Kennedys disagree on sale of Cape house

Joan Bennett Kennedy has put her oceanfront Cape Cod home on the market for nearly $6.5 million, defying her children who moved last year to take legal control of her assets amid her continued battle with alcoholism.

Edward M. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview yesterday that he believes his mother is ''retaliating" against her children, who he said are trying to ''save our mother's life" by taking charge of her day-to-day affairs.

A lawyer for the three children said yesterday that Kennedy has no legal authority to sell the house and said he would move to block any sale. Augustus Wagner Jr. went to Barnstable Probate Court last week to extend the order naming her children as her temporary guardians so that any prospective buyer would be ''on notice" that the house cannot be sold.

''She's not happy with the fact we have sought guardianship." said Edward Kennedy Jr., who along with siblings Patrick Kennedy and Kara Kennedy Allen, has been his mother's guardian since last July. ''She's basically trying to retaliate against her own children by taking one of the things we love the most, which is Cape Cod. It's very sad. This is the house we grew up in; this is our family home.

''The most important thing to understand is we're trying to save our mother's life, simply put," said Edward M. Kennedy Jr., who is the son of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy. ''That's what's at stake. You can imagine how bad this situation has gotten for us to risk angering her and undertaking this legal action against our own mother. That's the situation. We tried to keep this private until the story broke a couple of weeks ago. She tripped and fell because she was intoxicated. That is just exactly what we're trying to stop. It's not easy for anyone who has faced a situation like this. . . .

''That's essentially what we're trying to do," he said. ''I don't know if we're going to be successful but we have to try something. We're in a desperate situation."

Jack Cotton of Cotton Real Estate on Cape Cod, said yesterday that he had listed the property in the last few days.

The house is located on Squaw Island near the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port. According to town of Barnstable property tax records, the 13-room, six-bedroom house sits on 1.18 acres and is valued at $3.7 million. The tax records list Joan B. Kennedy as the owner.

''It defies description," Cotton said. ''It's just quintessential Cape Cod oceanfront. It doesn't get any better. I'm sure someone will really enjoy owning it some day."

But probate specialists warned that a sale may not happen anytime soon. Wagner said he would file a copy of the guardianship order with the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds, which would leave a cloud on the title. That legal entanglement would remain until the guardianship, which is currently temporary, is either extended or dissolved. A judge has set a trial to determine whether the guardianship should be made permanent.

''When the buyer's bank goes to check the title, they'd find the cloud, which holds someone up from selling property," said Brian Bixby, a probate lawyer. ''She would not be able to complete a sale, because she will not likely be able to deliver a clear title. The guardian would write to potential buyers and say he opposes the sale."

Kennedy, 68, who has fought a long battle with alcoholism, is recovering from a shoulder injury sustained when she fell March 28 and was discovered by a pedestrian on a sidewalk a few blocks from her home on Beacon Street. Kennedy couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.

Stephanie Warburg, a close friend, said she hadn't heard that Kennedy had put her house on the market.

''I've been a friend of hers for 25 years, and she adores those children," Warburg said. ''I have no knowledge of this, zero, but all I know is she loves those kids. I'm speechless."

A Cape Cod real estate agent said the house may fetch $6 million because of the Kennedy mystique, but that it is worth closer to the $3 million it is assessed by the town of Barnstable.

''Perhaps because of the Kennedy allure they want to see if someone comes in and drops the money on it, but you can get a lot for $6 million," said the real estate agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The day after his mother was found on Beacon Street, her son, US Representatative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, decided not to seek a seat in the US Senate. An aide said the decision wasn't related to his mother's troubles, but acknowledged that it has been a painful ordeal for the Rhode Island Democrat.