Update On My Dad's Estate

[JLB]

I just sent two emails.

The first was to the County Attorney and the Probation Officer. I told them things about the improper conduct of jerk and his dad in dealing with the Estate and beneficiaries, to stay out of prison and avoid paying restitution.

I had not done that for five years now, but thought they needed to know things they would have no way of knowing.

The second email was to the attorney we are trying to hire, to let him know that I am stepping down to simplify his dealing with my family, and to let him know that I am here for whatever he needs.
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My brother is engaging in an email campaign of discrediting me and my efforts of the last six years. He's been doing actively doing this the last month, arguing with anything I say, demanding on being in charge, and demanding that the law firm accept his version of the attorney fee agreement.

Since I can't stop him from doing that and it only makes things worse if I try, I have stepped down, even if it means we will not prevail.

I have warned my nice stepsister about the consequences. Since my brother sent the retainer check to the attorney, my stepsisters think this is all done now. They don't see that the attorney may turn it down or that the fees may wind up being more than my brother sent.

Perhaps my brother has had some training from certain Internet forums.

[JLB]

The attorney we were trying to hire finally started working on it.

Then, this morning I checked the case file online and found this:

Filings
Title: STATE VS MICHAEL NORMAN KANE II
Case: 05771 FECR175225 (POLK)
Citation Number:
Event Filed By Filed Create Date Last Updated Action Date
ORDER OF DISCHARGE OXBERGER LEO 07/29/2008 07/30/2008 07/30/2008
Comments: FROM PROBATION

My heart sank when I saw it. Probation is not over until 8/23/08, and no Hearing had been scheduled. The PO had told the CA that she was going to report a probation violation in July, for not fulfilling restitution, but she did not do that.

I have inquiries in to her and our new attorney. I sent one to the CA handling the case, but he told me to direct it to our attorney.

I cannot read this Order online, just see that there is one. Perhaps it is not what it appears to be.

If it is, perhaps our new attorney needs to request a Hearing to report a violation of probation.

[JLB]

Well, that did not take long. The PO answered while I was composing the last post:

"He has been discharged with the wage garnishment in place which will continue as long as he still owes."

So, he was allowed to get off probation, without fulfilling restitution, despite the Restitution Agreement requiring it as one of the term of probation.

Anything can happen in a court of law. Law is not law unless a judge decides it is.

[JLB]

The County Attorney has now replied with the same information, that he has just been informed that jerk has been Discharged from Probation, without fulfilling restitution.

FWIW, prison is crowded and there is a high expense involved in incarceration.

Also, there is an Order, from a previous probation violation hearing, and repeated now by the CA, that any missed payment after probation would be Contempt of Court, with a sentence of 6 months in County Jail for every missed payment.

But, you would have to find him first, and who would enforce that, the criminal part of the case now having been completed?

[Oracle]

I guess keep tabs on the jerk and every six months take an advertisement notices section of the local paper with his picture, name and address. Basically stating that he is a convicted felon residing in that community who has not made restitution for his crime.

Letters to his neighbors. Sue him to get a civil judgment. Sell the debt to a collection agency.

[JLB]

Six emails from my brother tonight, to all the beneficiaries.

2 criticized or corrected me for statements I made, or our attorney made to me, and I passed on to all. (Blame the messenger syndrome)

3 blamed the situation on the Court or the County Attorney.

The last one blamed our attorney, who just got started this past week after my brother delayed his hiring with idiotic demands since June 11.

My brother did not apologize for the delay.
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DW summed it up well:

On June 11, the judge told us what to do, and the County Attorney repeated that, met with us in their office, called an attorney for us and sent us to him.

On July 28 we had not even started.

So, the State discharged creep from probation.

What's not to understand?

Another version from DW: On June 11, four of you decided what you needed to do, agreed, and set aside the money to pay the attorney. The fifth beneficiary did not, made demands, and caused delay.

Why did you let him do that? Why didn't you just go ahead without him?

Yup, seems pretty clear.

[JLB]

On the bright side, because of all of our posturing and protesting, the State did do some things in this case they normally don't do.

First, in a probation violation hearing in 2006, when the judge sternly scolded jerk, he told him that if he ever stops making payments after probation ends, he will be found in contempt of court and will spend six months in the County Jail for every missed payment.

Then, last month, without Notice or fanfare, the online case file showed that the State had garnished his wages, so that payments are no longer mandatory. It was when I saw that that I sensed we were in trouble, that the State felt that was all that was needed in this case, that they had waited for us to do something, and when we did not, they did.

Of course, if he moves or changes jobs, what good is a garnishment or the threat of jail?

[JLB]

Our sorta attorney reported in. He said jerk is required to appear in Court every 6 months and prove he is making payments, and that he is being garnished, which we already knew since we can read.

He said if we accelerate, it is likely that interest will be allowed only from time of notice, not time of default, so there would be no back interest. It would take an action in court to do that. He didn't see much advantage in doing that.

The advantage would be that if we started interest running now, the court-mandated monthy payment would be $450/month short of paying the interest, so jerk would be either have to pay more, pay it off (or down), or pay the rest of his life, rather than just a few more years. I have told the others that if our attorney says there is no adverse affect of doing that (like staring the statute of limitations running), that sounds okey dokey.

The Just Desserts of all of this is that in order to get his way over the attorney fee agreement, which is what caused the delay, which is what allowed discharge to occur, my brother sent the law firm $1500, and agreed to pay another $500. So, he is the only one out money.

Of course, now he is complaining that the attorney is now advising us on things outside the scope of what we hired him to do!!!!

When I notified all that discharged had occurred, the note I added was, "Our delay did not serve us well." His reply was, "It served the State well."

Yes, it did.

Also, the other day my brother asked me to approve his converting/cashing in an insurance policy that Mom left each of us, which he should have done in 2003/2004. I replied that, as he knows (since he made a 2000-mile trip to object at the Final Hearing) that Estate closed long ago (Jan., 2006) and I have no powers to conduct Estate business.

But he continued sending me stuff.

[JLB]

Almost 3 months have passed. I have contacted our attorney occasionally and he has not heard from any of the other beneficiaries, including my brother (who paid a $1500 retainer).

At my urging, our atorney contacted all of the beneficiaries by email a couple weeks ago, asking for replies, and I still have not heard that anyone has.

. . . except for a stepsister who asked me what she should do, and I told her she should reply to our attorney, stating her wishes, and she did.

[jericap]

My Gosh....hurry up and wait!