Attempted property grab

I’m looking for some advice regarding this situation: 😲

Back in 1947, the land registry office in San Diego messed up the inheritance records for our properties—specifically some land and a house out on Martha's Vineyard. They registered everything under someone with the exact same name as my grandfather instead of him. I didn't even realize this until 1971, after my father passed away and we received the official inheritance decree. Since then, I've been directed by the Zadar County Superior Court to fix the registration, and honestly, I've spent most of the 80s fighting this through various lawyers, but absolutely nothing has worked. After my mother passed, I became a co-owner along with my six brothers and sisters, and because we all eventually just got exhausted by the legal nightmare and couldn't get the paperwork sorted, we reached an agreement to just leave things as they were—even though our actual ownership doesn't match what's officially recorded.

It stayed buried for decades—until now. My youngest brother, being pressured heavily by his wife and daughter, decided he wanted to be registered as a 1/7 co-owner of several parcels. Their end goal? To sell off as much of our shared land as possible and leave the rest of us with nothing.
I am completely blindsided by this Lawsuit filed by their attorney, and frankly, the whole thing reeks of a scam. I’ve been reaching out to my other siblings—most of whom live abroad—so we can submit our Response to the Lawsuit within the 30-day window set by the Zadar County Superior Court. We’ve already burned through 10 days since the USPS delivered the notice. I'm frantically trying to pull together all the documents needed for our response, which we'll need to present at the preliminary hearing scheduled for November 2nd, 2015. Of course, because timing is everything, most people at the county assessor's office and the registry are out on summer vacation right now. I’m terrified I won't be able to pull the necessary records in the remaining 20 days. It feels almost intentional—like they timed this specifically when the bureaucracy would be slow enough to prevent me from getting the evidence I need for my defense.

The court provided a possession certificate as an attachment, and I was shocked to see that most of the land parcels are actually listed in *my* name (my siblings' names are nowhere to be found on it). I want to help everyone defend ourselves against my brother's wife and daughter, who are clearly trying to grab easy money at our expense. I’ve submitted a request to the county for the possession history to trace exactly who was registered as the owner and when, because I'm trying to figure out how everything suddenly ended up in my name.

In the official registry, those parcels and the house are still technically under my grandfather's name—the real one, not the wrong guy they used until the early 70s and seemingly ever since. It raises a massive question: if I spent fifteen years, a fortune in legal fees, and endless sanity trying to fix the mistake, how on earth did someone else manage to successfully register it under his name?

A few more questions: Is it possible to introduce additional evidence against this Lawsuit during the preliminary hearing if I can't get it into the written Response in time?
Also, how can I represent my five other siblings before the Zadar County Superior Court at this hearing, or potentially later? Can they grant me power of attorney if they choose to, and what's the process for that, considering four of them are in Australia and one sister is in Italy?

I'm trying to find a lawyer to represent us, but I'm worried about the costs. I'm living in a different part of the state, so it's not exactly a quick trip to San Diego.

So, please, I am begging for your advice. What steps should I take—both in my formal Response and during the upcoming hearing at the Zadar County Superior Court—to protect our family's rightful property (which was mishandled by the San Diego registry back in the day) from this planned robbery by my brother's wife and daughter?

Thanks in advance for any help or insight you can provide. 🙏

You’re nothing without a solid lawyer !! Take your cut, lady—don't be a pushover like I was.

I don't quite follow this part:
Quincy:

Everything had been sitting idle and forgotten for ages, until my youngest brother—who, frankly, is under immense pressure from his wife and daughter—decided he was going to register himself as a 1/7 co-owner of several plots of land. His plan? Sell off as much of our shared property as possible through his name and leave the rest of us with absolutely nothing.

Look, if he actually has a legal right to that fraction, then fine—no issue there. The real nightmare begins if he tries to claim ownership of the WHOLE thing!
If that's the case, you just need to file an objection stating he isn't the sole heir.

Quincy:

How am I supposed to represent my five siblings (the remaining ones) before the Zadar Municipal Court at this hearing, or potentially during future proceedings? Can they give me power of attorney if they want to, and how does that work—especially since four of them are living in Australia and one sister is over in Italy?

Either they have to file their own objections personally, or they need to officially grant you power of attorney.
But for that to happen, they actually have to be served with the lawsuits first.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:You’re nothing without a solid lawyer !! Take your cut, lady—don't be a pushover like I was.

I don't quite follow this part:
Quincy:

Everything had been sitting idle and forgotten for ages, until my youngest brother—who, frankly, is under immense pressure from his wife and daughter—decided he was going to register himself as a 1/7 co-owner of several plots of land. His plan? Sell off as much of our shared property as possible through his name and leave the rest of us with absolutely nothing.

Look, if he actually has a legal right to that fraction, then fine—no issue there. The real nightmare begins if he tries to claim ownership of the WHOLE thing!
If that's the case, you just need to file an objection stating he isn't the sole heir.

Quincy:

How am I supposed to represent my five siblings (the remaining ones) before the Zadar Municipal Court at this hearing, or potentially during future proceedings? Can they give me power of attorney if they want to, and how does that work—especially since four of them are living in Australia and one sister is over in Italy?

Either they have to file their own objections personally, or they need to officially grant you power of attorney.
But for that to happen, they actually have to be served with the lawsuits first.

They should have filed an Answer to the Lawsuit, but so far, only one brother has received the court order. The plaintiff's attorney is claiming they sent them to everyone, which is just straight-up false. I went through all the trouble of photocopying everything and sending it to them myself, even though I know that's not the official way the court handles service of process. And this is where the court can start "playing games"—they might just post documents on a public notice board and claim they were properly served to all the parties involved. 🤔

Also, I'm confused about the power of attorney process when people are out in Australia or Italy. Do they have to go through their local embassies or what? 🙄

Paul Newman36 said:They should have filed an Answer to the Lawsuit, but so far, only one brother has received the court order. The plaintiff's attorney is claiming they sent them to everyone, which is just straight-up false. I went through all the trouble of photocopying everything and sending it to them myself, even though I know that's not the official way the court handles service of process. And this is where the court can start "playing games"—they might just post documents on a public notice board and claim they were properly served to all the parties involved. 🤔

Also, I'm confused about the power of attorney process when people are out in Australia or Italy. Do they have to go through their local embassies or what? 🙄

So, if I've got this right, one brother owns a 1/7 share and is suing everyone else to claim full ownership. For a final court decision to be legally binding, EVERY defendant has to be served via certified mail and sign for it. The court shouldn't be allowed to issue a ruling if someone hasn't been officially served.
As for the power of attorney, it's actually pretty straightforward. Your best bet is to have a lawyer here draft the document. Then, find a certified English translator to handle the translation along with an official seal. Once that's done, you can ship everything off to Australia to be notarized by a local notary public there.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:So, if I've got this right, one brother owns a 1/7 share and is suing everyone else to claim full ownership. For a final court decision to be legally binding, EVERY defendant has to be served via certified mail and sign for it. The court shouldn't be allowed to issue a ruling if someone hasn't been officially served.
As for the power of attorney, it's actually pretty straightforward. Your best bet is to have a lawyer here draft the document. Then, find a certified English translator to handle the translation along with an official seal. Once that's done, you can ship everything off to Australia to be notarized by a local notary public there.

Thank you so much for the response. And honestly, I should apologize for not posting sooner—it turns out (of all things!) my mail carrier just dropped off yet another lawsuit from the exact same plaintiff, this time regarding the rest of the land and the house. This time around, a different judge is handling the preliminary hearing scheduled for October 1st (seriously?!?), even though it's essentially the same mess.
It’s just one shock after another. Between this summer heatwave and everyone taking their vacations, getting anything done with the County Recorder's office or the local tax assessor is going to be a nightmare—but hey, I'm not backing down until the very end.

I'll take your advice regarding the power of attorney and try to get that sorted out that way.

I’m reaching out because I really need a few more answers—the clock is ticking on that deadline set by the Zadar County Superior Court regarding the Response to the Complaint in this whole mess. We’ve only got 9 days left, and honestly, I haven't even finished gathering all the paperwork needed to back up my facts in the Response yet.

a) Does the deadline for filing a separate motion have to line up exactly with the Response to the Complaint, or can I just send that in later on?

b) When mailing a Response to the court, which date actually counts? Is it the date stamped on the envelope (like a certified mail receipt), or does the Response physically have to be sitting on the court's desk by the deadline? Also—and this is important—what about my siblings who are living over in Australia and Italy? It takes at least 8 days for a letter from them to reach the US.

c) Here is the final part of the proposed Judgment that the court would issue if they grant the plaintiff's request:

"...It is determined that the plaintiff has acquired ownership or co-ownership rights, specifically:

(this is where the parcel numbers for the properties are listed)

all aforementioned land parcels recorded in property record entry no. XX of the Ugljan township, through inheritance; the defendants are required to recognize and permit the plaintiff, based on this judgment and once it becomes final, to record their ownership or co-ownership rights in the land registry under their own name for the specified shares in the aforementioned properties, while simultaneously deleting existing land registry entries for the designated co-ownership shares, all within 15 days."

I am completely lost here—who exactly is supposed to be deleted, and from where? Currently, we are all listed in the tax assessor's records as owners (mostly me, and frankly, not by my choice or intention) holding a 1/7 share in all the properties—both the land and the house. Meanwhile, the only person actually listed in the deed is my grandfather for the entire property. If the court rules in favor of my brother's lawsuit and issues this judgment, he’d be recorded as owning a 1/7 share of every single parcel, which doesn't even give him the ability to sell any specific portion to anyone. Unless, of course, there's some secondary scheme cooked up by his wife and daughter—the masterminds behind this whole thing—whose only goal is to offload as many properties as possible. They’re using my brother like a puppet to carry out their shady plans. And what happens to my grandfather then? Would he be wiped from the deed forever? And where would the rest of us six end up being listed?

d) If my health takes a turn for the worse, could I authorize my daughter or son to represent me at the pretrial hearing and the main trial at the Zadar County Superior Court? I know the Civil Procedure Code says it can only be a sibling, a spouse, etc., but maybe there’s some loophole for them to stand in for me in this specific situation. The code mentions someone in an employer-employee relationship with the party, but I won't bring up lawyers until I see the full picture and get a proper assessment of the case.

e) In the event of poor health, can the pretrial hearing or the main trial be postponed to a later date, and how do I go about doing that?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but the situation is what it is, and that deadline for the Response is staring me right in the face (only 9 days left).

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give me regarding this case.

Best regards.