WATERVILLE, Maine — In Waterville, a woman who recently lost her mother is trying to settle her estate, but her mother's roommates are preventing her from finishing the process.
According to Maine law, if you take on a roommate, even for just a few days, they can be considered a tenant. That means you could be forced to go through a complicated eviction process in order to get them to leave.
"She was a great person," Jessica Ashman said about her mother, Karen Mary Chabot, who lived on Veteran Court in Waterville for nearly 5 years. In July, when Chabot passed away, her estate was left to Ashman, her only child.
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"I loved her and I'm just heartbroken about what's happening." Ashman, who lives in Massachusetts, said. When she drove up to the home to take care of her mother's belongings, she found out two other people had been living there. Since she couldn't afford to keep the house, her only option was to sell it. She asked the roommates to make other living arrangements.
"They said they were not going to leave and I have no choice but to take them to court."
According to Chabot's financial records, Laura Conley had been living at the Waterville home as a 'tenant at will,' and another man is there as her guest. However, Chabot's records show Conley stopped paying rent in January, months before her death, and hasn't paid much since.
Ashman went through the process to formally evict both Conley and her guest, but told NEWS CENTER Maine that they still refused to leave.
Through a brief phone call, Conley told NEWS CENTER Maine that she had an agreement with Chabot and wants her day in court.
Ashman said the whole process has been grueling and expensive. "I also live in low income housing, so this is affecting me profusely because I don't have the money to pay my rent," she said.
Ashman questions whether the system should be so complicated for people in her situation. Pine Tree Legal, an organization that often represent tenants, shared a different perspective.
"I think the court process is really necessary," said Maureen Boston, the Director of Intake at Pine Tree Legal. Boston said becoming a landlord can be a burden, especially if you didn't choose to be one. In her eyes, the eviction process is built the way it is for a reason.
"The consequences are dire for tenants. Homelessness has serious affects on families," said Boston. In order to protect tenants from being unfairly thrown out, Boston said they need to be given the chance to defend themselves.
As Ashman waits to give Conley that chance before a judge, she can't help but feel her justice is being stripped from her. Right now, all she has left of her mother is a few trinkets and bags of jewelry that those living in her mother's house have allowed her to have.
"It's what they handed to me after I discovered my mom's room had been cleaned out. It's so disrespectful. They're not even related to my mom at all and they're not family, but they go through her bedroom like that," said Ashman.
The system designed to protect people is the same one Ashman feels did the opposite for her mother and her family.
"I want to see something change in Maine to protect our older people from people who take advantage of them."