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Not sure this is who I need. Dad passed away February 2011.

 
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Customer Question

Not sure this is who I need. Dad passed away February 2011. All his property was in a trust. All of his money had already been spent on the nursing home. Leaving $18000 debt from them. He had 2 houses in the trust. Mine which I have lived in, he built for me, in 1986, and there is a letter dated 2000 stating that the house is mine even before he passed (not notarized but several lawyers are aware of it) and all property goes to me in the trust. And his that I am trying to sell. Value $150,000, already reduced to $90,000. Cannot go lower

Lawyer is threatening lawsuit. They had promised (verbally) to wait for his house to sell. They are wealthy multi-nursing home private pay expensive nursing home in Missouri/Illinois.

Question is: Can a trust/estate claim bankruptcy? Don't want to, but they have been tacking on $180 in interest charges every month. I cannot make a payment plan as I'm retired and only clear about $1500 a month, and I'm raising my grandson, plus I have to pay taxes, utilities, and insurance on dad's OTHER house until it sells, plus 2 credit cards that remained after he passed. I can barely make those payments plus my own living expenses, which includes a lot of medical expenses. A payment to them is out of the question.

What can I do to either make them wait until the house sells, or do something to keep them from taking the property. I'm willing to pay them the original expenses minus the interest charges, but they need to wait. Actually, I think they killed my dad. Septicemia due to a UTI. They didn't take proper care. Plus they literally broke his ankle a few months after he moved in. Not deliberately, but neglect. Plus, I can't get them to give me an itemized listing of all the expenses and payments. I'm paying nothing until I get that, because I don't think they have credited all the payments.

sorry to be so long. But no way to do it short and give you a complete picture for an answer. Thanks.

 

Optional Information:
State/Country relating to question: Missouri

Submitted: 353 days and 8 hours ago.
Category: Estate Law
Value: $25
Status: CLOSED
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Expert:  Barrister replied 353 days and 7 hours ago.

Hello,

The trust or estate could only be insolvent if it had no assets in it. A revocable trust does not provide any protection from creditors if it was revocable during the grantor's lifetime. With that said, although those assets don't have to go through probate, creditors can still come after them because they would have been considered in the deceased's estate.
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So since the trust has assets in it (2 houses) and debts of $18K, it isn't insolvent (BK is not allowed for personal trusts) and the creditors could sue the estate and get a judgment for a court ordered sale of assets in the trust to satisfy any judgment they got.
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With that said, it may be time to consider having an absolute auction to liquidate the one house to pay them so that the interest and legal fees don't continue to add up. You can always request an itemized statement of services from them if you do so in writing.
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Thanks.

Barrister

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Please be patient as I am typically working with several customers at any given time. Some answers take 5 minutes, some 35 minutes, depending on the level of complexity. But rest assured, I will get back with you as soon as I am able.

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If you need additional clarification on this question, just click "Reply" and I will be happy to help you. Please give me as much detail as you can so that I can respond after receiving all the relevant details.

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Customer replied 353 days and 7 hours ago.

BAsically, I'm screwed. There's no way I could do an auction. Houses around here are bringing nothing at auction.

 

Can I sue them for neglect even though he has passed? Wrongful death? He was old, but it was still an illness they were supposed to watch. And they broke his ankle by pushing him against the bathroom wall and twisting him onto the toilet breaking it.

 

Also, they would not give him his medication (after the ankle), and they wrapped it too tight and it was shutting off the circulation. He had a cell phone (nothing wrong with his mind - all physical) and he called 911. He told them he was on the phone with 911 and they got on it and told them he didn't have his meds. 911 made the assumption thta he was an Alzheimer's patient and was condescending. I went to the police station and talked to the supervisor. He said that was EXACTLY what they thought, but he knew who dad was (a prominent doctor in town for 50 years), and he would make sure his calls weren't ignored from now on.

 

Then I confronted the nursing home supervisor with this and she flat out told me that 911 would never come unless THEY called them. WHAT!

 

I made a complaint about that. What the hell? The fox guarding the chickens! That's why there is so much abuse in nursing homes. The word of the patients means absolutely nothing. I'm so upset over all this. As far as I'm concerned they don't deserve any more money. They rip you off to begin with. Almost $5000 a month.

 

Sorry, I'm so pissed I'm about to have a heart attack. Not at you, of course.

Accepted Answer

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Expert:  Barrister replied 353 days and 7 hours ago.

The statute of limitations on wrongful death is 3 years from death, personal injury 5 years , so it would be well within the SOL to sue. You can contact a personal injury attorney on behalf of his estate and see if they would take the case on a contingency fee basis so it wouldn't cost you anything up front.
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I understand your frustrations as it sounds like he got a raw deal.
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Thanks.

Barrister

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Please be patient as I am typically working with several customers at any given time. Some answers take 5 minutes, some 35 minutes, depending on the level of complexity. But rest assured, I will get back with you as soon as I am able.

.

If you need additional clarification on this question, just click "Reply" and I will be happy to help you. Please give me as much detail as you can so that I can respond after receiving all the relevant details.

.

Please be aware that I am not entering into an attorney client relationship, this is a public forum, and all posts are available for public viewing. There is no duty of confidentiality that attaches to any posts. With that in mind, please do not post any specific information you do not want available for public viewing. The information provided is not a substitute for a local attorney’s legal advice.

Expert TypeAttorney
Category: Estate Law
Pos. Feedback: 98.4 %
Accepts: 1795
Answered: 4/30/2012

Experience: 12 yrs estate law, real estate. Wills/Trusts/Probate

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