'This Is My Dad's House': Maryland Daughter Challenges $5 Home Transfer to Father's Caregiver After His Death

A Maryland woman is challenging the circumstances surrounding a $5 transfer of her late father's Conway, South Carolina, home to his caregiver, saying she learned of his death only after travelling from Baltimore to check on him.

Nora Rowland said she became concerned after hearing less often from her father, Robert Rowland, 75, and receiving no response around Father's Day. She said the two had previously spoken frequently by FaceTime.

The events at the centre of Rowland's concerns occurred in 2024. Robert Rowland died in June that year, while the matter was reported publicly in August 2026.

Daughter Says She Learned of Father's Death at Home

Rowland said she drove from Maryland to her father's Conway property after becoming increasingly worried about the lack of contact. When she arrived, she said she found that the front door had been changed and that a Ring doorbell camera had been installed.

After she pressed the doorbell, Rowland said caregiver Sarah Smalls spoke to her through the device. 'This isn't the way that I wanted to tell you, but your dad died, and there's a bunch of other stuff I have to tell you too. Just wait there,' Rowland recalled Smalls saying.

Rowland said she then learned that her father had died three days earlier. She said she entered the property through a window that had been left unlocked for emergencies.

'I go in there, and I see everything is different,' Rowland said. 'She had put up all these random photographs of people I'd never seen before. The walls are painted this god-awful highlighter orange.' it appeared to her that other people had moved into the home. She said Smalls returned shortly afterwards, accused her and her partner of breaking in, and contacted police.

$5 Deed Transfer Is Being Challenged

Smalls began caring for Robert Rowland through Griswold Home Care in March 2024. By the end of that month, he had moved into a senior living facility. Documents reported at the time named Smalls as Robert Rowland's power of attorney in April 2024. A quitclaim deed dated 17 April 2024 transferred the Conway home to Smalls for $5.

Rowland disputes the circumstances surrounding the power-of-attorney arrangement and property transfer. She has said she is concerned that her father, whom she described as a vulnerable adult with Parkinson's disease and a brain injury, may not have understood the documents he signed.

Those concerns have not been determined by a court. No court has found that Robert Rowland lacked the legal capacity to sign the documents or that the quitclaim deed is invalid.

Rowland said that when Conway police arrived at the home, Smalls showed officers a deed identifying herself as the owner. She said she and her partner were handcuffed after officers treated them as alleged trespassers, but that the criminal charges against her were later dismissed.

A neighbour told officers, according to police body-camera footage that he had become concerned after seeing furniture removed from the home. The neighbour also reportedly said Robert Rowland was 'not within his wits at all'.

Financial Transactions Raise Questions

Rowland also raised concerns about transactions from her father's bank account. She said bank statements showed transfers to Smalls, including transactions dated after his death. No court or law-enforcement finding has established the purpose of the transfers, whether they were authorised, or whether any transaction was unlawful.

Horry County Registrar of Deeds Marion Foxworth III said his office reviews whether submitted deeds meet South Carolina's basic legal recording requirements. He said the office does not investigate the motives of people involved in a transaction or determine whether a transfer was fair.

'If it contains all the correct information to meet the legal standard, then we record it,' Foxworth said. 'We don't check whether what's in that deed is fair or right.'

When WMBF News approached Smalls for comment about the deed and power-of-attorney arrangement, she said the outlet should contact her lawyer. WMBF reported that Smalls did not provide her lawyer's contact details and later called police when its news crew attended her home.

Griswold Home Care previously said it had no knowledge of the situation. Rowland later provided documents obtained through a subpoena that she said conflicted with that earlier response. The company did not return subsequent calls seeking comment.

Police Inquiry and Deed Dispute Continue

Rowland is challenging the circumstances surrounding the deed transfer involving her late father's home. On 27 August 2026, Conway police said they were investigating the matter.

No court has found that Smalls committed theft, fraud, elder abuse or any other crime; that Robert Rowland lacked legal capacity to sign the documents; that the bank transfers were improper; or that the quitclaim deed is invalid. Those matters have not been resolved by a court.