Squatters won't leave apartment of deceased 103 year old, denies family access

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WhatInThe

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Squatters once hired as aids for 103 year old deceased woman will not leave her apartment saying they are the rightful airs to it since they were like 'family'. They won't let the family in or have it. The aid eventually brought in her mother and sister from Columbia. They even threatened to flush the woman's ashes if her actual family did not leave them alone.

https://nypost.com/2023/03/18/home-aides-commandeer-dead-103-year-old-womans-nyc-pad/

Squatters seem to get an obscene amount rights. Without a deed or lease how the heck are they not tossed within days. I've heard of adverse possession but one has to squat for a couple of decades unchallenged.

These punkette grifters claim they were like 'family' yet no problem flushing their 'family's' ashes down the toilet.
 

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I want everyone reading this to be aware that I am not a lawyer. I had a similar case. I’m going to keep this as short as I can, so a lot of the details will be skipped.

I was called to a home to help with an eviction. When I got to the home, a man and woman were arguing over who owned the home. The woman thought she did because the old gentleman that passed away had hired her as his live in nurse, cook, housekeeper, everything. The man was the Executor of the estate snd served her with an eviction notice. She didn’t move out stating that she had the property rights due to her living there for 9 years. He handed me a copy of the eviction notice. After I made certain that the notice was legal, I called my boss and told him the situation and asked him how should I handle this. His answer was “Don’t and hand the case over to the DA.”

In Pennsylvania, we have a law titled “Doctrine of Adverse Possession.” Or, Squatter’s Rights. The DA told me that the law is very ambiguous with this rule. The property must be less than a quarter of an acre and the person or persons must have lived in the property for at least 20 years. BUT, like any law, there are exceptions.

The DA advised the Executor to file suit against the woman and allow the judge to make the decision. This case went on for 4 and a half years because she lost the original case, but appealed the decision, which the Appellate Court stated that there were errors made in the defining the law and sent the case back to the Court of Common Pleas. This went on and on for years and ended up in the Superior Court, which found in favor of the Executor citing that the Plaintiff did not meet all the requirements for ownership.

Since this case was ruled on, I have heard that the laws have again been changed.
 

I don't know anything on the legal situation in the U.S. But here I know the case of a 60 year old mentally disabled man who lived in a flat owned by his mother. He is under tutelage and became unable to live on his own and moved to a housing group with assisted living. His cleaning woman refused to leave the flat. My wife and me wrote a letter for his sister that she sent to his curator. The curator called the police but as they arrived at the flat nobody was there. The police changed the lock that the cleaning woman could not enter the flat again. All done!
 
911 said:
This went on and on for years and ended up in the Superior Court, which found in favor of the Executor citing that the Plaintiff did not meet all the requirements for ownership.
Click to expand...
Once the lady lost, could they force her pay back rent. It might be a way to discourage these squatters a little bit.

911 said:
Since this case was ruled on, I have heard that the laws have again been changed.
Click to expand...
Hopefully in favour of the owners.
 
A similar situation in Chicago. A criminal occupying an apartment in dead mom's apartment building. 6-8 months to evict in Chicago.

How are squatters with no documentation given the same rights as someone with a signed lease and who probably put down first, last and security ie has money in the game so to speak.

The criminal also part of shooting in building and left damage like a bullet hole in a window.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/chicago-family-fights-pro-squatter-142148015.html
 
Didn't this "squatter" business all start with the equal rights
folks using the court system??? Seems like that is what I
recall anyway....
 
I wonder if in this situation it would be legal for the heirs to disconnect the utilities?
I know you would be in trouble doing that to a tenant but it would seem these people wouldn't have the same rights.
 
hawkdon said:
Didn't this "squatter" business all start with the equal rights
folks using the court system??? Seems like that is what I
recall anyway....
Click to expand...

I think it started in Roman times or before.

I guess the way we feel about squatters should make us empathetic with native americans/ first nations peoples who watch their whole continent get squatted on.
 
911 said:
I want everyone reading this to be aware that I am not a lawyer. I had a similar case. I’m going to keep this as short as I can, so a lot of the details will be skipped.

I was called to a home to help with an eviction. When I got to the home, a man and woman were arguing over who owned the home. The woman thought she did because the old gentleman that passed away had hired her as his live in nurse, cook, housekeeper, everything. The man was the Executor of the estate snd served her with an eviction notice. She didn’t move out stating that she had the property rights due to her living there for 9 years. He handed me a copy of the eviction notice. After I made certain that the notice was legal, I called my boss and told him the situation and asked him how should I handle this. His answer was “Don’t and hand the case over to the DA.”

In Pennsylvania, we have a law titled “Doctrine of Adverse Possession.” Or, Squatter’s Rights. The DA told me that the law is very ambiguous with this rule. The property must be less than a quarter of an acre and the person or persons must have lived in the property for at least 20 years. BUT, like any law, there are exceptions.

The DA advised the Executor to file suit against the woman and allow the judge to make the decision. This case went on for 4 and a half years because she lost the original case, but appealed the decision, which the Appellate Court stated that there were errors made in the defining the law and sent the case back to the Court of Common Pleas. This went on and on for years and ended up in the Superior Court, which found in favor of the Executor citing that the Plaintiff did not meet all the requirements for ownership.

Since this case was ruled on, I have heard that the laws have again been changed.
Click to expand...
Maryland pretty much matches Pennsylvania’s laws with squatter’s rights.
 
Jules said:
Once the lady lost, could they force her pay back rent. It might be a way to discourage these squatters a little bit.


Hopefully in favour of the owners.
Click to expand...
I don’t believe the squatters were ordered to pay back rent. The laws were changed, but the only part of the law that I knew was changed was that the amount of time living in the property was changed from 20 years to 10 years with exceptions.
 
We don't know the whole story. One of the parties is dead, so we will never know.

My fiance was in the process of transferring properties, etc., so we could get married. When he died suddenly, his family were still co-owners, and I was homeless overnight. They acted like I was garbage because I was "not family." He wouldn't have wanted that.

I know that the article says the deceased's daughter was paying for the apartment, but we don't know the full story there either.
 
I can understand if a law was created because common-law or close family members lived together for many years and the death of the owner meant the other family members wanted to kick that person out.

Adding. This is just what happened to @NorthernLight

Seems like crazy result if it’s just caregivers that are just squatting because they can.
 
Jules said:
Once the lady lost, could they force her pay back rent.
Click to expand...
In Calif, a court can order a squatter to pay back-rent. The downside is, it's up to the homeowner to collect it. The court won't garnish her wages or use any type of force or tool to help you get payment.

In most states, the best way to prevent or evict squatters is to fill out a lease agreement with someone you trust, get it notarized and/or signed by a witness, and each of you keep a copy...you do this while you're still alive. Then, if a squatter situation happens after you die, the trusted person won't even be required by law to have lived on your property at all, ever. In Calif, a prearranged lease agreement has more legal weight than any type of Last Wishes document.
 
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I'm watching a show right now that takes place in Madrid. A lady from Colombia with dire circumstances is squatting with her teenage son. The owner was injured and is in a nursing home and her children want to sell.
The squatter, Gladys, did not want this situation until the racist neighbor insults her and her honor so now she won't leave on principle.
The neighbor softens to her and feels ashamed so he talks the elderly neighbor into letting the squatter be her care giver so she can stay in her home.
Nice story but not so nice in real life unfortunately.

@NorthernLight I'm sorry this happened to you.
I knew a man our age who moved in with his girlfriend. They were happy until she came down with dementia. He tried to care for her but it got too much. The kids came and overnight he was homeless. Life is rough at times.

It sounds so frustrating when I hear someone has taken over someone's home with no recourse!
 
Handyman in California had to break into his mother's house after it was occupied by squatters. Husband died and decided to rent house. An inquiry turned into squatting.

Handyman had his mother sign a lease renting the home to him. Waited until squatters left and moved in. When squatters returned he was able to have a friendly conversation with them. They were gone with in a day.

https://nypost.com/2023/03/25/california-man-turns-the-tables-on-home-squatters/
 
Apparently a squatter in Texas got chased out by a tv news story and Houston detectives that were able to verify the squatter's lease was fraudulent. Eviction attorney says squatting the worst he's ever seen it.

https://abc13.com/houston-squatters-linda-giang-action-13-rental-property/13029813/

The squatters were gone with in 3 days of the tv story which found the squatters had criminal records and family with outstanding warrants. Detectives then checked out lease.

3 days under threat of criminal prosecution. How come many states and cities take months or years.
 
WhatInThe said:
Squatters once hired as aids for 103 year old deceased woman will not leave her apartment saying they are the rightful airs to it since they were like 'family'. They won't let the family in or have it. The aid eventually brought in her mother and sister from Columbia. They even threatened to flush the woman's ashes if her actual family did not leave them alone.

https://nypost.com/2023/03/18/home-aides-commandeer-dead-103-year-old-womans-nyc-pad/

Squatters seem to get an obscene amount rights. Without a deed or lease how the heck are they not tossed within days. I've heard of adverse possession but one has to squat for a couple of decades unchallenged.

These punkette grifters claim they were like 'family' yet no problem flushing their 'family's' ashes down the toilet.
Click to expand...
I would smoke them out! They are trespassers surely.
 
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