Agony Hound: Late Brother's Partner Suing Family for Money

Of course technically this ought to be Legal Beagle rather than Agony Hound but I don't want to start a whole new tag for this one, which is largely here for its entertainment value because the matter is completely clear cut. It was originally on the r/legaladvice subreddit but has been removed so I've got it from the Wayback Machine. Here's the question:

Our brother age 34M died of cancer 9 months ago. He was very successful and left behind money and assets. He also had a Will. My brother was also in a gay relationship for 8 years with a 28M partner. Our family is religious and yes we may not have approved the relationship we still loved our brother. He unfortunately died of cancer and left a will. Left most of the money to his gay partner. They weren't even married. We decided money to be kept within the family and but gave his partner some money. We also paid for brothers funeral and medical Bill's. We thought that was the end of it. But now his ex partner is suing us for the rest of the funds. I don't know how he got hold of the will. My family is still grieving and now this man wants to take us to court. Trying to see how to solve this without involving the court. Thank you for your advice

The Hound says: Fuck you and I hope the boyfriend makes you live in penury for the rest of your lives.

But let's also see the other responses to this ridiculousness.

So, things you can worry about:

• To be sued for the value of everything that was detailed to him in the will. You will almost certainly lose.

• Punitive damages. Don't be surprised if they go for triple.

• You'll be on the hook for attorney's fees.

• If the value was >$1200, then the sister could, in theory, be charged with felony theft/conversion and/or contempt of the probate court. That would also come with fees and possible jail time.

The real question is who the court will force to repay the money. The person with the most exposure is the sister, as the executor. She's looking at a complete and total wipeout, and she cannot discharge that debt in bankruptcy. She can expect wages to be garnished, tax refunds and lottery winnings to be garnished, her credit to be trashed, and if she is charged with anything, severely limited future employment prospects

Can I just say how much I love the US English idiom of garnishing wages, in this case garnished with retribution and retaliation?

My sister was in charge of the will, according to his partner he did not want to be in charge because ' he didn't want to deal with us' 'he hates us' so my sister who was best friends with my brother acted as the middle ground for us and his partner. We were shocked when we read the will. We didn't expect it to be that unfair. I am trying to make it right

level 3

clippy-

1.5k points·1 day ago

You can make it right by paying him what he is owed voluntarily. If you don't, the courts will get it from you. Either way, this ends the same for you, assuming you don't face criminal charges for, you know, stealing from him.

Have you considered that maybe this guy hates you because you're the kind of people who defraud him from his rightful property, then cry foul when he asks for it back.

Oh yeah, lawyer up. You'll need one badly.

level 3

phneri

Quality Contributor1.9k points·1 day ago

because ' he didn't want to deal with us' 'he hates us'

That's generally the response to halfwits who rob you, yes.

You make this right by giving him everything he's owed according to the will and asking him very, very nicely not to sue you or file a police report.

And this is my personal favourite answer to them:

> Our family is religious and yes we may not have approved the relationship we still loved our brother.... We decided money to be kept within the family.

You just admitted to theft on the internet. Thoughts and prayers

This makes me so happy.