GFYS said:
Though this assumes that there wasn't a lien on the house and property. Would anyone here be shocked to learn there's a second (or third, or fourth) mortgage on the house? Weston Chandlers. 'Nuff said.
A very valid point, but I can't find any record of a lien or mortgage from the greene county clerk's office. That doesn't necessarily mean there isn't an outstanding loan against the house, but I haven't found one yet. I haven't bothered looking into any contractors board liens because it's pretty obvious no licensed contractor has been on the property for decades.
I tend to believe the Chandlers own the property free and clear, though, as they (well Bob) had plenty of time to pay it off. In fact I think that's probably why they choose to live there; a large mortgage payment would have sent them scuttling somewhere else. As to second etc. mortgages: Chris and Barb are the sort of people that credit cards prey upon but loan officers flee from. There is no way they'd be approved without a full appraisal, and I don't see that going well for them (or them even allowing a bank appraiser into the property). They'd just demand the money site unseen and throw a tantrum when it's denied.
Interestingly the county clerk's office and several real estate appraiser give a land value for 14BLC of more than $60k to $70k. That's a quite lot more than I had guessed, and Cole could walk away from Virginia with anywhere from $10k to $30k or more (depending on who else comes out of the woodwork) for a quick trip to Virginia and a little paperwork after Barb kicks it. I can definitely see him doing that.
MrTroll said:
Ignatius said:
Coleslaw is the sibling we know the most, but what about Bob's other children? Will they try to get on the property (and Chris, I guess) after she kicks the bucket?
I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see how they'd have any legal claim to any of the Chandler "estate". Bob either left everything to Barb in his will, or didn't have a will at all, in which case I'd think it would just become hers by default as his next of kin.
If Barb was the sole inheritor of Bobs estate (pretty sure she way) and has her own will (pretty sure she doesn't), then whatever her will says goes, and Bob's other kids are SOL if she so deems it. If there isn't a will (very likely) it gets more sticky, but preference would be given to the descendants of the current sole owner (Barb). In that case Bob's kids could make a play for a share, but their lawyers would get most of it.
This kind of sucks for Bob's other kids, but golddiggers do this shit all the time. I have a relative who's losing out in an estate worth several million because her dad left it all to his golddigger new wife with a bequest in his will to include his own kids when she dies. The golddigger ignored that bequest in her own will (which she as sole inheritor and new sole owner could do) and left everything to her own worthless illegitimate deadbeat son. They were only married for about three years. My relative isn't even getting to keep her dad's book collection.
Bob's other kids only real chance is if Cole heads down to Virginia to administer the estate disbursement and acts upstandingly towards them. I honestly don't know how likely that is.
WhiteKnight said:
He is not a cold hearted monster,
You're right. He's a lazy, incompetent, self centered, indifferent monster. Big difference. He wouldn't intentionally hurt those dogs, true, but it wouldn't occur to him to not unintentionally harm them.
and for all we know, those beagles are his only real joy in life,
Unless they connect to a television and play playstation games, that would be a no.
and he takes care of them the best that he can.
Does anyone really think "the best Chris can" is somehow good enough? And that's assuming Chris even tries the best he can for those poor animals.
I know I'm probably getting close to A-Logging in this post, but damn I feel sorry for those poor dogs. And I also feel sorry for the Chandler cats. I feel sorry for just about anything that somehow finds itself at the mercy of the Chandler's indifferent attention. I'd almost go as far as saying I feel sorry for the Chandler cockroaches, but I suspect they are the happiest, most contented cockroaches on the planet. Even now they're probably lounging around 14BLC, fat and happy, wistfully dreaming of getting another delicious taste of Bob.