Losing home of 19 years

[arkansasgal39]

Our situation is our own fault...we live in a house that belongs to my husbands sister. We have lived here for 19 years without paying a cent for rent...we have spent close to 10,000 dollars remodeling...now sister is being sued of a personal matter with a neighbor in Texas, we live in Arkansas we got a phone call last night saying that she might loose the land and house in a lawsuit from her neighbor. My question is what legal rights do we have since we have lived here for 19 years...the land is in a trust for our 11 year old neice. Is there an Arkansas Homestead Law or something or how can we go about getting this released from the Trust.

HELP:

[Mr. Knowitall]

If the land is held in trust for your niece, how can your husband's sister's potential liability put it at risk? The trust should hold title.

Living on a property with the consent of the owner, even for a long time, doesn't give you ownership rights.

[arkansasgal39]

Ok...so now how do we go about getting the deed over to us? Can this Trust be broken? We have 180 days to do something.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Why would anybody want to give you title to land held in trust for your niece? What would be the basis for breaking the trust?

[arkansasgal39]

My sister-in-law put this land in a trust for her daughter when the filed Bankrupsty, but the land we have lived on for 19 years was given to us...so the 2 acres we are living on should not have been put in the trust in the first place....so now we are trying to get it changed over and she is screwing us around saying that the trust can't be broken and she just wants to have control...she knows she's wrong for this. We need to know what steps to take to get this overturned...we have witnesses that she gave this land and house to us....and we have spent over $15,000.00 on remodeling the house. Can we take her to court and have her release the land and house to us with just witnesses, I mean why would we put that kind of money in a house if we didn't think it was ours?

[Mr. Knowitall]

You keep telling us the same thing. It's not your land or house and never has been. You lived there for nineteen years rent-free, but did some maintenance. Now you want the land and house for free. But you have yet to state anything which would form a legal basis for getting the land. Consult a local real estate lawyer.

[jk]

Wow. On top of what Mr. K advised you, you claim to have spent over $5k on the house in 3 days. ( I realize you didn;t, you simpy lied to us)

I mean why would we put that kind of money in a house if we didn't think it was ours?

because if you had to rent a house $66 per month doesn't get you very much. ($15k / 228 (which is 19 years expressed in months))

You've lived off your husbands sister for this long and are now complaining. Nice folks you are.

Bankrupsty, but the land we have lived on for 19 years was given to us

and you have documentation proving this, right? If not, to bad, so sad, you've got nothing.

[arkansasgal39]

Mr. JK
I relize you don't know me, but don't judge me and call me a lyer. We have put a total of $15,000. in the home including skirting for the winter, Pellet heater and new roof. I did consult a lawyer Friday and we can get reinbursed for our investment if we have to move. She will have to pay us back for the work on the house. And yes we trusted family..our mistake but we are honest and trusting people...I guess in these days and times being a good christian doesn't hold up to evil people. She has given us the house but we may have to have it moved...the land it sits on is what she has decided she doesn't want to give up. Is there a deed or title that we need to get. I want everything done right. Can we do a Quitclaim deed?

[jk]

The amount you claimed changed drastically ($5000 or so). When things like that change that much, it becomes very suspiciious.

You cannot get a QC deed. The owner of property is the one who uses a QC deed to release their rights to land. If sis isn't giving up land, there will be no QC deed. It would seem we are speaking of a manufactured home and I beleive most states still consider them titled (as in like a car) so the title is all that would be required to take the home away. Call a local manuf home dealer. They should be able to point you to the correct governmental agency with the answer. In my state, the secretary of state handles this type of situation. They are the same folks that issue drivers licenses. Arkansas may be the same.

Although you may have an attorney that tells you you can calim your maintainance items, sis can get an attorney that will tell her that she can sue you for damage done to the home while in your possession. It can easily go either way. If sis did not authorize the repairs, unless their is statute that allows you to repair and takes costs against rent (whoops, you didn;t pay rent) you cannot claim the costs. As well, a judge may very well look at your costs as simply accepted in lieu of rent. You can lose that argument just as easily as your attorney believes you will win.

It is really not one I would want to get into especially since the attorney costs will add a lot to the deal.

I don;t know if anybody has ever told you but some of the worst things to do are to have business deals with family. While many trust, there are just as many that take advantage of because of the trust. Everything needs to be in writing, especially if it involves family.