Saturday, October 31, 2009

A friend inherited a house which was then sold. She says she has no money. How can the cash be located?

The person involved is about 80 years old, widowed and suffering from acute memory loss. It would seem that the cash from the sale was invested in some way. I can only think that the people in the know would be an estate agent and/or solicitor (if we knew who they were).
Answer:
Did the executor of the estate that she inherited from sell the house? If so, then they have to account for where the funds went.
Due to her advanced age, did she give someone else power of attorney on her behalf? They may have access to her money, and may have "invested" it in something that is not in the best interest of this woman.
Your country court has records which reflect both parties to this sale.

I suggest that you check the Property Records there and ascertain which party represented the seller in this matter and then go on from there.
Try land registry, they might have the new owners and you could possibly trace the estate agents or solicitors from there. You could also go to the house and make some enquiries there. Good luck.
Thes best way to go is to start from the sale. First, the real estate agent that list the property. She should know something. If no agent involved, then the buyers. Buyers should know whose they paid the money to or accepting the money on behalf of your friend. I think the easiest of all is to talk to the buyers, because they must be the current owner and it is the easiest person to locate. Once you know who present at the closing of the sale of the property, you can find out the person accepting the check.

The other person you should ask, if you can find out, the Lawyer who handle the transfer of the property. He or she should know the people at the closing. If not, the lawyer should have records and documents of the transaction. In your case, your want a copy of the cancel check written out to the seller. Once you have a copy of the cancel check, you can see in the back the bank or place where it was deposited or cashed. You then go to the bank and ask for the account records. From the bank account records, you should be able to trace the money. You can also find out from the account the name of the customdians, trustees or the person authorized to write check for your friend. Once you do all this, you should be able to find out what happen to the cash.

It is a little work, but you can do it. You can go either way. Start with the buyer is the best. He or she can tell you the lawyer, the real estate agent, the buyer agents, or any one that involved. Ussually, buyer have a good memories of the eintre transaction of the property. Because after all, this was their bigest investment.

Good luck!
If the buyer is living there, I'd go talk with them first. They know exactly who took their money. How many close relatives or "FRIENDS" were around her at the time of the sale. I've worked in nursing homes before and some people will have you chasing things that aren't moving, not on purpose mind you, but memory plays some nasty tricks on people. I do hope you figure it out though. Check with area banks to see if she opened an account or rented a safe deposit box. Hope it's paid up if she does. Good luck.
Trace from the title agency that handled the closing. A check was issued for the house - go from there.
If the person isn't dead then your friend hasn't inherited the house.

But otherwise, as the person above said the executor must account for every little penny of the estate.

No comments:

Post a Comment

 
vc .net