OUTCOME: We were able to obtain the compensation due her from the estate.
A person with a chronic illness asked our client to care for him in her home, rather than him having to go into a nursing home. He promised to pay her for her services, but passed away before doing so.... They did not formalize this agreement in writing. His family was aware of the "round the clock" services she provided, but refused to compensate her from the estate, claiming that she was not entitled to payment because the two had been friends.
Divorce and separation
Creative solution to a problem.
Jun 11, 2009
OUTCOME: His attorney, realizing that we were very likely to prevail, advised his client to drop the divorce case, which he did. Our client then dropped her cases; they remained married, and she was able to care for him until his death.
Many years ago, a 75 year old woman came to us because her 77 year old husband of 50 years had filed for divorce. He had terminal cancer and the beginnings of dementia, and had become convinced that s...he was having an affair. She did not want the divorce because a) she wasn’t cheating on him, and b) he was going to need someone to care for him as his cancer progressed.
We listened to her story and tried to figure out how we could help her. Michigan is, after all, a no-fault state when it comes to divorce. If he wanted a divorce, he could get one.
We settled on an entirely different approach. We decided that a man in his situation (suffering from dementia and a terminal illness) who wanted to divorce his wife, was not competent to make that decision. We filed cases requesting that she have guardianship of his person, and conservatorship over his finances.
