91-Year Old Man Being Evicted by Own Daughter

U.S. – A 91-year-old man wants to stop his daughter from evicting him from the home he built 56 years ago in  a small community in Ohio.
Jaclyn Fraley, pictured with her grandfather, John J. Potter, is hoping to stop her mother from evicting him from the home he built
In 2004, John Potter and his wife, who has since died, gave the general power of attorney to his daughter for future matters if they declined in health, including to take care of her autistic adult brother, now 61.
But unbeknownst to Potter, his daughter Janice Cottrill eventually used that powerto convey the deed to the one-story home to herself. In 2010, Potter said he learned of the deed transfer and switched power of attorney to his granddaughter, Jaclyn Fraley, now 35.
Potter, a World War II veteran and retired train dispatcher for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, sued to get the home back, arguing that his daughter had transferred the deed to herself illegally because those with the power of attorney are not permitted to transfer assets to themselves from the estate they oversee.
Potter won in Vinton County Court, but an appeals court ruled last year that the statute of limitations of four years had passed on the accusation of fraud and thusthe deed could not be handed back to Potter.
Early this year, his daughter and husband sent Potter an eviction notice, saying they had terminated his “existing lease.” An eviction hearing will take place on June 12, during which the judge will have no choice but to evict Potter.
When asked how he feels about being evicted by his daughter and son-in-law, Potter was at a loss for words.
“I just cannot believe my daughter would ever do anything like that to me,”he said.
Janice Cottrill declined to comment.
The man’s granddaughter, a nurse, moved to Columbus, Ohio, from San Diego to be closer to her grandfather. She says she has not been on pleasant terms with her mother and stepfather for the last two years or so, when she learned that they had tried to place her grandfather in a nursing home, she said.
Hoping to keep her grandfather in the home he built, Fraley started a campaign on GoFundMe.com, a crowd-fundraising site.
While the home is not for sale, Fraley said other family members have told her and her attorney that her mother would allow him to stay in the home if enough money could be raised to buy it.
Fraley said she is planning to get an appraisal on the home, but so far, she has raised $40,820 from 1,740 people in the last month.
When asked if the funds could go toward rent on his home, Fraley said that is not a long-term solution that ensures her grandfather will stay in the home permanently.
“What would stop them from turning around and evicting him again?” she said of her mother and stepfather.
Fraley said she hopes people will donate to her grandfather’s site so he can stay in the home for the rest of his life.
Potter turns 92 on May 23, and Fraley said she hopes she can give his home to him for his birthday.
“That’s his home. Do I think she deserves the money?” she said of her mother. “No, but my grandfather deserves to stay in his home as long as he possibly can. If he wants to leave, it should be his decision.”