Elderly Man Raises Money to Buy Back House Improperly Transferred to His Daughter

Jaclyn and John Potter

A 91-year-old man has raised money to prevent his adult daughter from evicting him from the house he has lived in for 56 years. John Potter, a World War II veteran, hopes to use the money raised to buy the house back from his daughter, who he claims breached her fiduciary duty toward him by transferring the house to herself.

Potter and his wife granted their daughter, Janice Cottrill, a power of attorney. Ms. Cottrill used the power of attorney in 2004 to transfer Mr. Potter's house to herself and her husband. In 2010, Mr. Potter sued to void the transfer, arguing his daughter exceeded her authority under the power of attorney. A trial court ruled that the transfer was improper, but in May 2012 an Ohio appeals court overturned the trial court's verdict. According to the appeals court, the statute of limitations barred the suit because Mr. Potter was aware of the transfer in 2004.

Earlier this year, Ms. Cottrill served her father with eviction papers. Mr. Potter's granddaughter, Jaclyn, who now holds his power of attorney, started a fundraising campaign on the Web site GoFundMe.com. After exceeding their fundraising goal of $125,000, Mr. Potter and his granddaughter hope to use the money raised to buy back the house from Ms. Cottrill.

For more information about the case, click here and here.