96-year-old woman faces eviction from elderly people's home unless she pays £100k to new owners
A 96-year-old woman from California faces losing her home if she doesn't cough up some major cash.
In 2002, Jean Jacques signed a lifetime contract to live at Forest Hill Manor nursing home in Pacific Grove, California, paying a $250,000 (£190,000) deposit to secure her spot.
She then paid an additional $5,000 (£3,800) per month in rent until her money ran out.
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However, the owner of the facility, California-Nevada Methodist Homes, went bankrupt a few years ago and sold the property to Pacific Grove Senior Living in 2022.
When the new owners purchased the facility, there was a clause saying previously signed 'lifetime care' contracts, which ensured those who'd outlived their savings would not be evicted, would be honoured.
But, just two years later, Pacific Grove Senior Living's parent company, Pacifica Senior Living, has served the 96-year-old a notice that says she owes them $110,000 (£84,000).
If Jean fails to pay the full amount within three days, she could face eviction from her home of the past 22 years.
"I was shocked," she told local news station KSBW. "The reason I moved into Forest Hill Manor was to be taken care of for the rest of my life.
"I’m not going. They’ll have to bury me because I have no place to go. They have all my money."
It seems that while Jean's contract was grandfathered in during the sale of the facility, the policy which ensured she could stay at Forest Hill until she died was not.
Bob Sadler, the president of Pacific Grove Senior Living's residents' association, said that while California-Nevada Methodist Homes considered the lifetime contracts unconditional, this is not the case for its current owners.
"She’s devoted all of her savings and money into this place," Sadler said. "What would you do... see her out on the sidewalk? I don't think so, that's insane to me.
"I don’t care what the legal ramifications are here. This is morally unthinkable."
Elizabeth Campos, a project manager with the Alliance for Ageing, is now fighting for the company to uphold Jean's original contract so she can stay in the home she's lived in for more than two decades.
Campos claims that the eviction notice had not been approved by the Community Care Licensing Division, the California government agency overseeing care facilities.
She also says the notice didn't give any instructions on how the eviction could be appealed.
"You know, it’s frustrating. You do get angry knowing that it’s an elderly person," Campos told KSBW. "Where is this person going to go?"
LADbible Group has reached out the Pacific Grove Senior Living for comment.
Bec Oakes