Couple Evicted for Caring for Granddaughter

April 4, 2007 — -- Imagine having to choose between caring for your granddaughter and keeping your home. That's what one couple in Florida is being forced to do.

It's an unbearable decision for Judie Stottler, who has been struggling to raise her 3-year-old granddaughter, Kimberly, ever since her 30-year-old daughter lost custody.

"It is hard work, but she's a joy to us, definitely," Stottler said of her granddaughter. "She brings a lot of life into our home."

Instead of being rewarded, she and her husband are being evicted. Their retirement community doesn't allow children Kimberly's age to live there. Two years ago, the Stottlers promised to move, but they haven't been able to sell their house.

"She should be in a neighborhood with children," Stottler said. "We want to leave but we can't."

It's a dilemma many people in age-restricted communities can face, when the needs of one resident are pitted against everyone else's.

"The rules are designed to protect property values and meet expectations of people in community," said Frank Rathbun of the Community Association Institute. "People in this community moved into it expecting this rule to be adhered to."

But that leaves Stottler stuck. She makes $18,000 a year while caring for a disabled husband. She has no other family and says her only other choice is to send Kimberly to a foster home, which she will never do.

"It's not about me, it's about a 3-year-old little girl," Stottler said. "We moved in hoping to retire here, but that's OK, we have Kimberly."

ABC News attempted to reach the Stottlers' neighborhood association, but the group did not want to be interviewed. The couple have found an attorney to take their case for free.