More details to this question:
My husband died in 2005. Prior to his death grandfather died and left portion of his property to husband. Husband sold his portion to cousin. Cousin told husband she would pay $45K to husband. She paid $30K upfront and was to make monthly payments of $500 until balance was paid. Never happened. Last payment was 3/2005. Still owes $8K. Now property was put up for Sheriff's sale and my husband's possessions that he had stored in garage are gone. When I confronted cousin, she said that she didn't have time to call me to remove his possessions. Sheriff sale took 1 year from start to finish. What can I do? The only paper trail of this agreement is a document where I have payment dates and check numbers.
1 ANSWER
Unfortunately, because the contract was breached so long ago, in 2005, the statute of limitations on the claim of your husband's estate (not you personally) for repayment of the loan has probably run. Such limitations period can sometimes be extended under certain circumstances, including the death of the obligee, and the fact that the wrongdoer was a fiduciary (you may have an argument that your husband's cousin owed him a fiduciary obligation as a close family member, but I think the argument is very weak), but your email doesn't indicate any basis for extending the statute (I believe it is four years in Pennsylvania) up to the present day. If your husband's cousin had reaffirmed her obligation in writing, that might extend the limitations period, but you indicated that you had no writing in which she had done so.
Your husband's estate probably has a claim against the cousin for the value of your husband's possessions which were lost due to her neglect. However, in light of the fact that she just lost the property to foreclosure, there is a reasonable chance that she doesn't have the money to pay for the loss even if you should sue her and obtain a judgment.
Answered on Dec 05th, 2013 at 12:20 PM