Support Gene Austin's Fight for His Father's Legacy

Hi, my name is Gene Austin, I am a 36-year-old father, joined by my wife, Savanna. We have been through our fair share of ups and downs, but this situation has exhausted us mentally and financially. To give some background, my father, Gene Austin Sr., moved 3 hours away a few years back. We would visit a several times a year, and the kids would spend breaks with him. They adored their Paw Paw Austin. At this point, it had been some time since we last saw him. We were having issues reaching him, but planned on driving up for a visit the weekend of July 13th. On July 10th, I received a Facebook message from his estranged step daughter, from a previous marriage, saying that I needed to get ahold of them asap. When I reached out to her, she told me that my father had 24 to 48 hours to live.

She stated he had fallen ill two weeks prior and was in a vegetative state in his home receiving hospice care. She then brought up his will, and said they had been trying to reach me for two weeks, but we later found that this was a lie. He was ill for 6 weeks and no one had even tried to reach me until his last moments. In complete shock after getting the call, we dropped everything and headed to my dad's. When we were on our way, during another call, this woman stated there was no room for my wife or children to join me in saying our final goodbyes. Of course this conversation caused some tension, and I was then told I would not be welcome to stay. After talking to the local law authorities, they informed us that because his current girlfriend, who I had never heard of or met at the time, had personal belongings in my father's home and that was considered having residence. She now had a say about who could enter his house. At this point, my hands were tied, so we had no choice but to turn around and go home, as we could not afford a hotel at the time. After two long days of being ignored, I reached out to the people involved, only to find out that my father had passed on July 11th. Shortly after, I was blocked from all communication to anyone at my dad's house.

These people had taken our last moments with him. They now had control of everything, and I was left entirely in the dark. At this point, I could only think of securing my father's home and time was not on my side. After several days of calling lawyers, law enforcement, and courts, I hit nothing but dead ends because this woman was still staying in his home. After doing some investigating, I located my dad's obituary and funeral information on Google. His first wifes daughter was now claiming to be his daughter. This woman has no blood relation to my father and was never adopted. My wife and I still respectfully attended the funeral on July 19th. My family and I were barley mentioned or even offered a chance to speak about the man who had raised me my entire life. After the funeral, I learned that the woman who had "residence" in my father's home had finally left so we went to his home as soon as the service was over. By that time it was too late.

When we arrived the entire house was locked tight, and both of his vehicles were missing. I called the police, and because I presented a copy of the deed to his home, I was then granted access, since I am the legal heir. We got inside and found that someone had taken everything of importance. The safe, every vital document and everything of sentimental value. I was left with nothing of my father. I was told by the officers that not having any of his legal documents this would be a tough battle and would have to become a probate matter. After doing some research I found that this is something that I have to have legal representation for.

We are now left with the mortgage of 2 homes until the case is able to be opened. Failure to pay will result in his home being foreclosed and taken. My wife has been out of work for the last month due to a physical injury, so things have been tight already. This money would cover lawyer fees to get the probate case opened and will allow me to access to keep my father's home protected while the probate case is pending. Given these unfortunate circumstances, any donations or shares are greatly appreciated to help preserve what we have left of my dad. The time lost can not be returned but his memory can still be saved. This has been one of the most trying experiences we have ever been through, so I thank you for taking the time out of your day to hear my story and for any help we may receive.