91-Year-Old Man Raises Money to Prevent Eviction by Daughter

[damnedifIknow]

" A 91-year-old man wants to stop his daughter from evicting him from the home he built 56 years ago in Zaleski, Ohio, a small community south of Columbus.

In 2004, John Potter and his wife, who has since died, gave the general power of attorney to his daughter for future matters if they declined in health, including to take care of her autistic adult brother, now 63.

But unbeknownst to Potter, his daughter Janice Cottrill eventually used that power to convey the deed to the one-story home to herself. In 2010, Potter said he learned of the deed transfer and switched power of attorney to his granddaughter, Jaclyn Fraley, now 35.

Potter, a World War II veteran and retired train dispatcher for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, sued to get the home back, arguing that his daughter had transferred the deed to herself illegally because those with the power of attorney are not permitted to transfer assets to themselves from the estate they oversee. "

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/91-year-ohio-man-evicted-home-daughter/story?id=19134306

[magellan]

1. What a hideous thing to do to a parent

...for no apparent reason (and I can't think of a good one). That the daughter won't comment says a lot about her motivations.

I hope that his granddaughter is able to raise the money so Mr. Potter can stay in his home.

Sad.

[Blue Diadem]

2. It sounds like she took custody of his son, her brother, during his illness. He's been fighting for

visitation. Poor man, got sick, lost his son & his home.

http://realestate.aol.com/blog/on/vet-john-potter-eviction-daughter/

[magellan]

5. Man, this stuff just tears me up

Thank goodness Mr. Potter has his granddaughter fighting for him. He's not completely alone in the world.

[Blue_Tires]

4. I hope to god there is some long history of abuse and the daughter finally gets revenge

that's the only thing that halfway makes sense to me...

[magellan]

6. I suppose it's possible

...but that's a hell of a way to exact revenge if so. And you'd think the granddaughter might know something about whatever he supposedly did to deserve this treatment....

[Politicalboi]

7. Or saw how much attention her brother got

And resented her parents, or maybe she took care of her brother most of the time and felt she deserved it.

[siligut]

8. Looks like the daughter has a new husband

That could do it. If he were an abuser, I doubt he would have handed POA over to her.

[haele]

9. I suspect that is part of what is behind the issue.

A "recent" husband who might feel they are owed the house because of all the personal time and perhaps financial maintenance they exerted taking care of the house and the brother while father in law was ill.
True, it could be that the daughter is just a selfish shrew who realizes she isn't going to get sole title to the house to sell when daddy finally dies (especially if he doesn't look like he's going to shuffle off the mortal coil any time soon), and wants to get rid of it while it is still worth something before he dies. Otherwise, she'll have to wait for probate to be over, and she probably still has to share the proceeds of such a sale with her disabled brother. But there still seems to be a lot of published evidence of greed and/or shady dealings on the daughter's side of the story than one would normally read about in such family disputes.

If the house is sold now, while the title is apparently in her name as her father's trustee, she and her husband is looking to make a tidy sum of money - and they can always let Medicare/Medicaid take her brother when it's all over - because I highly doubt the brother will be allowed to stay if once the father is forced to leave.
Add an asshole judicial system where if the person being defrauded has a limited time to report the fraud and recover the title to the house in a timely enough manner - like a sick old man who trusts his daughter to care for him would jump on a situation like that quickly - there is going to be another soul-less legal decision on how the time-line to evict a 91 year old from the house he built 54 years ago is going to go forth. I hope that since this has been going on for at least two years, they'll at least "let" the father pick out the home he'll be dumped at after they take the house out from under him.

So, according to the granddaughter, Potter apparently has to come up with $120K+ to get his home back. Just because he either wasn't aware or didn't think that his daughter could somehow end up with title of the house along with the power of attorney he signed over to her when he was sick back in 2004, and probably would never believe she would put him in this situation.

It's more likely that the above is the scenario than getting back at an abusive father - especially now that the granddaughter won't talk to her mother and step-father except through a lawyer.

Haele

[siligut]

10. Daughter says it is about a family feud regarding brother with autism

Potter’s daughter, Janis Cottrill, told NBC4 the family feud is based primarily around visitation rights for Potter’s other child, who has autism. Cottrill’s husband – and Potter’s son-in-law – also claimed he and his wife have been very upset about the feud, even spending some nights alone crying. This dispute is why the threat of eviction is being held over Potter's head.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/money/real-estate/wwii-vet-facing-eviction-daughter-and-son-law

But, I am sure money has a whole lot to do with it too.

[haele]

11. Fraudulently take the title of a house because of a family feud over visitation?

And then threaten eviction when that doesn't get them their demands?
Sounds like a reasonable method of action to be able to see one's autistic brother on a regular basis.



In my experiance, the thwarting of an expectation of financial gain is at the root of 75% of all family feuds. 10% happens when there is no concern over financial gain, but someone just married an asshole (i.e., a reactionary or wingnut), and 15% is over hiding some sort of family "secret" from the rest of the community (abuse, addiction in the family, someone married an outsider from the family class or Klan, etc...)

Haele

[siligut]

12. Yes, money is a big factor

I agree with your assessment.

[Blue Diadem]

13. Appears to be the daughter's husband via the NBC4 link from your posted article.

NBC4 asked Potter's son-in-law and daughter about evicting her father.

"Actually, I can tell you an awful lot, simply because I'm the one who is doing it," said Dean Cottrill.

http://www.nbc4i.com/story/22027812/wwii-veteran-about-to-be-evicted-by-daughter-son-in-law

Now I'd like to know why they don't want the man to have visitation rights with his son. They claim if he drops his visitation suits, that they wouldn't evict him.

[siligut]

14. The gofundme site is up to $85,498.00

Seriously, this does stink on all levels.

http://www.gofundme.com/GrandpaJohnJPotter

[dembotoz]

3. some kids are just born to be bad