Woman pleads guilty, took dead mother's benefits

Court Alerts

A Florida woman accused of hiding her dead mother's body and collecting federal benefits for six years has pleaded guilty to a theft charge.

Penelope Jordan pleaded guilty Monday to theft of government property.

The 61-year-old woman was arrested in March after police found her mother's decaying body barricaded in a bedroom in Sebastian, about an hour north of West Palm Beach.

Jordan told officials her mother had actually died in early 2003.

Prosecutors say Jordan was collecting Social Security benefits, as well a military pension from her mother's late husband.

Jordan's plea deal calls for her to pay $237,876 in restitution. Her sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 21.

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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