A Dying Wish Fulfilled: The Power of JALA Teamwork

After years of caring for her grandmother, Shateal Redding Johnston inherited the Jacksonville home her grandmother had built in 1959 and lived in until she died at the age of 95.

But soon Redding found herself at risk of losing the home to foreclosure because of fraud perpetrated by relatives.

By the time the case came to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, it took two attorneys and a housing counselor to unravel and rectify a range of issues to stop the foreclosure.

“They took the time to listen, to understand, and to come up with a great plan to allow me to be able to save my grandmother’s home,” Redding said.

Redding had taken over the guardianship of her grandmother, Susie Mae Foster, after family members stole Foster’s money and forged her name on a reverse mortgage on the home. The foreclosure was based upon this presumably illegally obtained Home Equity Conversion Mortgage.

A little over a month before her foreclosure trial, Redding turned to JALA for help.

“The Court knocked Ms. Redding’s defenses relating to the fraud right away,” said JALA Attorney Lynn Drysdale. “The Court determined she could not raise the forgery and lack of mental capacity. Her case looked hopeless and became even more and more hopeless as time went on.”

In spite of the fact that Foster had a will leaving her estate and home to Redding, and although Redding had sent $19,000 of the proceeds of the loan back to the mortgage servicing company, the foreclosure was still moving forward.

Once Foster passed away and foreclosure was imminent, JALA attorney Carol Miller discovered that a previously filed probate lawsuit had not had any activity in almost a year because a private attorney Redding thought was working on the case had not followed through.

Many families face the loss of real property because the heirs don’t understand the need for probate cases to transfer property title to living owners. Redding had started the process, but the case had languished.

“Even though we were able to get the trial continued at the last minute, we needed the probate completed before we could work on the loss mitigation and other home saving efforts,” Drysdale said.

Miller also determined that the attorney who was supposed to be helping Redding with Foster’s guardianship had not filed accounting information or the other required guardianship papers in years. After a team of JALA employees analyzed bank records to estimate expenses, Redding and Miller asked the court to waive the annual reports to avoid recreating years worth of accountings based upon old records and guardianship documents. The court waived the reports so that the probate lawsuit could proceed and Redding was able to get title to her home, as her grandmother’s will directed.

“It was a miracle on top of miracle situation that seemed hopeless, but Carol and Ms. Redding made it happen,” Drysdale said.

Next, JALA Housing Counselor Marissa Vetter succeeded in obtaining nearly $20,000 in rescue funds from the City of Jacksonville’s Foreclosure Intervention Program, which is designed to assist homeowners like Redding. Redding was able to provide other financing to add to the grant to pay off the loan.

“I obtained a rushed check to pay off the loan just before the sale date,” Vetter said.

Throughout all this, Redding was having a myriad of health issues requiring extensive care and hospitalization. Still, she was still able to gather all of the information that was needed and take care of all her responsibilities in the case. She promised her grandmother she would not lose the family home where she’d entertained friends and family for decades, and she was determined to keep her promise to her grandmother.

Redding expressed her gratitude to the team at JALA for turning a nightmare “into the beautiful dream of home ownership.”

“Each one of you worked tirelessly on this case. You are the best team this side of heaven,” she said. Thank you for believing in me.”

Redding’s case exemplifies the complexity of heirs’ property cases, as well as their importance in enabling people to preserve generational wealth and add to the stability of their neighborhoods.

In 2023 alone, JALA preserved $1.9 million in home equity through the resolution of heirs’ property cases.

“Heirs’ property cases are always particularly gratifying to solve,” said JALA President and CEO Jim Kowalski. “The family home is not only a vital asset to pass on to the next generation, but it is also imbued with memories of loved ones and a sense of one’s personal history.”