Son wants to evict 98-year-old mom

[Snake Alchemist]

FAIRFIELD -- The last thing Mary Kantorowski thought she would have to worry about in her golden years was having a place to live.

After all, her husband, a machinist, had worked two jobs for dozens of years just so he, his wife and their two sons could live comfortably in their Flax Road home. But here it was on her 98th birthday that Mary is now facing eviction -- at the hands of her eldest son, Peter Kantorowski.

"This is just a despicable situation," said Richard Bortolot Jr., a Stratford lawyer appointed by Fairfield Probate Judge Daniel Caruso to represent Mary Kantorowski. "Mary has been living here happily paying all the expenses for the house and now her son, Peter, comes along and is telling her, `Get the hell out,' so he can sell it."

A trial on Peter Kantorowski's efforts to evict his mother is scheduled for March 2 in Superior Court in Bridgeport.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Son-wants-to-evict-98-year-old-mom-3337069.php#ixzz1mfMhSEmG

Who does this?

Edited to add that there may be more to this.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-man-evict-98-year-mom-birthday-15714551

[democrat_patriot]

1. Republicans do this. Every day.

Bank Ceo's.

Sons.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Some things

totally defy fucking belief. This is a prize example.

[liberal N proud]

3. Dispicable is too good a word for this joke of a human being

How many people out there wish they still could talk to their mother and haver her around.

[RKP5637]

4. A capitalistic sociopathic republican, money and profit at any cost! Many people as they age think

families/relatives will take care of them, that works well sometimes, but others are out of luck depending on families/relatives, sometimes your worst enemy.

[Snake Alchemist]

5. May be more to this

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-man-evict-98-year-mom-birthday-15714551

[joeybee12]

29. I don't think so...he says it's for her well-being...

The other son disagrees...and a court had stopped him from trying to sell the house previously.

[CatholicEdHead]

6. What a sick oldest son

[Enrique]

7. she should have gotten him that bike he wanted

back in 1949. she probably thought he forgot about that.

[sammytko]

8. I think there is more to this story -

At 98 years of age, who knows how she is really living.

The guy did offer to bring her to his house. Its not good for people that old to live alone. I had a 96 yr old neighbor across the street. Lived alone - kids in different states. Several times I or others found her out on the ground, couldn't get up.

She finally went to live with her son - a doctor - with full time housekeepers and other help - even that didn't work out.

She came back to live in an assisted living facility and she did well, until of course she died - she was almost 100.

She enjoyed being able to be around her peers - people with the same interests and stories.

[tsuki]

21. Their are ways to do things, and their are ways not to do things.

The I ain't seen her in 8 months, but I have time to quick claim the house out of the trust to cheat my brother, I think that is what detectives call a clue.

[joeybee12]

30. If that's really his intent...why does the other son

disagree? I think that's the excuse he's trying for.

[Mz Pip]

47. Had similar situation with my neighbor

She's in her late 80's early 90's I think. She started going downhill after a fall, having memory issues etc. She has 2 daughters, one wanted her to go into an assisted living situation so she would have some stimulation in her life. The one with POA insisted she stay in her home. So there she is cooped up all day long except for the home care givers that rotate throughout the week.

I've seen the daughter who wanted her mom in an assisted living situation come and visit on a regular basis. She tries to get her out for walks and outings. The other daughter never comes by. In the 25 years we've lived here I've seen the other daughter twice and she lives much closer than the one who comes to visit.

Conflicting opinions between siblings on how to care for an elderly parent can cause quite a bit of animosity. Eviction in the OP situation seems pretty harsh on first glance but I'm not going to condemn the son outright. Living alone at 98 does happen but I think it's probably more unusual than not.

[saras]

9. At some point, many kids want their parents to die and hand the money over. Some act on it.

It's not uncommon, and though I'd like to blame it all on Republicans, I can't. I know better.

[jwirr]

11. There are some like that but as a social worker for elderly I have seen this fight over and over.

I reserve judgement on this story because I do not know what her true cercumstances are. Many of the clients we screened were actually having trouble but did not want to admit it. The other thing he can do if his state has good services is ask for home health meals on wheels and homemaker services to help her stay in her home.

But I do know that sonny is not going to be allowed to sell her home out from under her to get her money. Most states expect the seller to use the money for the care of the owner unless it has been 3-5 years after the sale. So if he takes her to his home he can sell it and become the trustee for her estate but if he puts her in a nursing home he will be paying her bills until the money is all gone.

[Snake Alchemist]

12. He is the owner. nt

[jwirr]

14. Then she will need the courts to protect her if she is truely capable of staying on her on. I

suspect he inherited it when dad died.

[marybourg]

15. OR -- she might have "signed it over"

to him to keep it from "the gov'ment". Sadly, many people, even those who should know better, do this and come to grief later.

[jwirr]

18. Yes, I have seen that also. In that case she misjudged her son entirely.

[tsuki]

22. I don't think so. The house was quickclaimed out of a trust where they were both the

beneficiary. He unilaterally took assets out of the trust and assign those assets to himself. Even Rupert Roo cannot do that.

[Snake Alchemist]

24. I'm just relaying from the article.

Either this guy really wants to help his mother out because she is no longer to take care of herself, or he wants to kick her out so he can make a buck (or needs the money due to debts). Pick your version.

[liberalhistorian]

25. Pssst.......the legal term

is QUIT claim deed. There is no such thing as a "quick" claim deed.

[LisaL]

31. The article claims he quitclaimed it.

"According to Probate Court records, in 1996 Mary and her husband, John, agreed to transfer the house to a trust administered by Peter Kantorowski on the condition that Mary would live there until her death, and upon her death, the house would go to Peter and his younger brother, Jack. However, in July 2005, Peter Kantorowski quitclaimed the house from that trust to another he and his wife control, giving him ownership of the house."

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Son-wants-to-evict-98-year-old-mom-3337069.php#ixzz1mgFBwaD4

[liberalhistorian]

40. Yes, I know. I was just pointing out that the term

is quiT claim, and not quiCK claim as this poster kept calling it. There is no such thing as a QUICK claim deed.

[tsuki]

41. Thanks. I jumped over the spelling and changed some letters in the article. nt

[LisaL]

28. She has anther son who is actually visiting her.

This one hasn't seen her in 8 months. I am not sure how that translates into him being concerned about her well being.

[Dead_Parrot]

32. ^ What Lisa said

There's no way in hell he's looking out for her.

[Beacool]

52. Well, then many kids don't deserve squat from their parents.

These are kids who I wish were disinherited and the money given to a worthy charity.

[JSnuffy]

10. Easy to judge...

Reminds me of a situation within my family.

My wife's parents are both elderly. He is in his 80s and she is in her 70s. We are just hitting out 30s.

The home the parents live in is deep in forest and is falling into decay as nature tries to take it back.

The reality is that they should have moved out 10 years ago into town and into an assisted care facility. Now it is worth a fraction of it's original value and that is money that could have been used to support them. They might want to stay and they are but it's a poor choice.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

16. I'm facing that too

My parents house is all stairs, you can't get from any two points in the house without hitting at least a couple of stairs. There are even stairs in their bedroom. My mother has had two bad falls in the last couple of years.

My house has a large recital room with an outside entrance and I want to turn it into an apartment for them but they will have none of it.

[Darth_Kitten]

49. 70's is elderly?

[JSnuffy]

50. Yes... 70's is elderly...

Is that really a question?

[originalpckelly]

13. If you think this is the whole story...

I bet she needs to go to a nursing home and is just refusing.

Why does he have rights to the house anyway? Anyone thinking about that?

The full story here is not.

[sammytko]

19. Probably to keep it away from the "gubment", but you can have a $500K home and still qualify

for medicaid.

[Marrah_G]

33. They said it was a small cape.

It's probably worth so much just because of the area. If she and her husband worked all their lives to pay off the house and make it a nice home she should be allowed to stay there until she dies. Sending her off to a nursing home would probably shorten her life a great deal.

[sammytko]

44. My mother's health improved by moving to an assisted living facility

She wasn't eating right - we weren't there 24/7 to make sure. She said she was taking her meds and she wasn't

The one brother says he visits twice a week - it takes way more than that to make sure a person her age is ok.

[LisaL]

27. The parents transferred the ownership of the house to the son, but retained

right to live in the house. I have no idea what you think "the whole story" is.

[LiberalEsto]

35. on the condition that she could live there until her death

that was the original deal, but I feel the son is using tricky legal maneuvers to break the original deal and force her out.
I think this is vicious and wrong.

[LisaL]

39. Yes, and I am not a lawyer, so I don't understand how he managed

to do this, considering the house was left for both him and his brother.

[sibelian]

17. From the actual article: "his mother has rejected his suggestions to live with him..."

This is certainly an unpleasant situation but I think you can see even from the article, which is very biased, that we're getting snippets and not the whole story.

Son also states: "I'm not throwing her on the street. At her age, at 98, I'm sure that she should be with people of her peers. She should have her meals on time."

(My emphasis)

italics - I don't agree with this, I think really should be where she wants to be BUT

bold - if she's having difficulty looking after herself and won't acknowledge it, there's a serious problem, and it's not really the son's fault. If he's trying to fix it so they all, her included, have the best of her remaining years, it's possible that living in her old house just doesn't work...

All very subjective. Situations like this (which aren't uncommon) are not really something I would feel inclined to make a judgement of until all the facts are apparent.

[LisaL]

26. Why would she want to live with him?

And I don't think it has anything to do with her not being able to look after herself. That son hasn't seen her in 8 months.

[sibelian]

34. Why are you asking me?

I don't know anything at all about either of them!

[LisaL]

38. It should have been obvious this was a rhetorical question.

Therefore I am not expecting you to answer it.

[sibelian]

45. Fair enough.

[MadHound]

20. Guy sounds like he is trying for some quick cash,

After all, from the articles the house is well kept, the judge visited her and found her to be competent to handle her own affairs(this was done with the help of an actual geriatric specialist), and her other son visits her twice a week.

Sounds like the older son is wanting to sell the house from underneath her for some quick cash.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

23. Thought this was going to be about Prince Charles.

[Riley18]

36. Similar thing happened to me aunt. Her grandson got his name on her bank accounts and "bought" her

house for $1.00. She came home from the hospital one day and he would not let her back into her home. Her husband had died the month before, and the home she lived in for at least 30 years was no longer hers. She had to go live with her sister in New Jersey until now she is living in a nursing home as a charity case.

Her grandson got a substantial amount of money and her home free and clear. Not a damn thing anyone could do to help her. I hope that Mary gets her house back from her greedy son.

[marybourg]

37. a lawyer could have helped her.

[JI7]

42. What does the other son think of this ?

and how does the son who wants to sell have a right to do it ?

[LisaL]

43. The other son doesn't like it.

Especially considering the house was put into trust for both of them, but somehow the older brother was able to quitclaim it. I have no clue if he has a right to sell the house-I guess the courts will decide it.

[lonestarnot]

46. Fuck that less than human kid/goat. He will lose.

[Honeycombe8]

48. Life Lesson #98: Always be prepared to take care of all your business affairs & not rely on others.

The article says this started in 1996 when Mom and Dad transferred the house to a trust administered by the older son, Peter, with the agreement that Mom would live there until her death. Now, why would they have done that? I think I know why.

Women of the prior generation were used to relying on their husbands, and then their sons, for taking care of business for them. And husbands were used to it being that way. I'm betting Mom had never paid a tax bill in her life or decided what repair company to use to get a new roof. Dad did all that. So when they got older, Dad, with Mom's agreement, transferred to house to Peter, so Mom wouldn't have to worry about taking care of business. Son Peter would pick up with those duties, after Dad was gone. Or so Mom and Dad thought.

Had Mom said, "Wait a minute, there, Buckaroo. This is my house, too, and although it'll be hard for me to learn to do, I have no intention of signing my property away to others, when I'm fully capable of taking care of it myself." Then she would've been able to rely on her sons in the future for advice and guidance in business matters, but they wouldn't have had CONTROL or ownership of her property. And she would've been able to tell which son was more helpful to her. Peter still would've tried to take advantage of her, but at least he wouldn't have owned her home.

What Peter did later,after receiving the trust, was apparently give it to himself! Legal, I guess, since he was administrator of the Trust. So he became the owner. That is not something an honest, loving child would do, so that tells me what Peter's number is.

If older women would learn this lesson, it would save so much heartache and trouble and theft. As much as they don't want to learn to take care of business matters, and as hard as it may seem to them, it is something that every adult must learn to do, if they want to hang onto their property. Your kids don't have to OWN your property in order to help you with it.

Kinda hard to understand the initial agreement that Mom would live in the house until her death. That doesn't sound like they gave that much thought. Didn't it cross their minds that Mom might need assisted living, have a stroke & need to go to a nursing home? Whatever lawyer handled that for them wasn't very good, IMO.

"Oh, how sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." It does make me wonder, though, what kind of parents they were to Peter, how they raised him, or if he was just a bad seed.

[Beacool]

51. There must be a special place in Hell

for those who take advantage of the infirm, children and animals.

This creep sounds like he and his wife want to kick out the old lady to make some money. What about his brother? The house is in both their names and he doesn't want his mom to be thrown out of it. This son is the one who checks on her on a daily basis, along with neighbors and friends. There seems to be a support system around this lady. She's not really alone.

As for the other son, it says in the article that he hasn't seen his mom in 8 months.