Legal Eaze #54 Loan Fraud

Title: September 15, 2006

Q. Last year (2005) a family friend came to my grandmother with a business venture. She told my grandmother that if she would let her use her property as collateral that when she sold the house she was buying that she would split the money with her. My grand mother signed a deed that put her name on the property that was being bought, and was told that some other papers she was signing were giving this friend permission to use the property as collateral. Well, the papers my grandmother actually signed were loan papers putting the loan in both their names. Now this family friend hasn't made any payments and the property in question has been sold because the title company said there were no loans on it. Needless to say my grandmother, who's 75, is now being sued by the title company, the loan company, in addition to the “friend” who lied to her to get the loan. What should I or what can I do to help my grandmother?

A. A lawsuit for fraud is the starting point, in the form of a cross-complaint to the suits brought against her, with motions to set aside any fraudulent deeds and loans, and consolidation of all complaints into one action. You have an uphill battle, but it has to be done. I would strongly suggest that you hire an attorney to handle this for your grandmother, as this is not something that a layperson can handle without the help of an attorney.

Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. You may contact her via Fax at (661)825-8880 or by e-mail at maxinedev@msn.com