Thorny Estate Problem....Need feedback

[jazz4cash]

We got a threatening letter from a legal firm yesterday. We have 3 days to respond (or else). It seems thier client encountered a title problem on the property which was sold by my MIL's estate in 2005. Current owner did not purchse from MIL's estate. The problem is a 3rd party claims to have an interest in the property and wants a very large sum to release thier interest. The 3rd party is a semi-estranged BIL. We believe two layers of title insurance plus probate process should protect us from being sued. Additionally, there is some thought that deceased SIL had co-sighned with MIL to acquire the property prior to marrying estranged BIL, and BIL has no interest in the property by way of marriage.

Yeah, I know we probably need a lawyer and it will cost us just to inhale/exhale.....but we feel like we should proceed methodically. One of many really annoying details is the letter was directed only to DW and thier are 10 other heirs and she is not Executor. Letter claims DW recieved $100% of proceeds.

Thoughts?

 

[GregLee]

My totally unknowledgeable impulse would be to not respond. Hunker down. If possible, don't admit having received any communication from them. Make them do all the work. Possibly the lawyer got just enough money to formulate the threatening letter, but no more, and will not pursue it if you don't react.

 

[kumquat]

I have no knowledge of US law, but here in Canada, you as a beneficiary are protected, the executor is liable for any problems. If you are not the executor, they have no claim against you.

I'd wait to be sued. If sued, I'd counter sue for costs. YMMV.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

We believe two layers of title insurance plus probate process should protect us from being sued.

I'm not a a lawyer, but this is what I would think, too. Have you contacted your own insurance company? I would think this would be covered by your umbrella policy (possibly even your own homeowner's policy), and they would defend you at their cost.

 

[ls99]

FWIW.

About 25 years ago sold my house in NY State. Roughly six month later got a message on my phone minder from the broker that I used to sell the property with. The message was for me to call him, regarding some terrible accident in/on the property.

Never called him back. Never heard from him or anyone else again about what the problem or outcome was. Nor did I care. And still don't.

My thoughts were along the line of, I sold the property with all rights, title, interest and benefits, thus nothing was left for me to care or worry about.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

It sounds like a fishing expedition to me.
I have been the executor of two estates and it has been my unfortunate experience that the whiff of possible gain can bring some cockroaches (and people that one would least expect) out into the open.
I would give this letter to my lawyer and have him handle it. After my husband died he wrote a couple of very firm letters and the parties disappeared into the night never to be heard from again. I should add that there was no merit to the claims. Same with a claim of an unpaid bill after my Dad died (false also).

 

[Htown Harry]

Do you know if any of the other heirs received similar individual letters? If they have, it would further confirm the fishing expedition theory.

Personally, I think I'd be weighing not responding or writing a very succinct reply along the lines of "I got your letter. Your claims are without merit." or maybe "Thanks for the note full of unsupported and ridiculous claims. No."

 

[jazz4cash]

Do you know if any of the other heirs received similar individual letters? If they have, it would further confirm the fishing expedition theory.

Personally, I think I'd be weighing not responding or writing a very succinct reply along the lines of "I got your letter. Your claims are without merit." or maybe "Thanks for the note full of unsupported and ridiculous claims. No."

Thanks to all for the feedback....much appreciated....keep it coming! None of the other heirs were contacted. I am inclined to believe being singled out is confirmation of a fishing expedition. This just sucks to the core. We picked up some paperwork from the Executor last night, but that's it so far.

 

[Texas Proud]

I would likely do what Htown suggests.... AFTER I got a second or even a third letter...

The first letter like this does not merit a response... sure, you have to do some leg work to make sure you are not hanging out there to get whacked... but responding back comes later...

 

[freebird5825]

Definitely provide a copy of the letter from h*ll to your own attorney as a "heads up".

Save the envelope it arrived in for the USPS postmark as proof of the date of delivery, assuming the envelope has the legal firm's return address on it. If it does not bear any return address, you may be able to conclude that magic dust and a word processor is the culprit here.

I would take no other action nor respond to the sender at this point, as others have recommended. This has scam written all over it.

As far as "or else" goes...

 

[jazz4cash]

We've been told the original joint tenancy was "broken" when a loan against the property was provided without including all individuals on the deed. This caused the 3rd party to gain an interest in the property. It still seems to result from an error on the part of the title company. This error was apparently repeated subsequently on two more title searches.

 

[jazz4cash]

Update
Not much to add really, but I needed to get some things off my back. Many of you gave good advice confirming my initial feelings. We spoke with several attorneys and eventually found two that were very generous with thier time and the one with the most expertise with this issue felt there was not much for us to worry about. They did not want any fees from us, but I plan to send each a gift card as a thank you. Problem is, doing nothing (hunkering down) still leaves me looking over my shoulder a bit. I am sleeping better, but not as well as I'd like to.

We did get some affirmation that tenancy was broken inadvertantly, and it seems to be a very weak bit of real property law that this could even occur. it's just not something that should involve us so we have not responded and have not received any additional communication. At some point I will try to lay it all out. For now we are simply triple checking our owner's title insurance policies. My brother's realtor, who was quite helpful, advised that clients purchasing foreclosures were having great difficulty obtaining title insurance due to all the fraud involved and title insurance companies are generally laying low.

 

[Westernskies]

Suggested reply:

"I am sitting in the smallest room in my house with your letter in front of me; soon it will be behind me."

YMMV

Good luck.

 

[Dimsumkid]

I never saw your post from Oct, just saw it tonight. I'm just finishing up closing an estate where I was the independent administrator (essentially, executor). There's a 6 month window that has to be posted for any claims against the estate. From this perspective, seems to me this claim should've been filed during this time frame. I would think the executor/attorney's from the estate would be the people that need to be contacted about any claims. I would think this really is a fishing expedition and this person would need to hire an attorney that would want money upfront to pursue it knowing they don't have too much to stand on, but if they're willing to pay, they can make the executor's (and your) life a nightmare.

 

[deserat]

Suggested reply:

"I am sitting in the smallest room in my house with your letter in front of me; soon it will be behind me."

YMMV

Good luck.

AWESOME response - took me about 5 seconds and then coffee spewed all over the place.....thanks for my day opening laugh.

 

[jazz4cash]

Suggested reply:

"I am sitting in the smallest room in my house with your letter in front of me; soon it will be behind me."

YMMV

Good luck.

LOL, not bad but I am too uptight for that. Actually, the letter I had in mind was:

Dear Sir
I am writing to acknowledge reciept of your letter pertaining to the matter of xyz.

Sincerely
Jazz

 

[jazz4cash]

This is not working out as we had hoped. The summons came 2 days before Christmas....bummer. It's a mystery as to why DW was singled out of 11 sibs. There are several other things that seem out of order. Despite some pretty baseless claims, it seems our options are fairly limited.

 

[Westernskies]

This is not working out as we had hoped. The summons came 2 days before Christmas....bummer. It's a mystery as to why DW was singled out of 11 sibs. There are several other things that seem out of order. Despite some pretty baseless claims, it seems our options are fairly limited.

Bummer, jazz. Still smells like BIL is on a fishing expedition. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[jazz4cash]

We thought this would be behind us by now, but it's persistent. Hired a lawyer and attempted to be dismissed by the plaintiff. We had good documentation, but it was rejected. Hopfully judge will dismiss, but it sounds pretty iffy. Sickening, really.

 

[Westernskies]

We thought this would be behind us by now, but it's persistent. Hired a lawyer and attempted to be dismissed by the plaintiff. We had good documentation, but it was rejected. Hopfully judge will dismiss, but it sounds pretty iffy. Sickening, really.

Hang in there jazz; time wounds all heels.

 

[sheehs1]

jazz4cash...I'm sure you and your lawyer have connected the dots...but if I'm understanding this correctly it does smell fishy.
Seems to me that if any party along this process had Owners title insurance at the time of purchase (MIL, 1st buyer, 2nd buyer..etc.), some of this should go against the Owners titling insurance company(s) (not Lenders)....as long as the owners didn't waive purchasing that.
Question: Was SIL married to BIL at the time of her death and did SIL own the property at that time? If so then this party may have a legitimate claim. Am a bit confused why claims during probate didn't take care of this unless of course...it should have been caught by the executor in which case BIL could have a claim against the executor. Lot of points to digest. Apologize if I am not understanding them correctly.
This was a timely post. My daughter is getting ready to buy a condo. We were considering waiving the almost $600.00 Owners Titling Fee. Don't think we will do that after reading this post. Thanks for the "save".

 

[Dimsumkid]

All I can say is to stay strong willed on this. Anyone can bring a suit like this and from my personal experience as an executor/administrator, the court has to listen to them. Still don't know why the executor wasn't mentioned/brought to court in this claim with/instead of your DW. But you mentioned she got 100% of the proceeds in your post. Makes sense to go after the money person. In my scenario, I got charged with "stealing" from an estate with no money, just real estate and then "maniuplating the beneficiary claim on a brokerage account to benefit me" even though my brother had it done by his own lawyer, they tried to claim his lawyer wasn't his lawyer too! The legal process let this get all the way to the judge and he said "Why am I even wasting my time hearing these claims in my courtroom?". So both got thrown out, but it cost $7k just to do all the prep to fight these claims as baseless as they were.

 

[jazz4cash]

Thanks for the responses and support. I have been intentionally vague in my posts, so it's no wonder there is some confusion. Overall, most have expertly read between the lines in assessing the situation. Eventually, I plan to explain more thoroughly. A couple things I do want to emphasize now....

The plaintiff alleges that DW recieved 100% of proceeds, but that is incorrect so we don't really have any connection to the sale.

1. Despite the title I chose for this thread, this is not really an estate issue as far as the current allegations.
2. It is my understanding also that title insurance would adequately protect against this type of problem, but how could you ensure that all future buyers purchase a policy? I have emphasized in other threads the importance of an owner's title insurance policy. Apparently this can be more difficult to obtain if a home has a history of foreclosure, but it is a must have (especially in light of all the real estate bubble shenanigans).