When are you too old to be sued?

facingthefuture

Hi, kinda stuck. My dad is 70 and his siblings are older (he was the baby of the family). 25 years ago their father died. He had been looked after by one 'maiden' aunt in the family home. Everyone knew and agreed the house would be hers.
Anyway, this aunty has grown old herself in the house but has become forgetful and depressed. She is currently being assessed in hospital and they have considered putting her long term into a home. Dad came back upset last week saying he had overheard doctors were going to seize the house. His sister really wants to go home and dad doesn't want to force her into a home. He reckons if she had help at home she would be ok for another while.He was just worried how to pay for the care. I said that I had heard there were shares with a solicitor.

We have now found out there were shares that was supposed to have been divied up between the 5 siblings evenly when my grandad died 25 years ago(valued at 170k 10 years ago).
The problem is my aunt as an executrix didn't do it and the other aunt who was also an executrix was told by the first that she would deal with everything.She never knew about the shares. The second aunt is now nearly 90 years old and although mentally competent is TERRIFIED her horrible sister in law will discovered their share has been kept off them for years and will sue!This sister in law is a horrendous scary woman who DETESTS my whole family. I don't want her to start a war with my dad in any way involved, he has a heart problem.
So now we are going to have to chase the shares and sort out this mess!

Do you think the horrid woman could sue my 'forgetful' aunt and the 90 year old one. What will happen?They are all old, surely the money could just be divided now including interest and shared out. My forgetful aunts portion would go towards her nursing care.I think a court case would seriously kill the 90 year old aunt.

I know the money should have been sorted out but I only found out myself a couple of years ago when I found a piece of paper in her house and I asked her what was it about. I told dad at the time and he ended up in hospital a week later so I resolved to forget about it to save him the worry of a feud developing.
Incidentally I have mentioned it to all the other siblings over the past year (apart from the wimpy uncle with the scary wife) and they all don't give a damn. They said they don't need the money. I reckon it needs to go to them all since that was the terms of the will.
Thing is apparently myself and a cousin (the 90 year olds son) are the beneficieries of the forgetful ladies will. My aunt wants me/dad to take power of attorney.I hate seeing my aunt distressed about the nursing home and think her money and the house should be used to keep her there (at her own home)as long as poss even if it uses up her whole estate.
I just am worried about the old aunt, I don't want her in bother.

dzug

I really don't understand what a solicitor has being doing sitting on a large amount in shares for 25 years.

However, unless anyone has misappropriated the shares for themselves there isn't really any question of suing anyone - just instructing the solicitor to distribute either the shares themselves or the proceeds from selling them, plus accumulated dividends and interest on the latter, in accordance with the terms of the will. It will only be if someone refuses to do this that the question of suing will arise.

Dad came back upset last week saying he had overheard doctors were going to seize the house.

Then he's clearly misunderstood. 'Doctors' can NEVER seize the house.

To answer the headline question - you are never too old to be sued

CLAPTON

Just to clarify

there are shares worth 170k 10 years ago..
in who's name are they now in?
where has the dividend been going for tha last 25 years?
where are the share certificates?

I don't see how the scary Aunt IL can do anything as she were not due anything from the estate ... only your brother could in principle sue... and even then what exactly would he be sueing about?

Who actually owns the house your aunt lives... I dont see the fact you all agreed its hers makes that so in law? .. What do the deeds say.

I'm a little curious as no-one other than the Aunt IL cares about the shares but you are nevertheless worried about how to pay for extra care for your aunt..... surely if this money is surplus to requirements the siblings could choose to help the aunt.

was there a solicitor involved with dealing with your granfather estate or did the aunt do everything?

If your aunt needed to pay for care the matter would be fully discussed with the family before anything would be done... there is no question of seizing the house and it wouldn't be the medical people discussing this but social services. If you are worried about this it might be best to make contact with them and have a discussion about this.

facingthefuture

Thanks Clapton........

CLAPTON wrote: »

Just to clarify

there are shares worth 170k 10 years ago..
in who's name are they now in? DONT KNOW GRANDADS WILL WAS NEvER COMPLETED
where has the dividend been going for tha last 25 years?GOODNESS KNOWS
where are the share certificates?SOLICITORS

I don't see how the scary Aunt IL can do anything as she were not due anything from the estate ... only your brother could in principle sue... and even then what exactly would he be sueing about?SHE IS MARRIED TO MY UNCLE ONE OF THE SIBLINGS

Who actually owns the house your aunt lives... I dont see the fact you all agreed its hers makes that so in law? .. What do the deeds say.DEEDS DO SAY ITS HERS

I'm a little curious as no-one other than the Aunt IL cares about the shares but you are nevertheless worried about how to pay for extra care for your aunt..... surely if this money is surplus to requirements the siblings could choose to help the aunt.PROBLEM IS APART FROM DAD NONE OF THE LIKE MY AUNT AS FOR THE MONEY/SHARES THEY JUST WANTED TO FORGET ABOUT IT- IT WAS HASSLE. (they all know except horrible aunty who would have wanted the money if she knew)

was there a solicitor involved with dealing with your granfather estate or did the aunt do everything?Everything is with the solicitor. Aunt did nothing - literally nothing was done.

If your aunt needed to pay for care the matter would be fully discussed with the family before anything would be done... there is no question of seizing the house and it wouldn't be the medical people discussing this but social services. If you are worried about this it might be best to make contact with them and have a discussion about this.

The rest of the family don't want anything to do with it, dad is the only one who is close to this aunt

Incredibly dad met by chance the solicitor at the hospital last night. He asked her where the shares were, she said still at the practice (shes left it).

I phoned two cousins last night about it, they were totally unaware of what was going on. I figured since most of the 'siblings' are now using zimmers, I think they should help with any decisions their parents make, or at least look after their parents in the process.Otherwise its just dad and I trying to sort out the mess and I don't want him back in hospital.

The original aunty I don't think can be got at much since shes gone with the fairies. Its the 90 year old who is virtually immobile, though very intelligent and capable otherwise.

I think there was a sum of money in cash (about 15k) which was also supposed to have been divided in 5 . Apparently my "fairy" aunty somehow got it from the solicitors and ran round the little town with it in her bag, taking wads out to buy a newspaper! It all appears lost.
Again the horrid aunty would have been entitled to a fifth of this!!!!!

One of the siblings, a brother lives in Australia and is tremendously wealthy (land, racehorses etc). So we presumed it was the money he sent her, we were concerned because we thought she may get attacked because of it.

Frankly, I don't know has the solicitor been paid, has any tax been paid, whos name the shares are in or anything else.

Hopefully my cousin whose mother is the alert 90 year old will call me back today and she will be able to help her mother sort it. She lives overseas so I am kinda left with a lot of ageing rellies who are really eccentric and don't like each other!Jeez, I wouldn't mind but here I a trying to sort out my own finances because £100 is a lot to me. Its costing me a fortune in fuel trying to mediate between this lot. Hence time for the cousins....
thanks Clapton, its therapy even laying it out like this. I now have to go and clean my aunts house in case she gets out this week. Im dreading it - lovely house but she does daft things.

margaretclare

Just one point: Doctors do not and cannot 'seize a house' - it's not what they do!!!

Margaret