[Pocket]

My brother owns our house..
He bought it with money my mom
set aside for me to get stable housing.

Well it wasn't set up right and it all went to him.
We have been struggling with money. There was
a bill he said, this is in an email, that he'd pay all
but $50 since he viewed that as "extra" if we got
rid of the cable for a year. We got rid of the cable
but there was still about a $200 balance.

We have about $80 left then its paid off..then the real
monthly bill will be like $60 and thats just for internet.
We are trying to pay on our cell bill. next pay check it
will be all caught up.. for a few days..

My brother wants $500 for rent...more or less putting
back money into the house. He has stopped repairs
untill we start giving him money. We have a huge hole..
picture will come later... in our kitchen ceiling from our
upstairs bathrooms' pipes burst. But now we have 2 new leaks.
Its right above our stove and is causing the house to smell.

I hate it.. As far as a lease...there is none. There are emails of
arguments and agreements and most is back and forth and alot of
this well if you do this... I'll do this but never happens on his part.

Last night my mother in law who was trying to help us with him,
and got pissed off so she washed her hands of it, said out of the blue he
emailed her. He said that he was thinking of shutting off the water and
electricity.. and in the state of Indiana that is against the law...

So I've come up with a plan but I am just afraid that it won't be enough.
Then earlier today he texted me...saying I have till the end of the month
to pay for Feb. and March.. I can't come up with $1000 on my own...

[Tiva]

Who lives there with you? Because if it is just you and your husband I would state cut your loses and leave. You can probably find cheaper rent and a better landlord. If the Bills aren't in your name it won't reflect against you. No lease equals no binding contract and there for he can't sue you to pay the bills because no contract in writing means that it is just you doing paying out of niceness not obligation.

[Espy]

Dude, if it's freaking illegal, he can't just shut off everything. But honestly, I don't much about these matters...

[Pocket]

Tiva~ We don't have the money saved up to move... We have a friend living with us that my brother doesn't know about...but he gives us some money for rent..but not alot. My hubby is trying but not hard enough to get a job.. I get paid every two weeks so I have to get bills and worry about having enough to get to and from work in between pay days.

[Alpha]

Well, the next big step would be to push your husband to be more motivated to get a job. Not trying to be pushy, just logical.

[Pocket]

I have.... I've broken down in front of
him and told him how stressed and stuff I am..

[Crevan]

Wait, so your mom set up a fund for you but did the information wrong and instead it went to your brother.. And your brother knows this money was suppose to be for you.. Do you have anything in writing, email or other wise from your mother or your brother that states that the money he obtained the house with was yours?

[Pocket]

Ya... when the were looking over the will after her death, they found it was set up wrong. But it was with "my" portion of the money.

[Vicious Whisper]

You should sue him for it. Go to Legal Aid? If it was in my mom's will ~ that that money was suppose to go to you ~ Then your brother committed fraud at the very least.

[Trakadon]

So the money was set aside by your mother for you. So in essence you owe him nothing. It was your money that paid for it. If you happened to go to court over this then the judge would say that he would have to pay you back all the money in which he used to buy the house.

[Tiva]

Unless it states in the will that the money was suppose to go to you then nothing can legally be done, it is your word against his.

[Pocket]

The only reason we are paying rent is to put that money back for repairs and stuff..from what I understand.

[Crevan]

Originally Posted by Pocket

Ya... when the were looking over the will after her death, they found it was set up wrong. But it was with "my" portion of the money.

If the lawyer that was handling the will noticed something wrong than she or him should have told you, that if your brother has knowledge of the wrong in the will by having something from him in written form than you can contest the will since there was a mistake in it. If you do contest the will and it shows that you are correct, your brother would be obligated to pay you your part of what was left in your mothers will.

As for the house, if there is no legal binding contract signed by you and him in turns of rent and repairs on the house. Than he is by law required to make the repairs on his own and that hole in the ceiling is a health risk which he could be fined majorly for. He as the owner is obligated to maintain his home by all means. Also since there is not contract about rent or anything than you are by no means required by law to pay him and if he were to try and evict you he would have to go through a long legal processes. At least that is my understanding, but it can very by state so your best bet would be to look up lawyers in your area that have NO consultation fee or have a very small one if you can manage it or maybe look into your states pro-bono lawyers which are lawyers who work for free.

[Kotomi]

okay I don't know if this will help or if you can't get the money worked out and all he needs to know that it is not good for the house to have those turned off

sure it costs money to pay the bills and all but it keeps the house in better care even with all the leaks and problems...

I've had to take care of a house that has the water turned off...
i have to bring water in jugs since the owner won't turn it back on I have to bring the jugs least once a week and pour the water down the pipes it keeps it from smelling and having sewage to come up the pipes...
when the water pressure is gone it can do that... or that was at least what I was told after it backed up once...
it's a pain


the other houses I've seen with those turned off anre in worse condition than that one and two were torn down in the past 4 months...

hope things work out for you, as others said more likely need to get help so this can be sorted out if there was an error and all then and there is proof then there might be a way to get everything worked out

[Fauxreal]

Not having a contract is the problem in this case. That and your brother would do this to his sister.
No offence but it sounds like you brother is a testicle. (He's hanging out not doing anything.)

Not having a contract puts you in a bad spot. You could sure him for being your landlord and screwing you over. But at the same time he could call the cops and say you are squatting in his house because you don't have a contract to live there.

Either way. It's not good.

It's she said/he said at this point without that legal will document and lawyer.