NYT piece in R237 delves into the nitty-gritty.

Had wondered why two supposedly smart persons like Malkemus and Yurgaitis got themselves into this position, now can understand. It's another case of being too nice for too long to a moocher.

From NYT Since 2004, Mr. Talley, 72, has lived in an 11-room white colonial in White Plains, just north of New York City.

At that time, George Malkemus, the former head of Manolo Blahnik USA, and Anthony Yurgaitis, his business partner and husband, bought the house for about $1 million on the understanding that Mr. Talley would live in it and pay Mr. Malkemus and Mr. Yurgaitis money each month.

Mr. Malkemus and his husband called this “rent,” and the three men signed a two-year lease to that effect, renewable for up to eight more years.

That lease expired in 2014, and was never re-signed, and the amount of money Mr. Talley paid each month varied widely according to his income stream

"In 2004, according to Mr. Talley’s affidavit, Mr. Talley was forced to leave his New York apartment because of mold. In part because Mr. Talley (for whom money was worth thinking about simply as a means to purchase the beautiful things he craved) had run into financial trouble three times before — he filed for bankruptcy in North Carolina in 1997 and 1998, and in New York in 1993, largely because of failure to pay taxes — getting a mortgage would be complicated.

So Mr. Malkemus and Mr. Yurgaitis offered to act as proxies for Mr. Talley: to buy the house and hold the mortgage — or so says Mr. Talley’s lawsuit, which claims he was operating in good faith that he would one day become owner of the property. He had also paid, his affidavit said, to maintain and improve the property, including spending $12,000 on a new boiler and $30,000 to replace the roof.

Given that in 1999 Mr. Talley claims Mr. Malkemus helped him buy a car in much the same way — for reasons not specified in the affidavit Mr. Talley was “unable to do so myself,” so he wired Mr. Malkemus approximately $45,000, the papers say, and Mr. Malkemus “went to a dealership and used those funds to purchase the vehicle on my behalf” — there was precedent."

Having now paid $955,558 according to an accounting exhibit attached to the filing, Mr. Talley’s petition requests the house be placed in a trust so he can prove his right to ownership. Mr. Malkemus contends that he is owed $515,872.96, and that — well, it’s his house.

/quotes So basically two men with good credit and finances got themselves legally and otherwise involved with someone who has suspect financial history, and money that went up and down.

Malkemus and Yurgaitis further went down that rabbit hole by not either forcing ALT to renew whatever agreement that expired, but let him remain in property using as he saw fit and paying little to no "rent" each month. They also accepted those various but infrequent payments even though they were not same as outlined in previous agreement.

In broadest sense ATL became a month to month tenant after that "lease" expired in 2014. For the next almost six years that unofficial relationship continued. The courts are going to have a field day with this one.