Is Anyone Here a Lawyer or Member of Law Enforcement?
 

I've got a situation.

My dad died in May of last year, and I'm the executor of his estate. It's been a nightmare. He died without a will and sorting through everything has been an awful mess.

My father lived in Iowa, and he had a "companion" that he met online. I've been very skeptical of this woman from the outset, but how do you tell your 78 year old father he's being taken for a ride? His "companion" lives in New Mexico, and my father would go down to New Mexico during the Winter months. Dad bought a motor home and left it in New Mexico, giving her full access. However, the motor home was only titled and registered in his name.

Well, after dad died, I discovered this woman had the motor home retitled and registered in her name.

I've spoken to several lawyers, including the DA of the county in which the motor home was stolen, as well as the state police and local law enforcement, and I haven't gotten anywhere.

Law enforcement is calling it a civil matter, even saying that this woman claims my father gave her the vehicle prior to his death. It's incredibly frustrating. If her claims are true, which they are not, why did she wait until after he died to retitle and reregister the vehicle?

Every attorney I've spoken to is calling this a law enforcement matter.

It's like nobody wants to do their ****ing job, and I'm at my wits end about this.

Any advice?

How many attorneys have you spoken to? Have any of them been in NM?

Also go to the legal advice sub on Reddit.

I'm not a lawyer or a member of law enforcement....but you're hosed

Yeah, I've spoken to a few attorneys in NM, including the DA in her county.

I really hope not. This situation has been infuriating.

There's a few lawyers and LOE's that could answer much better than me but it sounds like a civil issue, so I'm not surprised law enforcement is saying it is.

I'd have to think if the woman has nothing in writing giving her title to the RV and there's no will, plus she's not "related" unless they were considered common-law in NM. I can't imagine she'd have a legal leg to stand on but a good lawyer should be able to tell you for sure. You just haven't found the right lawyer yet. And DLP brings up a good point - have you looked for a lawyer IN NM? I would start there.

Wouldn't she of needed to get the title paperwork notarized unless she forged your fathers name?

Sue her and get the ball rolling

Good luck.

You mean her name, I presume?

I don't know how she could retitle it without his signature. Did she use a death certificate to somehow circumvent the transfer?

It sure seems to me like a law enforcement issue. It's fraud if she forged his signature, and if she's not related and there's no will, there's no documentation that he gave it to her. I'm sure you already know this, though.

One would think.

Find a better lawyer. Easier said than done, but that's what it sounds like here.

Make her sign the RV over to you at gunpoint, strangle the bitch, wrap her in plastic, toss her in the RV, and put her in a hole in the desert. Sell the RV, enjoy your hookers and blow.

Yeah, I just edited my post. I don't know how she managed to get the thing retitled outside of forging his name and committing fraud. And correct, there is no documentation stating he ever gave her the vehicle. In my estimation, law enforcement is dragging ass.

Trust me, I've had some very unpleasant thoughts about what I'd like to see be done with this woman.

I haven't even had the chance to properly grieve for my father as a result of this horseshit. And if I wasn't a cynical bastard before all of this, this situation has really changed me in a way that I really don't like.

I've been holding off on suing her with the hope of law enforcement doing their goddamn job. Just spoke to the sheriff, and he's gonna get together with the DA, so I'm trying to remain optimistic about this.

Trouble I see is: She says, "He gave it to me."

What evidence do you have to prove he didn't?

I would start with the whatever she submitted to the DMV when she changed title and registration. I would imagine that, if your father did in fact give it to her, he would have had to sign off on the title. (That's how it's done in California, anyway.)

Check the signature.

New Mexico? Go down there, kill her and take the motor home back. She's old, you'll be doing her a favor. Plus you'll get your dad's motor home back.

Is it a nice motor home? How much do you estimate it's worth to be? Is it a sentimental thing for you, or do you just want it because you feel entitled to it?

Those things depreciate so quickly that unless it's in excellent condition or less than 10 years old, it may no be worth fighting for.

Thankfully my mom had the foresight to not only make me the executor, but she set it up so that when she passes, the house and all tangible property goes to me. All of the trust funds for the grandkids and great grandkids are all set up. So basically I won't have to go through all the garbage that you're going through. Plus I won't have to pay capital gains tax, since my name is already on everything including the house.

I know that's not really helping your situation any, but it's a good lesson for those of us who are getting long in the tooth

What are you hoping to get out of this? If your father truly cared for this woman and he did physically leave the motor home with her, what do you think he would want you to do?

Is there any chance that he actually did give her the RV? It's not uncommon for an old guy to allow himself to be taken advantage of by a rotten bitch, to avoid being alone.

That's just the thing. The only LEGAL document in play here is the title. There are no formal documents stating that he gave her the RV. If she forged his name, she's in trouble. If she didn't forge his name and didn't have some ****ing loophole in the system, then the RV STILL belongs to her father. That would generally place the burden on the "partner" to prove ownership, not on his daughter.

Why can't she have the motor home?

sounds like something that is worth the time and energy for sure

Even if he did give her the RV, it's not legal unless it's done the right way. She said there's no contract or other documents giving the partner the RV, which would typically means it's not partner's until she can prove it is.

Right. That's where to start. Maybe she forged his signature and did a poor job. Or maybe he did in fact sign it. Need to see the title.

https://www.joinnmsp.com/

If you think you can do better.

All true, but the question is what would the father have wanted? He obviously cared for this woman in some type of way.

If the state retitled it in her name she must have had some supporting documentation - they don't just willy nilly change titles for people.

I get the spirit of it but we're talking about the law. The man is dead, he doesn't have any say in the process, especially since he didn't leave a will.

You know a thread is about to pop off when it asks for legal advice. Shit is halfway into the hall of fame by thread title alone

Got a spare set of keys? Just go get it. She wouldn't have a leg to stand on without possession of it.

Of course, already said that. If she did it legally, there's no recourse. The RV belongs to her.

But the OP explicitly said there was no supporting documentation. So either it exists and the OP doesn't know about it or the OP is telling the truth and there's no documentation.

Which is why several people have already said we need more information - specifically, one would have to first look at the title to see if it's signed by him, it's legit his signature, and it was notarized. If all of things are true, she's probably hosed.

My father was in failing health, mind and body for the last several years of his life, and he was NOT using his best judgement in many ways, including this woman. They hadn't even seen each other for over two years. If my father had been able, I believe he would have taken the motor home back to Iowa before he passed, but he wasn't in condition to pull it off.

How old is she?
Is she ****able?
Do you have any pics?

https://y.yarn.co/201163fa-626c-48f1...a73d4_text.gif

https://64.media.tumblr.com/eb306e98...ri36o2_500.gif

Sounds like he left it to her if he left it there and gave her full access to it. Be happy he had someone to keep him company and a reason to visit New Mexico in the winters. You may not have liked her, but it sounds like your father enjoyed her company. Is she currently living in the motor home? I think that would make it even more difficult with current squatters rights and everything having weird laws all over the place nowadays.

I don't doubt he was having trouble later in life. Not to sound harsh but if he wasn't impaired, not leaving a will is a pretty shitty thing to do to your kids.

My advice would be to leave it to the professionals. By professionals I mean leave it to Jungle Law:

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7...(1)_edited.jpg

If it's titled in her name that would be theft...

Proving forgery is hard, even if you hire an expert. That’s why the DA doesn’t want to touch it.

Is a title a public record? I'd imagine this documentation can be had by submitting a public record request.

That right there says she either had documentation he isn't aware of that the state agreed as acceptable or she forged documents - which is incredibly hard to prove sans contradictory documentation and typically left up to a court to decide (civil matter)

Weird legal question. Is she a car thief or is she a squatter? Is the property in question a vehicle or a home?

If she has Saul Goodman as her lawyer I’d say you are screwed.

Yep. You're right about that.

If the form was *requested* and then filed after his death, then it should be pretty clear he did not sign it.

Um, that's pretty much exactly what I've said in my post in this thread. :D

I missed that she titled it in her name. My bad.

Unless she had a pre-signed title and just filed after his death - this is all up to a court to decide.

My estate attorney reached out to her a few months ago as part of the inventory for the estate. This woman could only provide the new insurance card and new title as proof of her ownership. The estate attorney told me that simply is not proof as there is no documentation provided stating my father gave this vehicle to that woman.

For all those who think I need to just be "Mr. Nice Guy" and happy that my dad had such wonderful companionship and just let it be, if you knew half the shit I've discovered about this woman and how she took advantage of my father, you'd keep that opinion to yourself. This woman is a con artist, plain and simple.

Sorry must have misread what you wrote...my apologies

Keep in mind to re-title the vehicle she had to prove to the state she was authorized to do so - the state gave her a new title in her name -as far as the state is concerned she meet the "proof" standard to obtain title to the vehicle - whether or not that "proof" is forged is for a court to decide.

Yeah, it was across multiple posts that I said it, though. You probably missed it because I always remember stuff I wanted to post after I hit "submit".

I have a friend that's a lawyer in NM and, I won't regurgitate verbatim but I'll give you the nutshell from asking him...

Obtaining an attorney is directly relative to the worth of the RV, as the fees may not be worth it.

Probably best to file an ancillary probate in NM state court and contest the transfer as a court-appointed administrator, because the transfer post-mortem has to be done by the executor.

Prepare to know who paid for insurance prior to his death, who paid for the RV (was it him, her, both), was the title signed by him prior to his death, etc.

Generally, ancillary probate is court-supervised.

Hope this helps.

I'm not a lawyer or law enforcement.


I think your best hope is to have Billay match with her on Tinder and bust her hips after a dinner of mac n cheese cups with cut-up hotdogs stirred in.

You just wrote TEKASHI 6IX9INE's next song.

I used to know a couple of guys in New Mexico who could've taken care of it for you, but haven't heard from them in years.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp...bad_h_2013.jpg

If she got a new title, the old one went to the dmv headquarters and is likely gone. My business takes titles to the local license office all the time to get new ones issued. From there they go to Jeff city and then I have no idea what happens to them. But I can't imagine them sitting on the previous one for very long.

Lots of people die intestate. When that happens, the state essentially provides a will for you. If you were on good terms with your family, it probably tracks pretty closely what you would have put in a will.

You need to get a hold of a copy of your father's title, that she submitted to the DMV, and check the signature.

and hire a forensic handwriting specialist to examine the document and render an opinion while paying an attorney to file a tort claim....is the juice worth the squeeze....

Yeah, that didn't happen for my mother-in-law. She's been sorting out her father's estate since October of last year and it's not slowing down anytime soon. The only thing he left to his kids was a trust that contained his farm and house and some random monetary assets, and the stipulation he put in his trust was that the farm and house couldn't be sold for at least 10 years. All of his kids are in their mid-to-late 60's and he put that in there for a double "**** you" to his kids. The rest of the stuff he left out of the trust he did not put in a will, so the kids are all fighting over it and the state doesn't want anything to do with it.

I guess that follows under your qualifier of whether or not they were on "good terms" but it wasn't like they were estranged or anything. He was just an abusive asshole and wanted to stick it to them one last time from beyond the grave.

Exactly. Hiring a handwriting expert might cost more than the RV is worth.

Your father's signature had to be notarized. I would contact whoever notarized his sig

Did you try licking her ass?

What he said^

I have never had to have a sig notarized doing vehicle stuff. Maybe different on a Motorhome

The general ideas in here are actually pretty good. The best advice is how much is the RV worth? If it’s worth $5K, how much are you willing to pay? I mean, you could put $20K into a lawyer’s trust account and tell him to go nuts but that’s not real smart.

The first thing you need to do is to get a copy of the title history of the RV. I don’t know NM law about that. Maybe it’s public. Maybe it’s not. But you should be able to talk with the DMV and see what it takes to get a copy of the title history.

Compare the signature of your father on the title he had with the signature signing title to her. If you know your father’s signature, you could testify as to whether they are the same. If they are not, your testimony would help but you can also get an expert on handwriting to compare the signatures. You’ll need various samples of his handwriting so try to find something he has written. If your expert will testify that the signatures are different and the one conveying title to her is not consistent with his handwriting, you’re halfway there. You’ll need samples of her handwriting to get an opinion that the signature is consistent with her. That doesn’t always happen, though, because sometimes people try to match a signature or write in a different way to disguise a forgery.

You can probably do this all on your own. If you get a report from an expert that the signature is not your dad’s, provide a copy to the DA in the county where the RV is registered. I would maybe contact a criminal defense attorney or a former DA in that county because they would know which DA to talk to, although it would conflict them out of the case so maybe throw them a bottle of bourbon. But if a DA were to find out about this case from a defense attorney who has a good reputation, that would make things much different.

Did you contact the local police or the state police? I would approach the state police!

I doubt it would be. I'd be surprised if there's a notary involved.

Was it retitled while he was alive, or after he passed ?

Always the first course

From speaking with some criminal defense guys and personal experience, finding a good handwriting expert is difficult.

My $0.02 is OP should drop this. Likely just throwing good money after bad.

I was just going to post this here.

:facepalm: no don't do that....

There’s a lot of holes in the desert. Put her in one.

I would not try to get a handwriting expert on your own. Have they ever gone through a Daubert challenge? Have they testified in court at all? Or in a deposition? You could end up with a $5k handwriting expert that isn't worth a damn. I'd let your lawyer deal with that.

That was my point.

It’s a pseudoscience.