My husband and I signed a contract 7 years ago to exchange lite ranch dutes and lite house work for exchange of rent for a 3 beroom bunkhouse on property. Well my husband and I are both retired. We live on social security and retirement. At first it was simple and nice husband took care of 30 acreas mow and such I cleaned house for doctor twice a week. Well seven years later it is killing us... we do everything, mow,shread,plant,do two houses now and 100 acreas. Dig,plant,water plants everyday not just one or two but over 100 trees and shurbs,eletric work,carpentry,his office in town,take care of dogs,pool,we never get to take off at holidayss cause he always goes to ny to his place there... never ask if we have plans we have to stay take care of ranches and his dogs. Not one vacation... we do it all and everyday he leaves a note of things he wants done besides reg work which I end wup working to help husband mow trim etc just so he does not fall over dead he is 68... work solid everyday amd ise tp never work weekends but now sat he has us doing things while he is gone he takes off on weekends and we now last few years clean his office on sundays not genral clean but strip floors and paint clean rugs... all this for 30 bucks aweekend no gas money no help and free rent... we want to move well we are in process of finding a place to move... any suggestions oh yeah we are ordered to anser phones 24/7 period and we pay for phonesonce moved can we sue him for work

... can we sue him for work

No. The agreement was for an (apparently) inadequately specified scope of work, in exchange for the use of the house you live in.

"What we got here is... failure to communicate. " -Cool Hand Luke (1967) - Memorable quotes (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061512/quotes)

I suggest you discuss this with your employer. Explain what you have told us, and explain that this is much more than you signed on for. Tell him that you will need a clearly worded contract, particularly with specified hours and provision for vacation, etc. or you will have to quit and move out.

It does no good to talk to him... its his way period.. we are in the process of buying a home and plan on moving out... then quit. This man is very hard to work for or talk to... but can we sue him for a wage we feel is proper of all the work we have done. I have witnesses n others who say we are slaves not people... we will move but it will be hard on us since we only collect socisl security n retirement... family is helping us move they want us out of there he is the type if he finds out he will go in our home barn n private home and try to say he gave us this (christmas gifts ect_and take back... so we are leaving then telling him we quit... he never give us notice that's for sure

You can only sue him if he did not do whatever your contract said he would do. If you agreed to work for $X an hour and then decided you should be paid a larger amount, you can only sue if he did not pay the $X an hour.

You've lived under the terms of the contract (?) for 7 years. You can't change it now.

It's brutal but it's the law.

By earlier questions and answers, the contract sounds very vague. If what you described as the original contract is correct, you are exceeding the original expectations. Is there any wording similar to.. "and any other tasks as requested by the employer.." in the contract? Does the contract specify a period that it it valid? That would make it open to cancellation on either side. As far as giving notice, I would make sure that your assets are not in the dwelling at that time.

Are there any clauses regarding penalties of cancellation or quitting? Are there any stipulations for non-performance? I doubt that, but if they are in there, your employer is a very smart but unethical person.

Obviously, you need to live frugally, but to spend the remaining years of your life as indentured servants should not be an option.

I would also recommend that you speak with a lawyer in your area that helps senior citizens with situations like this. They exist and should be consulted immediately if you haven't already made your move.

Best of luck.

Does the lease give a specific term ? If not merely rent somewhere till you buy and move out now.

You are bound to do exactly the work outlined in the agreement, if that agreement is vague, then you can try to do less and see if the landlord fires and evicts you.

Next you are very rude, the expert gave you professional and correct advice, if you want an answer you like, just say so, we can all lie and tell you that you can sue them for 1000's, it is not the case, your choice is to fulfill the contract, get a new contract or move.

Give him written notice of your intent to vacate the premises with respect to a month-to-month tenancy-at-will. This is usually 30 days notice.

In the notice, inform him that, until you are gone, you will continue to perform your obligations under the contract as written, and no more.

light ranch dutes and light house work in a reasonable amount - not to exceed 8 hours per day for each of you. This would be limited to:
mowing 30 acres- not the present 100 acres
moderate watering, mowing, etc., but not to such an extent that it endangers your husband's health or requires you to assist him.
housecleaning of the originally agreed house twice a week (not the office).



...but can we sue him for a wage we feel is proper of all the work we have done. ...

As I said, no. When he asked you to do the additional work, for no extra compensation to you, you should have refused.

grannypossm does not find this helpful : a duh hemade us more work from orginal that is breech of contract so yes its default


Another case where I wonder WHY the question was posted when the OP believes she has all the answers - duh (to quote OP)!

Breach and default are two different things, by the way.

OP only wants to hear what OP wants to hear.

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grannypossm does not find this helpful : a duh hemade us more work from original that is breech of contract so yes its default

First, may I call your attention to the guidelines for using the comments feature found here:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/feedback/using-comments-feature-24951.html

Judy response was legally accurate and your negative rating was inappropriate.

Sorry, but he didn't MAKE you do anything. If he gave you instructions that you felt were beyond the scope of the original contract, then you should have stated that and stood your ground. You could have asked for a more clearly defined contract or more compensation. But you didn't, you accepted the instructions and went about following them. That will negate any chance you have a winning a suit against him.

You came here for advice from people who know the law better than you apparently do. So why argue with such people?