an estimate. Since the mistake was mostly your fault, you must be prepared to pay whatever modest fees may be required to correct the situation.

(4) Do you have a will? You may need to talk to an estate planner or probate attorney about the best strategy to protect your assets and to protect your disability income.

Because of your niece's greed, you need to seriously consider reducing or cancelling whatever inheritance you had intended to leave her, and officially revise your will to reflect that change.

SINCERELY,

advisor