Probate Estate Property

[marshas9]

My 33 year old daughter was murdered in March of 1999 in Georgia. She had two small children (girl-2, boy-5mos.) and a house she bought and furnished (before she married her husband.) The husband was jailed as the suspect in her murder. To make a long story shorter the Judge of juvenille court gave my other daughter and I custody with DCFS overseeing and Probate court made us the "Administrators" of her Estate. The house was almost in Forclosure and there was no money so my other daughter and I paid the back house notes and spent quite a bit to try and preserve the house for the children. The husband was found not guilty of two counts of murder and set free. He got the children and on our last date in Probate court he promised to give my living daughter some of the things she wanted from the house and pay us a small sum to compensate us for a small portion of the money we had spent. He also told the Judge and the Lawyers he had decided to let the house go into forclosure. The agreement was null and void if he did not keep all of the stipulations of the agreement. It is almost seven months later and he has not kept his word. As a result
I have had to leave Georgia (cannot make a living) and my daughter is almost in financial ruin because of all her time off from work (to be support for me and come to Georgia from Michigan (for legal reasons). The papers asking to be discharged as administrators of the estate have been drawn up but not filed with the court yet so legally we are still administrators. My question is: Can we file a lien against the house in order to get back some of the (close to $10,000)money we spent??? Any help would be appreciated. Thank You

 

[ALawyer]

First, my sincere sympathy go out to you on this horrible set of circumstances. I can imagine few things more awful.

Second, each state has strict time limits on the ability to money you put in would even be a proper subject for a lien at all. And as the home is going to go to foreclosure, there may not be much to get anyway as only if the sale is in excess of the mortgage and fees would there be anything for others in line.

Also, I fear that any further contact with the guy may be reliving the past. I know he has custody but.....

You may ask a lawyer if there might be a CIVIL suit against him -- although acquitted (in a criminal trial the state has to prove the murder beyond a reasonable doubt) in a civil case it's only by a "preponderance of the evidence" - or about 50.1% and remember that OJ Simpson was acquited in the criminal trial but lost a huge judgement in the civil case and that type of judgment can't be discharged in bankruptcy....