Not sure

[Justinrockey2]

West Virginia. Okay so heres my question... My wife and i had a stillborn son at 36 weeks, we decided we were going to have his ashes cremated, well we didnt have a proper home at the time so we asked her mom to hold on to the urn with his ashes for us until we could have a safe place for them, well turns out that we got a place pretty quick, well for a year now her mom has steadily refused to give us our sons ashes, and recently she got mad at us and decided she was gonna to spread his ashes in a river without our consent, it has been a uphill battle with her mom and lots of arguing for months to try and get them back and now we are at a loss of what to do... She spread all we had of him... Is there anything i can do? At all?

 

[quincy]

West Virginia. Okay so heres my question... My wife and i had a stillborn son at 36 weeks, we decided we were going to have his ashes cremated, well we didnt have a proper home at the time so we asked her mom to hold on to the urn with his ashes for us until we could have a safe place for them, well turns out that we got a place pretty quick, well for a year now her mom has steadily refused to give us our sons ashes, and recently she got mad at us and decided she was gonna to spread his ashes in a river without our consent, it has been a uphill battle with her mom and lots of arguing for months to try and get them back and now we are at a loss of what to do... She spread all we had of him... Is there anything i can do? At all?

I am so sorry for your loss.

You potentially have a claim to pursue against your wife’s mom for intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress (tort of outrage). You could discuss this with a personal injury lawyer in your area.

Here is a link to a West Virginia case (Charles Travis v. Alcon Laboratories, Inc) that details the elements necessary to successfully sue for intentional/reckless infliction of emotional distress:

http://www.courtswv.gov/supreme-court/docs/spring1998/24207.htm

The lawsuit would seek monetary compensation - but no amount of money can undo the hurt and pain of the loss of your son or the actions of your wife’s mother. In fact, you and your wife would be reliving in court the terrible pain you experienced with the birth of your son.

But you can consult a personal injury lawyer. The first appointment is (generally) free. The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in West Virginia is two years.