Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland
In January 2003 my mother executed a will which states that her estate should be shared equally between myself and my two brothers after filing for a divorce from our father. In Aprill 2003 I agreed to buy out our fathers interest in the family home.
On Aprill 11 2003 my mother executed a deed entiling myself and my mother ownership of the property as joint tenants with a right of survivorship siting her wish that I alone should have the home after her death.
Our mother passed away in August 2005. At the settlement of her estate only one of my brothers showed up. After explaining to my brother that the house was not part of the estate and warning him not to come after me later seeking a portion of my house he agreed and signed off.
A little more that one year later that same brother who confessed to owing the IRS over $80,000.00 told me that he figured out how he was going to get out of his debt and demanded 1/3 of my equity. My brothers filed suit against me for 1.5 million and accused me of undue influence and two counts of fraud.
The case was dismissed from the courts in December 2008 since they drug their feet and hoped I would settle with them. In Aprill 2009 we went to arbitration. The judge ruled that even though I was innocent of my brothers charges that I should be amicable and pay each of them 16k. He ordered that the property does belong to me, but I should make installment payments over the next 3 years. In his order he also states that if I am unable to pay them on time that I should pay interest of 5% on any outstanding balance. The first payment of 4k each is due Dec. 31, 2009.
My brothers are threatening me that if I don't pay them on time that they will have the state force the sale of my property in January 2010. Can they do this? My attorney doesn't think so, but since my attorney also failed to convince the judge that my brothers should have no interest in the property I don't trust his opinion. I also feel that my brothers have commited extortion, blackmail, coersion, defamation of character, conspiracy to defraud and I should file suit against them, do you think I have a good case?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Simply because your attorney could not persuade the judge to rule for you does not mean that he doesn't know the law. Therefore, because he knows the facts about the case, you should rely on your attorney. Similarly, you should obtain the advice of your attorney regarding the claims against your brother.
You should speak with your attorney and then seek a second opinion from another Maryland attorney.
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