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Hi everyone. My 88-year-old mother fell and broke her hip. She is currently in a nursing facility. My nephew, whom my parents legally adopted, is 41 and lives with her. He HAS NEVER helped around the house, never paid rent or utilities, nor does he buy food. He is a methamphetamine addict that becomes aggressive and bullies others. He has done a ton of damage to the house. My father died 2 years ago. After her fall, my mother finally agreed to move in with me. The problem is I rent a room in a small apartment. My question is, can I (or my mom) sell her house without giving my nephew notice? I'm afraid he will destroy the rest of the house if we give him a 30 day notice. As it is we will have to sell it at a loss because he will make it impossible for anyone to fix - not that we have the money needed to do that. The proceeds from the sale will go to buying a mobile home where I can live with her and take care of her. I CANNOT live with my nephew, not even my mother can any more

SkyD64, welcome to the forum. First thing first, you need to find out of your nephew was only a meth user or if he had a meth lab in the house. It's very easy to tell the moment you open the front door to Mom's house. Was there a heavy ammonia smell, or heavy cat urine or rotten egg smell? If your Mom wasn't sick, then chances are good the nephew didn't have a lab in the house.


Now, if you did notice the above mentioned smells, then everything your Mom owns would need to be decontaminated, from her clothing, shoes, purses, china, furniture, etc. Since the hospital didn't notice such smells on her, they would have notified the proper authorities, and had your Mom in a decontamination room.
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Reply to freqflyer
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What a mess! Your mom can not go back there.

Is her paperwork in order? Is she still competent? You should be her POA. She should have a living will. And a regular will - which hopefully leaves nothing to the meth head. Good lord.

You need more help than I can give you on exactly how to go about it but call an attorney today about evicting him. Once that's done, get it on the market and take what you can get for it.

Think hard about a mobile home with you and mom living it in. It's going to be kind of tight and potentially difficult to live together like that. I would seriously consider sticking with the nursing home. My mom lived with me and hubby for 8 years and it was way too long and way too hard. And that's in a good sized house where she had her own bedroom and bathroom at the other end of the house.

Good luck.
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Reply to againx100
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Geaton is right. It actually took the FBI to shut down the one we had. Even when neighbors had been complaining.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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If he is cooking meth in Moms home, you call the police and hopefully they will rade the house, arrest him, and your problem is solved.

The house will need to be sold at Market Value if there is a possibility that Mom will need Medicaid in the future. The proceeds go to Moms care. If you buy a trailer with the proceeds, it has to be be in Moms name. You being on it is a question for Medicaid.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Geaton777 Aug 4, 2024
Meth "kitchens" are not easily raided due to the bio and health hazard: the police literally wear hazmat suits & filtering masks going in. Breathing in those fumes is bad news. If he's been doing any cooking of the meth in there the house may literally not be sellable or at the very least, has been seriously devalued.

"Once meth is found and reported, the health department closes the property. That means you cannot live in or rent out the home until after proper decontamination. That is a process with many steps, including submitting specific work plans to the health department and follow-up testing, so make sure to check... for more information."

Source: https://aeidecon.com/selling-a-meth-contaminated-house
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I agree you need guidance, but I don't think you need an elder law attorney in this case to dislodge a meth addict.

Start the 30-day eviction process (assuming his name doesn't appear on the deed). Then you want to go to the police station and get some guidance. I mean, he may have his stash right there in the house, which could get him in trouble (and nowadays drug offenses don't include arrests hardly ever).

If he is cooking meth in that house, that's a biohazard and may prevent the sale of the house.

You can go there with "support" (large guys) to talk to him. You can video his behavior. You should video what condition the house is in at that time and also to record what further damage he does before he leaves. '

I'm so sorry you and your Mom are in this mess.
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Reply to Geaton777
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You and your mother need now to see an attorney.
You must be aware that no one will show or buy a home that has a meth addict in it.
You will have to proceed with eviction and that will require an attorney and possibly restraining orders.

Please seek the advice of a good elder law attorney.
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