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I have a big problem before me. I will be very vague as far as details about the boat in question as well as my location for reasons that will be evident as you read this posting.
I had an agreement with a man to buy a vessel who presented himself as a P.O.A. for a failing gentleman (actual owner). Rather than act according to the law this person has destroyed the deceased's boat, robbing it of anything of value ( perkins 50 hp. , trans, winches,windlass, he even cut the turn buckles off the rigging,) I could go on and on. All this has been done with out the family even being notified of his passing. This man has destroyed this once very nice boat which I was willing to pay far more than the market value of the hiested equipment. Not understanding why this reckless and malicious charachter would do something so morally and leagally wrong I can only come to the conclusion that if he were to sell me the boat he would be required to turn the funds over to the estate where as if he sells the items he can put the money in his pocket and tell the true heirs that old boat was picked apart over the years and is not worth doing anything with. I have photos of the boat before and after these dirty deads have been done. The unsavory charachter has no Idea that I know any of this as well as spoken to the true heirs in another country. Compounding this scinario is what I must refer to as the most incompitent individuals known to man....Law Enforcement officers, who see nothing wrong with the actions and are of the position that if any wrong doing has occured that it is a civil matter and I had no right to ask for any investigating into the matter without written legal documentation from the survivors. My reply was, if my neighbors house was being robbed would I need to have that documentation to report it?
I still would like to buy the boat if all equipment comes with it. you all can catch my drift, or get the state attorney's office involved and deal dirctly with the surviving family

Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.

Sure, you can report a robbery. But if the victim can't or won't confirm to law enforcement that the property in question is stolen or otherwise illegally appropriated, there's nowhere else for law enforcement to go. In this case, with the owner of the vessel being deceased, his estate would be the victim, and his estate would be the legal entity to pursue either a civil case against the person who devalued the property or to file a criminal complaint. If you'd like to purchase the vessel, then the estate has the power to undertake that transaction with you, once the estate is properly probated.

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While pointers can be helpful, ultimately the number one lesson in any legal action is: don't take legal advice from books, family, friends, co-workers, police officers, grocery clerks, web sites, or people on legal message boards. The only person who can give YOU legal advice is YOUR attorney.

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