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

[trujac]

BBM:

Right now, I'm asking myself if there was some property transaction in the works prior to her disappearance that SM was NOT willing to sign off on.

And now, she's missing…which means she can't object to anything he wants to do with any of "their" assets.
What was it her relative called him?

Oh, yeah: "Controlling."

That was it.

JMO.

Interesting thought..and seems plausible.

 

[Feistyomi]

I’m assuming BM doesn’t think she’s alive since he’s trying to file for incapacity, so maybe no need for a BOLO. MOO

Agreed, I was supposed to be guilty, so I was in the process of beginning at beginning...

JMO Does this filing have anything to do w/ handling family finances, that need to be addressed? Real estate transaction in progress?

I would hope that a husband under suspicion of murder would have to prove incompetence.

 

[PunkCake]

Yes, in our State we have used our POA for all legal matters including real estate. However, it seems strange to me that BM wouldn't currently have legal control over SM affairs should she become incapacitated--hasn't he been in control of things for a long time??

I hate being the person not caught up and popping in blindly so forgive me.
But has it been control of everything or mostly marital things?
Guardianship would grant him access to her private financials. Because she’s only missing. Not deceased. And the only other way he could gain that access is legally with a death certificate.

That’s why in missing persons cases it’ll say that their financials haven’t been touched. The bank needs Financial PoA, guardianship, or a death certificate to even allow a next of kin access.

 

[Gigi3]

Agreed, I was supposed to be guilty, so I was in the process of beginning at beginning...

JMO Does this filing have anything to do w/ handling family finances, that need to be addressed? Real estate transaction in progress?

I would hope that a husband under suspicion of murder would have to prove incompetence.

Good questions! I would hope so too!

 

[rainbowshummingbird]

BBM:

Right now, I'm asking myself if there was some property transaction in the works prior to her disappearance that SM was NOT willing to sign off on.

And now, she's missing…which means she can't object to anything he wants to do with any of "their" assets.

What was it her relative called him?

Oh, yeah: "Controlling."

That was it.

JMO.

What if SM didn’t want to sell the IN property? What if she planned to divorce BM and wanted to leave CO and live in the IN residence?

 

[oviedo]

I don't know a lot about this, but IN law provides for emergency/temporary guardianships.

So does my state but not for a missing person -they have a right to object on their own behalf as to their rights being taken away
And this really is my only point - how can the court take your rights away without your presence even if you are clearly unable to make your own decisions due to drugs, stroke, dementia etc - you are present and examined and doctors determine and advise the court and the judge rules based on this testimony - she is missing how can a judge rule and this be fair ?
IMO

 

[vaporlass]

Ok. I’m sitting here at work & something just hit me like a ton of bricks.
Remember that guy Tyson who (unknowingly ) filmed the interview with Barry?
Well...
There was talk (not sure who said it) that Suzanne left her phone at home because there’s “no cell service on the mountain”
Funny, Tyson’s phone (live feed & camera) seemed to work PERFECTLY on the mountain.
Before anyone says, “ well maybe HER cell provider is crappy on the mountain”
IF you LIVE on the mountain, bike on the mountain, it stands to reason you would have the cell provider with the best service ON the mountain

I agree! But, I don’t think you need internet connection to connect GoPro to phone? I’m pretty sure as long as everything is updated, and you have an SD card, you can video without internet, but you might not have access to all the extra features available. I could be wrong. Maybe someone with more GoPro knowledge/experience can verify.

 

[Shiloh28]

Financial POAs are often "springing", meaning they're only effective when the person is dead or declared incapacitated in writing by an attending physician.

 

[Puzzles8]

Well, if they're waiting for lab results, and he knows the results won't be back until next week, he could be right.

But also we might be trying to read too much into a simple statement of plans. LE tends to only say what's true at the moment they're speaking. Like when they say "at this point there's no evidence," there's an implied, "but we could find evidence tomorrow." Likewise this case seems to be to have an implied "unless things change" to it.

I think LE is tired of being asked for interviews and details. They don't want to be put on any timeline. Obviously LE would be asked questions they are not willing to give answers to right now. I interpret their silence as not wanting to give any known information to the perp. Keep the perp guessing and wait for him to slip up. BM has already started to over explain things. Let him keep talking.

I don't anticipate we will hear much of anything from LE until there are arrests and a solid case has been built. I think a lot of that will hinge on finding SM or her remains.

MOO

 

[Shiloh28]

So does my state but not for a missing person -they have a right to object on their own behalf as to their rights being taken away
And this really is my only point - how can the court take your rights away without your presence even if you are clearly unable to make your own decisions due to drugs, stroke, dementia etc - you are present and examined and doctors determine and advise the court and the judge rules based on this testimony - she is missing how can a judge rule and this be fair ?
IMO

I'm not disagreeing with you point at all. I just wonder if they're trying to use the temporary/emergency guardianship law.

 

[Heliopops]

Not sure if this aspect has already been covered here...found on twitter. This is an interesting new development.

Indiana Supreme Court public access case search - MyCase

Ooh - and it names his attorney. I wonder if she is who he lawyered up with? Moo

 

[Backstroke10]

I think we're staring a potential motive right in the face here.

I really do.

JMO.

I agree. MOO Maybe his landscaping business wasn’t as successful as some people thought. MOO

 

[TobyWong*]

No no no nope somethings not right. Something seems way off with this. Someone please stop whatever is happening here. Suzanne means more than whatever is going on here financially. Imo
That's all ive been saying for pages now.

 

[Whiteorchids]

IMO

The Attorney retained -
PRACTICE AREAS: Guardianship, Mediation, Estate Planning.

Looks like someone is trying to get their house in order before this explodes.

I agree I think an arrest is coming. As always JMO

 

[Tate123]

In 10 years I’ve never once seen a guardianship on a missing person - ever
JMO

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.

 

[Truecolors]

It’s certainly practical. Seems to me there would need to be a very pressing reason to request that label to be legally applied to your spouse just 3 weeks after they’ve disappeared. I don’t believe I’d have the stomach to do it, much less explain it to our children. In a word, it would be painful.

Benefit if the doubt: maybe it is money needed for college tuition, or something that SM really wanted for her daughters. That would be a reason to press forward despite the pain of this decision.

MOO

 

[oviedo]

I'm not disagreeing with you point at all. I just wonder if they're trying to use the temporary/emergency guardianship law.

I didn’t think you were at all - in my state emergency and temporary are separate proceedings and the pleadings say that - these pleadings aren’t specifying that IMO and also if they are emergency in my state you can get temporary/ emergency letters The same day in some cases jMO

 

[10ofRods]

Do you think Suzanne had a will? I was reading a bit on Indiana law-if she dies intestate BM only gets 50%, kids get the other half. Hmm.

Which, if the estate is reduced in some way (such as converting property into cash and spending it by a guardian or someone with power of attorney) then the daughters get less.

IANAL but that's how it seems to me at first glance. When and if Suzanne is declared dead (in Indiana? Colorado?), if someone has control of the assets and can sell or move them around, there could be very little left.

I wonder which state has the shortest process.

I don't think a biological father ever has to file for guardianship of his biological children; nor do parents whose children are legally adopted. There's one minor.

 

[al66pine]

Indiana Law, Adult Guardianship Proceedings
Briefly:
From @oviedo post 194 "...My suspicions are He is the proposed guardian so he can sign the deed because without those letters of guardianship he can not convey title to the buyer...." @oviedo Thank you. Agreeing.
No so briefly:
That's consistent w my experience w real estate transactions, & in particular, w title insurance companies.
It's possible (not saying necessarily likely) a buyer made an offer on their Indiana property already for sale thru MLS. If the buyer needs a loan to buy the property, virtually any institutional lender requires buyers to buy a title insurance policy in conjunction w the loan/mortgage. Title insurance companies are extrrrreeeemely strict about who signs, even one spouse signing for another (which in some circumstances may be legally sufficient for a contract). For a title company, nope, Nope, NOPE. T/I co. gonna require a court order appt'ing spouse as guardian & specifying this spouse can sign as guardian on behalf of missing/incapacitated spouse, to convey ttite.

That ^ related to closing the sale itself. As to what happens to $$ sales proceeds, whether some $$$ must be deposited & held in name of missing spouse, or whether BM can use for whatever purposes, different question.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tedious details:
1. ^ Does not strike me as being unusual in and of itself. IIRC public county records show that SM & BM own Indiana R/E --- likely as joint tenants w rights of survivorship or tenants by the entiriety, and have had (in the past, maybe currently) it listed for sale thru MLS. If the property/ies titled this way is/are the property/ies BM is petitioning to sell, then likely imo that an IN court guardianship must be established and an order issued to allow BM to sign deed and related instruments/documents on behalf.
2. mycase.IN.gov * shows BM's petition to estab. guardianship for SM, to be appt'ed as guardian for SM, and his petition to sell real estate.
Indiana Supreme Court public access case search - MyCase
3. UNIFORM ADULT GUARDIANSHIP AND PROTECTIVE PROCEEDINGS JURISDICTION ACT
"IC 29-3.5-2-4 Special jurisdiction
Sec. 4. (a) A court of this state lacking jurisdiction under section 3(1) through 3(3) of this chapter has special jurisdiction to do any of the following: ...
(2) Issue a protective order with respect to real or tangible personal property located in this state...." bbm
^ Indiana Code 2019 - Indiana General Assembly, 2020 Session ^

 

[mom2chloe]

I think we're staring a potential motive right in the face here.

I really do.

JMO.

I agree. What if BM wanted a POA to sell an Indiana property or more and SM refused?

more than two decades ago I sold a house and hubby and I bought a new one. Our realtor had POA to close for me on the one house as a single owner and simultaneously had POA to close on the new house because I had to work and things weren’t done virtually then. Since then, hubby has had an ongoing POA for me in case of emergencies or whatever. Not something I considered lightly although I know he didn’t have plans to off me. We also have DNR and wills because we have children and I would assume SM would have the same with two girls to provide for college or otherwise.
Why the rush to gain access to any shared assets especially now? Either BM is desperate with good reason or has the greedy lawyer in tow who will protect you at all costs while draining every asset you own. IMO
ETA spelling sorry