Cash found in Ohio house's walls becomes nightmare

AP ^ | Nov 8 | JOE MILICIA

[Paved Paradise]

My standard is to avoid lawyers at all costs.

[Paved Paradise]

Oops, almost forgot:

You: “Who the ignorant one now?”

Me: “Uh, you?”

[MaxMax]

Agreed, the 10% would have been a nice bonus. And anything found
in another persons home is not lost and found. This guy is a scoundrel.

[Ditter]

Where I am going? I just want you to answer my question. If I find change under your sofa cushions, is it mine or yours?

[dennisw]

Looking at this story purely in retrospect -—

He misjudged the homeowner’s fairness to reward his honesty with a decent share of the loot
Never in a zillion years would she have found the money by herself. The cash stash stayed in place until he started renovating

He should have kept the money and told no one not even his wife
He should have disposed of the currency at coin trading shops for cash. This old currency had numismatic value of upwards of a million?

Then to be fair once he got a good fix on how much the boodle was worth he should have left her with a paper bag full of cash. $100,000 on up. Had a courier deliver it anonymously or send it via UPS

We all know the outcome now— The homeowner’s greed landed this in the courts and both parties befitted minimally

[Paved Paradise]

It would make a great movie the way you play it out, that’s for sure....

[Paved Paradise]

I can’t find your question. Also, why are you looking under my sofa cushions, you weirdo?

[PhatHead]

It would make a great movie the way you play it out, that’s for sure....

Yes, it did! (Okay, not exactly the same story, but the it reminded me of this move...)

[dennisw]

What happens if you find Bill Ayers under your sofa cushions and he jumps up and bites you for no apparent reason?

[Balding_Eagle]

If I found money while working on a house, I’d be danged if I’d say a thing.................... The money is NOT the homeowners either.

That's nonsense. When a person buys a piece of property, with some exceptions, everything goes with it, and belongs to the new owner.

You're advocating theft.

[Thumper1960]

The only thing I have concerns over would be the estate asking for the money. The estate was settled and the house sold. It seems that once all that happened, the current owner would have full rights to whatever was found in the property.

Not an expert, but the estate should have been SOL.

[MaxMax]

I agree 100%. It's like finding gold in the dirt after buying the mineral rights.
Buying any house gives you "all the house", not just the walls and carpet.

[Paved Paradise]

No. Advocating it would be me saying, “You should take the money.” With that kind of logic, no wonder our country is in bad shape.

Also, there was another similar incident here that happened right around the time of this case. The people sold their house and a new owner bought it and was gutting it. The new owner found a stash of cash inside the walls. The previous owners said it was THEIRS - turned into a huge legal battle.

So, what would your enlightened opinion on this have been? You think it’s sooo simple but lawyers fought about this for a few years. Unfortunately, I forgot the outcome. It may still be in court for all I know.

[mlocher]

I think the money should have gone to the heirs.

I think that once the house is sold, all its contents are included in the sale.

[stayathomemom]

Why the contractor thought he had any right to money is beyond me.

I totally agree with you.

[BerryDingle]

Am I the first one here to wonder aloud how much that stack would be worth today if that fool had invested it?

The Great Depreesion, 1929 to 1939. Stock market crash and bank failures. This man saw what was coming ahead of time and withdrew all his money from the bank and hid it in his home as many others did. Obviously he died without anyone knowing.