Help Cindy Keep Her Home

Hi everyone! Many of the Claremont locals know Cindy Shepard. She lives on the corner of Olive St. and Green St. and has been there for many, many years. Everyone who knows Cindy considers her like family. She’s everyone’s Claremont grandma!

In 2017, Cindy’s husband, Stephen, unfortunately passed away. Stephen was half owner of the house that Cindy currently lives in along with his sister. His sister has been virtually no contact and hasn’t managed any part of property. Stephen and Cindy were the ones who maintained the house, paid for the upkeep, and did everything to make the house a home. It was a place where they shared many wonderful memories. When Stephen passed, Cindy was (and is) under the assumption that she owned half the property.

Last month out of the blue, the sister’s son (who has no interest in the property) reached out to Cindy and stated that he was taking over the property, as Stephen’s sister was “too emotional” to deal with the property. The son told her that he was going to have someone do an inspection and that she needed to “not worry” and they’d work something out. He later proceeded to tell her that Cindy has no ownership in the property, and that his intention is to fix it up and rent it out.

Cindy was beyond shocked by this, as this has been her home for over 15 years. Cindy is on a fixed income and is in her 70’s. For her to uproot her entire life that she’s built at this stage would be extremely difficult. She wouldn’t be able to afford a place in today’s market.

After notifying the son that she needed to consult with an attorney, things went sideways and the son is now trying to force Cindy out. On October 3rd, Cindy received a notice that she has 30 days to vacate the premises and leave everything she’s built behind. The letter indicated that she will have to pay $600 per day starting on November 3rd if she’s not out. While

this is obviously a scare tactic, Cindy is very fearful about potentially losing her home.

Cindy did a free consultation with an attorney. The attorney believes she has a case and is entitled to a portion of the property. That said, Cindy needs our help financially to fight to keep her home. Attorney and court fees are going to get costly and while we’re doing everything we can to help Cindy with funds, we can’t do it alone. 100% of the funds will go towards assisting Cindy’s case and helping her with any expenses in the short term. We’ll post updates as frequently as possible and as allowed by Cindy’s attorney.

Please consider donating whatever you can to help Cindy keep her home. Not only is it unethical to throw a 72 year old widow out in the street, what the son is doing may not be legal. Please help us help Cindy, she needs us now more than ever!

We’ll also be hosting a yard sale on October 14th at Cindy’s house.

Thank you all for supporting Cindy during these challenging times.