Problem
Case Study: Maria & Alice
Alice's daughter Maria was living in Victoria with her husband and suggested that Alice move interstate from Perth and move in with them. Alice sold her home in Perth as well as many of her belongings and used what money she had left over from the sale of her home to build an extension on Maria's property where she could live. Alice did not receive independent legal advice about this arrangement. Alice's name was not put onto the title of the property and there was no agreement in place about the details of what Alice would receive in exchange for the improvement she had made to the property.
Maria and her family were very busy and Alice was often left at home alone. Alice found it challenging being in a new state without her old neighbours, and having no drivers licence made getting around difficult. She found herself to be very lonely and her relationship with Maria and her family deteriorated over time.
Five years after Alice moved in with her daughter, Maria and her husband lost a large amount of money in an investment that they had been relying on and they were struggling to meet their mortgage repayments. Six months later Maria told Alice that they had to sell the property and downsize and there would be no room in the new house for Alice. They refused to repay more than Alice's initial investment in the property even though Alice had spent that amount more than 5 years before and the property had appreciated greatly in value over that time.
Describe how you would initially respond to Alice's concerns and what sort of questions could you ask to gather more information about the incident.