My brother was killed in an automobile accident Feb. Of this year 2005. He was only 30 years old. The accident was not his fault. He had no children and he had never been married - we thought. While living, his source of income was SSI. He was mentally incompetent.
At the funeral home, before he was even ready to be seen for the last time by his family that loved him dearly, there were people coming in telling my mother there was a woman whom had hired an attorney to file a wrongful death suit. She had a marriage certificate where they had married 12 years before, when he was 18. He never told us he was married. I don't think he was intelligent enough to know he was married. Our mother took care of him in every way, She was not aware of a marriage.
My mother, hired Graham Martin, to represent her to be appointed administrator. He took the case, told her she had nothing to worry about -but he didn't show up in court. He sent an assistant instead. Mr. Martin was uncooperative and not interested. He wouldn't try to explain to my mother what was going to happen. He just told her he would see her in court when she called him. He could have cared less. I wish he would have referred her to another lawyer, but my mother was loyal to him.
In June, sadly, the woman was appointed administrator. 2 weeks later progressive insurance paid her.
Graham Martin dropped my mother immediately. She hired another, he was furious. He said he didn't see how this could happen. My brother was incompetent and had not been with this woman in 12 years, and had no children with her.
On October 13, next week, there is a court date set in the County. My mother is trying to get the marriage voided. The new attorneys assistant is representing my mother. She is fresh out of law school, a little nervous, and that worries me. On our last court date, I was under the impression that the judge didn't know what was going on. The attorney was nervous and so my mother got a couple of words in - but not enough. "The woman" wasn't there but her lawyer was there for her, and he got his say in. He said this should all be dropped and forgotten. The judge gave him 30 days to give reason why it should be. And that was it - until Oct 13 at 9am.
Money was this womans motive in my brother's life and in his death. She stomped on his family when we were down in great sorrow. Again, they were not together for 12 years, they had no children together, and my brother wasn't smart enough to be married. He was proved mentally incompetent by an SSI judge. This woman had 3 children with other men since. She has 5 total. She left them all here and there. When she got the money people were calling my mother and told her it was all spent on drugs. The woman spent 2 months in jail after getting the money. She didn't show up at the funeral home or send flowers.
Money is not my motive, nor my mother's. I honestly would rather have my brother here than any amount of money. My mother feels the same. We want the marriage voided. I feel this shouldn't have happened. There should be a law against it happening ever again to someone elses family. I understand you are thinking there should have been a will or divorce. This is a different situation. No one knew of a marriage to begin with.
My mother feels like Mr. Martin and Mr. MacFarland "the other womans attorney, conspired against her. It's a small town and very corrupt. She, and I, feel like something else could, should be done. It doesn't feel right.
We both have little if any financial resources. I'm a divorced working mother and get a little child support. She, my mother, is a widow and lives off social security.
Responding with advice or anything else would be great.
Thank you for taking the time to read this - if you did.
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