Adult lady who has been bullyied by nephew, who shares cottage ownership

June 26, 2006 11:30pm CST
The family cottage that my parents bought in 1948 was handed down to me & my sister about 21 years ago. My sister never used it but her son & I shared it for the last 20 years, without fighting. In 1999 my sister told me & her son to start sharing the cottage expenses. My nephew would never settle up the costs, since then. He pays for maintenance of the cottage & cutting the grass & I have paid for all the taxes & hydro. He bullied his parents into giving him the cottage in 2002 & has been harassing me since. I have had to call the police and I paid 50% of the costs for a new dock for both of us & he bought the lot next door & put the dock in front of his empty lot. At a later date he told me that I was trespassing & should remove my boat from the dock. That is when I called the police. For the last 2 years I have had so where to park my boat expect out in the water in front of the cottage. I have had little use of the boat because the waves pulled it in to the shore & it was grounded twice in the sand. I am now suing him in small claims court for $9500. & the value of the cottage goes up $30,000. per year. I am afraid to go to the cottage when he is there, so I try to rely on friends coming with me Monday to Thursday night, when he is not there. He stalks me in the cottage & tries to back me into a corner of my bedroom. I have used a lawyer to no avail. Can anyone help me?
3 responses
@QnAQueen (555)
• United States
30 Jun 06
both andy and classical jazz are right. you should try to be more assertive. do make and offer to buy him out of his half. i feel for you that you have to feel harassed and afraid in what is supposed to be your own place. do you have documentation that you paid for half the cost of the dock?
• United States
30 Jun 06
If you get a restraining order the judge will assign days that you can be at the cottage and he can't be there when you are there. Also I suggest you try to buy him out of his half of the cottage.
@Andy77 (430)
• United States
29 Jun 06
Have you talked to your sister about this? Maybe she can help. Unfortunately, he owns 1/2 the cottage, so he can come in, but if he's threatening you, you need to get a restraining order from a court. Get a cell phone and the next time he tries to bully you, call the police immediately and say you're afraid he'll hurt you. If the police come, press charges!