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Handling parents affairs
I placed my parents in a highly recommended nursing home in Ohio. The care they got was excellent. The billing and financial affairs were not. Over the course of their stay (they are both now dead) the nursing home forged my fathers signature on his social security funds removing them from his bank account and depositing them in the home. Questions about the billing never made sense and all inquiries went unanswered. After mother died they sent me a bill for almost $22,000 with no detail and then went into court in Ohio (I live in Colorado) and got a judgement against me for same. When my father died, they sent me a form asking my permission to be administrator of dads estate which I refused. They did it anyway. Then sent me a demand for $42,000 on "behalf of my fathers estate," and demanded payment. Subsequently got a judgement against me in Ohio courts for the $42,000. They have now hired an attorney here in Colorado to collect these monies. In all, they have been unrelenting and vicious. It never ends. I have said repeatedly that if I owed them money I would pay it, but all requests for explanation have gone unanswered. The judge out here says that it does appear a bit strange but that he is bound by Colorado law to enforce the judgements. I am told that legal expenses to fight this would run as high as $60-80,000. I am at wits end. They have tormented us, embarrassed us and stopped at nothing to collect without giving any reasons. I am at wits end as to what to do.
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You have two problems. The first is possible fraudulent activity on the nursing home's part due to the forged signatures... that should have been taken up at the time it was occurring, not after your father's death, because it will be very difficult to prove. If you have reasonable proof that your father's signature was in fact forged, then you should take the matter directly to the police regardless of what you choose to do about the $22,000 bill and the $42,000 bill. The same goes for the administration of your father's estate. If your father died without a will, the legal circumstances are different than if he died with a will. If your father left no will, then you might not have much say in the administration of his affairs, especially if he died owing money to the nursing home. A good attorney can fill you in on the details. It's imaginably possible that someone at the nursing home is engaging in fraud at your expense.
Your other option is to hire a pit bull of an attorney who's willing to work for a piece of the action a can counterattack by filing a suit for defamation of character. If you truly did not have a contract with the nursing home, then it would explain the nursing home's lack of desire to communicate with you about fees and charges, but at the same time it lets you off the hook for any of your father's expenses.
Not all lawyers require payment up front. Some are willing to work on contingency, which means that they get a slice of any judgment in your favor. If you can prove that the harassment damaged your credit rating or caused you to lose work, you might have such a case. Or, if you can prove that the problem was due to someone else's fraudulent conduct at the nursing home, it may be possible to get your lawyer's fees taken out of the nursing home's hide.
You don't say whether the person who gave you the cost estimate was a lawyer. You might be better advised to shop around for another one.
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what you need to do is check with the head of the company,request to see the papers and request all the moneys that were taken and for what they were used for, dont take no for a answer, there should be receipts for all transactions or better yet get a lawyer your parents were ripped off right the wrong that was done to your parents, and im sure if you request a lawyer the company wil take a second look at the papers and the moneys that are gone..
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This topic is way over my head, and out of my range. I wonder if you could hire someone who specializes in recognizing forgeries. Otherwise, see if anyone else can help, or knows anyone. It seems that you have a good case, but finding a good lawyer to represent you may be too costly. If I were you, I would fight it in any way possible. But remember, I am NOT speaking from experience. I don't want to be the cause of your downfall. Please consider any other options before giving up and letting them take all of your money, or spending every cent fighting a fight you may not be able to win. My hopes, thoughts, and prayers are with you.
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