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    s_cianci's Avatar
    s_cianci Posts: 5,472, Reputation: 760
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    #1

    Mar 31, 2006, 07:00 PM
    Real Estate Contract signed under duress
    My wife and I were considering purchasing a home but decided against it due to discovering some problems with the wastewater disposal system. A bit of a legal "dogfight" ensued after we tried to get released from the contract but the matter has finally been resolved. As a piece of sidebar "scuttlebutt" we recently learned that the sellers may have acquired the home in a less-than-honorable manner. Specifically, it appears that the present owner tricked his grandmother into signing over the home to him by making her believe it was a loan application. I don't know for sure how he managed that but apparently that's the story. His father (the son of the grandmother in question) had been living in the home but became very emotionally distraught over the death of his wife. Evidently the owner of the home in question used that to his advantage in tricking the grandmother into signing the home over to him. He then evicted his father, even though the home is presently unoccupied (the owners have a different residence and are just waiting to sell the house in question.) The grandmother is now deceased. I am just curious to know if there is any way that legal action can be taken against this person, even though he legally owns the home, since he evidently acquired it by having it signed over to him under duress. Not that I myself could take any action but I'm thinking about the family, etc. Could the grandmother's estate somehow attempt to reclaim it? Or is it a done deal because the papers were signed, under duress notwithstanding? I'm sure that it'd be quite difficult to prove that someone who's now dead had signed papers under duress but I'm wondering if theoretically it's a possibility? Thanks in advance for your replies.
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
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    #2

    Mar 31, 2006, 07:21 PM
    The estate administer, or the other legal heirs could file a law suit against him in civil court. But they would have to prove fraud, not merely suggest it, there would have to be a actual witness that heard and saw what happened, not just people who "know" about it.
    fredg's Avatar
    fredg Posts: 4,926, Reputation: 674
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    #3

    Apr 1, 2006, 06:25 AM
    Hi,
    I agree with the answer before this one.
    Unfortunately, there is no way to prove in Court that this actually happened.
    Since the party involved has passed away, there is no witness of any kind.
    There is probably an Executor of your Grandmother's Estate, and that person could talk with a Lawyer, get their opinion. It wouldn't cost that much just for an opinion. But, I think the chances are "slim and none".
    I do wish you the best.
    ScottGem's Avatar
    ScottGem Posts: 64,966, Reputation: 6056
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    #4

    Apr 1, 2006, 06:32 AM
    You might be interested in this article:
    http://www.newsday.com/news/printedi...y-linews-print

    It sounds like its about a similar situation.

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