I have recently received a letter which I have not replied to,stating that what my husband said about them was tantamount to slander against her good character.
This person (in her sixties) was the friend of my brother-in-law(who died last year) he was a veryvery heavy drinker and she could drink too...so of course the amount of money he spent was thousands...he also gave her a few thousand whilst he was alive...nothing we can do about that..that was his choice. ..but basically she feels she is entitled to something..even we did not benefit from his money..it all went to his son as the law states because their was no will...tough thats the way it goes and we accepted that...but she keeps coming at us..in different ways to obtain money...can she sue us for slander because we stated she had already had money and she is saying she hasnt...we do have the cheque stubs and statements though.
2006-09-12 08:03:58 · 10 answers · asked by Sunseaandair 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
First off, I am not a lawyer.
Second, slander is incredibly difficult to prove. She would have to prove that you intentionally tried to cause harm to her name, and she would have to prove that such harm actually occurred. In writing (libel) this is easier to prove, but with spoken words it does not happen often. It does not sound like she even has enough to go to a lawyer, so I wouldn't worry.
2006-09-12 08:12:25 · answer #1 · answered by j 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If she was only his "friend" then when he died his son automatically gets everything. You and your husband or this woman would not have gotten anything unless he stated it in a will that you did. And since there is no will then by law the son gets it all. And there is nothing she or anyone can do about it. Let her take it to court all its going to do is cost her money in attorney's fees and I dont believe there are any attorneys willing to push it when there was no will and the man was not wealthy.
Unless shes loaded the attorney is going to see it as a waist of his time and she has no money to pay him and there is no estate to sue. (trust me i work for lawyers)
Let her file her suit, it wont go anywhere.
In order to prove slander she will have to prove that you said something to someone that cause her not to gain gainful employment, an apartment, house, car that she was trying to buy, it means nothing in a death.
I suggest you file a harrassment lawsuit against her and get a restraining order issued immediately.
Tell her that if she dosent leave your family alone she can spend her 70's in jail.
2006-09-12 08:15:15 · answer #2 · answered by bree30 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Libel has to be in print. Unless you printed something about her, that is off the block.
Slander does partially protect you if you have spoken the truth.
Slander is more along the lines of if you stated in public that "So-and-so is a raging sluut who will have sex with any one for money."
Unless she can prove that she was actually damaged by these comments, she has no case.
If you get into a "You were given the money." "No, I wasn;t" that is not slander
2006-09-12 08:09:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't sound like you've slandered her. If you went through formal probate, she would have to go through the courts to try to get anything and you shouldn't have any problems proving she has no interest in the decedents estate. Unless, she was secretly married to him, then she would have a claim. Right now it almost sounds like you have a case for harassment against her.
2006-09-12 08:10:53 · answer #4 · answered by Chris J 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is only slander if you purposely spread a rumor about her that is not true. If you went and told all her friends that she was crazy, and she was trying to steal from you all then (if it was not true) it would be slander. You have not done that.
2006-09-12 08:08:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Showing proof that your statement is true (check stubs) would be defense against slander, so don't worry about it.
2006-09-12 08:07:26 · answer #6 · answered by oklatom 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if you got the money you could sue me for offending you by answering your question. Dont worry about it,your allright
2006-09-12 08:09:51 · answer #7 · answered by Mr.Obvious 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just ignore her.. you don't have his money..end of story.. tell her that if she keeps harrassing you, you will call the police.. that will prolly shut her up.
If only alcoholics new how tedious they were for the rest of us.
2006-09-12 08:11:43 · answer #8 · answered by oneblondepilgrim 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no case for libel-thats written..And she has no case for slander..
2006-09-12 08:07:10 · answer #9 · answered by wsommer1983 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, you should just keep publicly claiming that she's an alcoholic.
it only helps your case.
plus, tell everyone that old people dont deserve money because they're just going to die anyway (or spend it on drugs)
2006-09-12 08:07:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋