Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Truth. Justice. American Way.

Let's say your mother dies. And let's say, just, you know, hypothetically, that she has four months left on her lease. Let's now say that you pay her up to date and then move her stuff out of the apartment. Do you still have to pay the landlord the remainder of the lease? If you answered, "Heck, no, clearly death terminates a lease," I'd think you are absolutely correct.

If instead you answered, "Yes, you have to pay. Death doesn't cancel a lease. And if you don't pay I will hire a lawyer and take you to court," you must be the management of Lafayette Towers Apartments, who took me to court this afternoon. What the judge has to say we won't know for five days.

In the meantime, if your elderly mother wants to move into an apartment, make sure she has a plain language lease written by a landlord who understands that the deceased no longer need their apartments.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

leases r so general that they can accomodate any argument.there r landlords who r not so honest.I certainly would think death terminates everthing, but some landlords or loved ones will go after what they can get after that.it is a sad state of affairs but it IS the world we live in.tunsie.tunsie.tunsie

Anonymous said...

losing a parent is a terrible thing,losing your last parent is a hollowing feeling.you feel empty and exposed to harshness in life,which parents no matter how sick or frail r a buffer.there is a special place in hell 4 people who r mean like that.tunsie.tunsie.tunsie

Anonymous said...

Maybe Lafayette Towers thinks that you actually CAN take it with you. Suppose the deceased person in question had no remaining offspring to sue. Would they try to wring the rent out of the estate? Suppose there was no estate. Would God have to cough up the cash?

beths said...

Yes, even so-called creditors without valid claims will try to get money this way. (The humane landlord is such a rare breed--like that vanished ghostly woodpecker?) And of course they callously prey on the vulnerable. Be strong, and may the judge be with you.

eastongirl said...

i have a very good feeling about how this will all go down. El Warner - champion of the elderly!