Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Grandfather gave me money for taking care of grandma, now he want's it back!

you are VERY wise to have not signed anything, and we strongly suggest u do not sign anything without consulting with or retaining an attorney beforehand! right now the burden of proof would be on the plaintiff here, but if you sign something contrary to a gift being given to you, you would then bear the burden of proving it was indeed a gift thereafter. if you would like a free phone consultation in this matter, email us directly with your contact information today or call us at 562-983-5576.

Re: Grandfather gave me money for taking care of grandma, now he want's it back!

I will be glad to discuss this with you. If info correct as stated by you, you should probably retain counsel to resolve this and to fight this. He will be responsible to provide proof of some agreement and your acceptance, however, you must respond or judgment can be taken against you.

Re: Grandfather gave me money for taking care of grandma, now he want's it back!

A person who gives a gift cannot convert it into a loan after the fact without the recipient's consent. The fact that your grandfather's investments lost value does not entitle him to reclaim funds he has already given to you. You are not obligated to sign the promissory note your grandfather gave you, but if you do you may become obligated to repay the money.

Of course, your grandfather may try to argue that the funds were a loan and that you agreed to repay them at the time you received the money. The absence of a signed agreement will help you, as will the evidence of his prior promises to take care of you. Those promises are probably not binding on him, but they are evidence of what he intended at the time he gave you the $80,000.

As others have said, you should retain counsel to defend you. This does not sound like a complicated case, but if you try to handle it on your own you might very well make mistakes which would result in a judgment against you. You need to file an answer within 30 days of the day you were served, so start looking for a lawyer right away.

Finally, I disagree with Mr. Nelson's advice that you seek a conservatorship for your grandfather, since I see no reason to believe he needs help managing his affairs. His lawsuit suggests that he is greedy but not that he is incompetent, and the fact that he has taken up with a much younger woman is not pertinent unless she is exercising control over him.

Re: Grandfather gave me money for taking care of grandma, now he want's it back!

A gift is not refundable. Call me directly at (619) 222-3504.

Re: Grandfather gave me money for taking care of grandma, now he want's it back!

Get a lawyer to defend you (be prepared to pay a retainer + hourly fee) and kindly show your grandfather and his new honey the route to hell. GIFTS ARE NOT LOANS AND ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. You will win.

Re: Grandfather gave me money for taking care of grandma, now he want's it back!

Lawsuits are not cheap, even if you're the defendant. I assume you carried out your end of the bargain probably above and beyond the call of duty. If you have records of some sort, that would help. You should not sign anything without having a personal consultation with an attorney. You have 30 days from the date you were served to file an appropriate response. If you need to discuss this further, drop me an e-mail with your info, and I'll contact you over the weekend. Thanks.

Re: Grandfather gave me money for taking care of grandma, now he want's it back!

get yourself an attorney fast, to defend the lawsuit, and to discuss filing a conservatorship for your grandfather.