My Home Was Raided by the Police in Central Florida
Life Lessons
Do You Have the Right Team Around You?
My home was raided by the police—I hope I have the right team around me to protect my rights.
Let me share a short personal story with you. In the Winter of 2010, and ironically the day I came back from my paternal Grandmother’s funeral, I received an alarming text stating “911, call me immediately”. My call back lead me on a path far beyond comprehension. My neighbor was letting me know that my deceased parent’s home was being raided by the police. I had no idea why or where this was coming from. The older college students(who were cosigned by their parents) whom I had rented the home to had over $14,000 worth of marijuana shipped to the home via USPS.
I made two phone calls immediately following this alarming news. I called my friend who was a defense attorney and to another friend who was a real estate attorney. My defense attorney acted quickly and decisively on my behalf to let the authorities know that I had no involvement nor knowledge of the events. My defense attorney also let me know that the county in which the house was located was in a financial deficit and they were looking to seize homes. That would have added insult to injury considering I had a mortgage on the house. My defense attorney indirectly protected my financial interest as I could have been forced to pay a mortgage on a home that I no longer owned.
My real estate attorney helped draft documents to move all of the tenants out of the home on their own free will.
An unfortunate reaction by the remaining tenants resulted in property damage exceeding $2,000 above the security deposit. This lead me to call another friend who happened to be a sheriff to see what my rights were. Unfortunately for the remaining tenants, their actions could result in another felony charge. Due to the hypothetical new charges they could have faced, the tenants decided to pay for the damages they caused.
My story is an extreme example, but life happens. Another example could be the sudden death of a loved one. The point of my story is that I had the proper team in place to protect my interest beyond anything that I could have ever imagined. I also had the proper team in place during the series of deaths in my life.
In a financial sense, the right team would normally be defined as your: Financial Planner, Investment Advisor, Insurance Advisor, Estate Planning Attorney and Banker. Do You Have the Right Team Around You in the unfortunate situation your family faces an untimely death of a loved one?