Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #12

[TKG]

IME, an i’m not an attorney. While married, we made an offer to purchase a home and considerable land in Maine. Three days after the purchase and sales was signed by all parties, the wife on the selling side was murdered by her boyfriend. The sale proceeded as the wife was not listed on the deed. It still was cumbersome and honestly very sad.

IMO this was not the first time BM considered a sale. If there was a transaction at play, SM would have signed the listing and any accepted P&S correct?

I agree, I believe we are seeing the motive. WS called this one early. I still hope however, I’m wrong.

 

[Seattle1]

Exactly and if a judge declares a missing person incapacitated and allows her property to be sold without her consent what precedent does that set?

The law is very clear. To change this requires adding a provision specifically for missing persons where the tests for determining the alleged incapacitated person do not apply. Otherwise, the petitioner must wait 7 years (i.e., petition to declare missing person dead). That's the way the law has always been.

BM can't expect to force the court to give him a remedy that already exists with a POA. If they had no POA, there's probably a damn good reason for it! MOO

 

[Backstroke10]

Why are we assuming BM needs cash? Wasn’t it determined that there is no mortgage on his CO house?

Maybe a cash flow problem if everything was tied up in the CO house. MOO I have no idea. I don’t understand their financial situation at all.

 

[Truecolors]

Why are we assuming BM needs cash? Wasn’t it determined that there is no mortgage on his CO house?

I’m suspecting that he needs cash because he’s motivated enough to complete a real estate transaction that he’s willing to have his missing wife declared incapacitated 3 weeks into her disappearance.

Owning a paid off home doesn’t mean he has liquid cash.

MOO

 

[mom2chloe]

IME, an i’m not an attorney. While married, we made an offer to purchase a home and considerable land in Maine. Three days after the purchase and sales was signed by all parties, the wife on the selling side was murdered by her boyfriend. The sale proceeded as the wife was not listed on the deed. It still was cumbersome and honestly very sad.

IMO this was not the first time BM considered a sale. If there was a transaction at play, SM would have signed the listing and any accepted *** correct?

I agree, I believe we are seeing the motive. WS called this one early. I still hope however, I’m wrong.

Thanks for sharing your experience because that is ultimately what helps us here. What if he wanted to sell the Indiana property and SM did not agree. The youngest child is likely heading off to college and maybe SM wanted to return to their property to be closer to family, friends and her church? IMO
Edited for grammar

 

[Seattle1]

Why did this filing appear to go directly to the Indiana Supreme Court?

Probate Court matters which include Guardianship/Conservatorship are heard in the Superior Court.

 

[Bridger]

I’m suspecting that he needs cash because he’s motivated enough to complete a real estate transaction that he’s willing to have his missing wife declared incapacitated 3 weeks into her disappearance.

Owning a paid off home doesn’t mean he has liquid cash.

But owning a paid off home does mean he has a mortgageable asset. People who own $1.5MM houses free and clear can put their hands on lots of cash within a few weeks.

And I don’t think he’s selling his IN property because he needs cash. I think he’s selling his IN property because he will be sued by his RE agent and the buyer if he doesn’t.

 

[Feistyomi]

Although I don’t disagree, why would one insist on the closing of any property related to the disappearance of a wife? Legalities aside, how bad would anyone want such property closed on asap although if you’re between homes without elsewhere to go I could see where that would be pressing. This case just becomes more convoluted every day with absolutely zero to go on. IMO

Dominoes, ie, what if the house you are living in, is also under contract? Should you risk losing that sale because SM disappeared. House poor? Some people will push their finances to afford just a bit more. This is another interesting development, you are correct.

 

[oviedo]

I don't think we're lost. I think it's great that UK has that law. But what does it have to do with Suzanne? Does Indiana have the same law? I'm pretty sure Colorado doesn't.

I don't see how the UK's law is helpful to Suzanne, is all. Maybe I am missing something.

It does make me want to write to my local representative - which is political and therefore, I'm now at the bounds of what I can say. Most of us "US sleuthers" are deep into trying to think through the actual legal consequences of the papers filed involving SM. I just want to know how Indiana law works.

I didn’t do a good job of explaining my thought - the U.K. took care of this issue and it was pointed out early on here’s the post -
@Seattle1 wrote :
99.9% Transactions for property or financial affairs under absentee spouse are handled by POA.

As a recent 2x cancer survivor, very unlikely SM did not have POA and Healthcare Directive.

And a petition for Guardianship for Missing Person is unprecedented!

It actually required a new law in UK for this to even be an option (i.e., The Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act of 2017).

MOO
—-/
I followed up with this -

Apologies not my intent at all - in researching this it’s clear the U.K. has very clear procedures for a missing person and guardianship but the US does not that I can find - and yet we keep going back and forth that incapacity is the same when you are missing and it isn’t that I and others have found based on the IN statues for probate - no harm intended at all

I was simply comparing that the those of us in the US don’t realize that incapacity doesn’t =missing yet but I’ve had a message that there may be a special proceeding available in IN that would allow a missing person to be declared incapacitated in absentia so all of this may be a moot point
- apologies as I did not mean any offense at all
JMO

 

[Shiloh28]

If SM signed the purchase contract, she already agreed to the transaction. Once the buyer's contingencies have been satisfied, all that's left to the transaction is the actual conveyance (i.e., signing the deed.)

 

[10ofRods]

I was under the impression that an awful lot of people need to be notified if someone was going for a guardianship i.e. parents, grandparents, siblings, children etc. It is a very big deal.

I'm very curious who has to be noticed in Indiana. Suzanne's grandparents are, I believe, deceased, as is her mother. So there's her father, siblings, and children - if that's the case in Indiana. Where I live, there's a form of public notice (to anyone with an interest) that can be published in a newspaper. It has to be a certain number of times. My parents used to skim those notices - and, well, so did I when I used to pick up a newspaper.

The notice would normally include the time and day of the hearing. Naturally, personal service would be more...ethical, but is there a legal way around it in Indiana?

There can also be "attempts at service." My aunt's brother evaded service for more than a year, so that he could show up in court and say she had made no effort to serve him. Her attorney had of course proof of all the attempts, both at the brother's home address and at his business address. The judge had the bailiff take a copy of the paperwork to the brother, told him he was now "served" and that the matter would be heard in 10 days. And it was. Sister was challenging his Conservatorship, and Brother was frankly hoping Old Dad would die before the matter was ever settled or reversed.

Anyone know who has to be served in the case of a husband seeking conservatorship/guardianship over his wife?

What if, at a later date, someone (say a minor child) takes issue with what happened? My guess is that it would be remedied as best the Court could order. If the estate is exhausted, there would be no viable remedy.

Blood out of turnips, or something.

 

[Truecolors]

But owning a paid off home does mean he has a mortgageable asset. People who own $1.5MM houses free and clear can put their hands on lots of cash within a few weeks.

And I don’t think he’s selling his IN property because he needs cash. I think he’s selling his IN property because he will be sued by his RE agent and the buyer if he doesn’t.

Is it definitely for sale if the IN property? Would the same legal procedure give him the ability to sell the CO property?

Maybe he needs more money than he can afford to service with a mortgage.

 

[Feistyomi]

You gotta watch out for the barbed wire!

Speaking only for myself, I have installed an manual seesaw w/ padding. I am now pursuing a push button electronic motor.

 

[Nadi]

If they were in the middle of a real estate transaction, I can’t see any buyer pushing for the sale to close. Nobody knows what really happened to Suzanne yet and we don’t know that something didn’t happen to her in the house. If it turns out something happened in the home, I can’t imagine that there are many people who could/would want to live in that home and even if they could, what about the Potential resulting loss of value?

 

[Murphy1950]

FWIW...an article follows here on
What happens to someone’s finances if they go missing?

 

[10ofRods]

I didn’t do a good job of explaining my thought - the U.K. took care of this issue and it was pointed out early on here’s the post -
@Seattle1 wrote :
99.9% Transactions for property or financial affairs under absentee spouse are handled by POA.

As a recent 2x cancer survivor, very unlikely SM did not have POA and Healthcare Directive.

And a petition for Guardianship for Missing Person is unprecedented!

It actually required a new law in UK for this to even be an option (i.e., The Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act of 2017).

MOO
—-/
I followed up with this -


I was simply comparing that the those of us in the US don’t realize that incapacity doesn’t =missing yet but I’ve had a message that there may be a special proceeding available in IN that would allow a missing person to be declared incapacitated in absentia so all of this may be a moot point
- apologies as I did not mean any offense at all
JMO

Gotcha - as in I really do now get what the conversation was about. I know that states can have very peculiar laws about marriage. In fact, if anyone ever asks my advice about marriage, I tell them to research the marriage laws in both the state they're in and in any state they might move to. Some of it is downright scary to someone with more progressive views about marital property.

There has to be a legal procedure, though, for a spouse to carry on with joint family financial matters, in the case that the spouse is unable to show up and do their part. I would think the Court would be highly specific about what it allowed. I would hope. Not everyone has a durable PoA (my DH and I do not, and we have some other legal matters regarding my parents' estate that we'll take care of first - but it's on our to do list). With CoVid, it jumped way up the to do list and I have a Facetime meeting with an Estate Planning attorney next week. We do have wills.

If my husband just went missing, I have no idea what I'd do legally.

 

[oviedo]

I'm very curious who has to be noticed in Indiana. Suzanne's grandparents are, I believe, deceased, as is her mother. So there's her father, siblings, and children - if that's the case in Indiana. Where I live, there's a form of public notice (to anyone with an interest) that can be published in a newspaper. It has to be a certain number of times. My parents used to skim those notices - and, well, so did I when I used to pick up a newspaper.

The notice would normally include the time and day of the hearing. Naturally, personal service would be more...ethical, but is there a legal way around it in Indiana?

There can also be "attempts at service." My aunt's brother evaded service for more than a year, so that he could show up in court and say she had made no effort to serve him. Her attorney had of course proof of all the attempts, both at the brother's home address and at his business address. The judge had the bailiff take a copy of the paperwork to the brother, told him he was now "served" and that the matter would be heard in 10 days. And it was. Sister was challenging his Conservatorship, and Brother was frankly hoping Old Dad would die before the matter was ever settled or reversed.

Anyone know who has to be served in the case of a husband seeking conservatorship/guardianship over his wife?

What if, at a later date, someone (say a minor child) takes issue with what happened? My guess is that it would be remedied as best the Court could order. If the estate is exhausted, there would be no viable remedy.

Blood out of turnips, or something.

The docket shows at least one interested person consented - my guess ? The adult child or the dad /siblings ? We serve via certified mail return receipt it’s what is recognized in my state and we serve any and all interested parties - siblings, parents, adult children etc - better to serve all than miss one and have the proceeding stalled
IMO

regarding the Petition to sell property - have we found any real estate listings because this would help determine if there really is a pending sale to finish up so he isn’t in default of an already executed contract / I haven’t found any for sale yet
IMO

 

[RickshawFan]

I’m suspecting that he needs cash because he’s motivated enough to complete a real estate transaction that he’s willing to have his missing wife declared incapacitated 3 weeks into her disappearance.

Owning a paid off home doesn’t mean he has liquid cash.

MOO

BM also doesn't seem to be doing much business, given that he reportedly has been messing around in the woods, spends a lot of time pacing, scripts a video plea, and has had time for defensive conversations on several occasions. I wonder if he's been trying to sell his biz equipment....

 

[Bridger]

If they were in the middle of a real estate transaction, I can’t see any buyer pushing for the sale to close. Nobody knows what really happened to Suzanne yet and we don’t know that something didn’t happen to her in the house. If it turns out something happened in the home, I can’t imagine that there are many people who could/would want to live in that home and even if they could, what about the Potential resulting loss of value?

The petition for guardianship was filed in IN. The presumption is the sale is of their Indiana property.

 

[Stripehaven]

Can anyone answer this quickly, was personal item other than bike, referred to as her item or an item? could this item have been someone else’s personal item? Ie could this have something of a nature used to subdue a victim. fingerprints even?!
Wouldn’t this have caused LE to divert in this direction?
Or her phone, and this did show effort for 911? Tossed because her attacker knew tracking potential?

Could there have been suspicious things going on before her attack?

Could there be another suspect identified from the beginning. I would expect bolo but if SM was believed to be alive, risk greater if
perp was cornered?

ooooops ! This is my guilty day, never mind!

I heard the sheriff refer to items (plural) thought to belong to SM.