All In A Domain

I have a couple of domains that are offline right now because the server they are hosted on really sucks. I mean that in a strictly nice way, btw. I love the people who host me, but their server goes down right when I want to write the most.

I have a Dreamhost account, where I host my third site, and my .nu.

My issue: The person who registered the domains for me back in 1999 and 2001 has since died, and his account went to his partner, who has refused six transfer requests from me since 2004. I don't want to give up the domains because everything is connected to them. To have an email address for fourteen years, and then just have it gone, would be a little bit of over-kill for me.

Then there's my writings since 2000, my themes, some of which are paid themes, my plugins, my files from before my site was WP hosted, and other silly things that I just haven't had time to flush from the server, as well as some email addresses that don't belong to me with mail in them from people who have since passed away.

In other words, my life for the past fourteen years, well-documented with interactions, is on this server.

I plan to fully back everything up, and the domains are registered in my name. My problem is, I need to know if there is a way I can get my domain names legally. I have been nice, I have been patient, for nine years. I am responsible with my domain names, and I think I can handle two more.

Any advice?

If I cannot acquire these names by the middle of the year, I will simply stop using them.

I have a couple of domains that are offline right now because the server they are hosted on really sucks. I mean that in a strictly nice way, btw. I love the people who host me, but their server goes down right when I want to write the most.

I have a Dreamhost account, where I host my third site, and my .nu.

My issue: The person who registered the domains for me back in 1999 and 2001 has since died, and his account went to his partner, who has refused six transfer requests from me since 2004. I don't want to give up the domains because everything is connected to them. To have an email address for fourteen years, and then just have it gone, would be a little bit of over-kill for me.

Then there's my writings since 2000, my themes, some of which are paid themes, my plugins, my files from before my site was WP hosted, and other silly things that I just haven't had time to flush from the server, as well as some email addresses that don't belong to me with mail in them from people who have since passed away.

In other words, my life for the past fourteen years, well-documented with interactions, is on this server.

I plan to fully back everything up, and the domains are registered in my name. My problem is, I need to know if there is a way I can get my domain names legally. I have been nice, I have been patient, for nine years. I am responsible with my domain names, and I think I can handle two more.

Any advice?

If I cannot acquire these names by the middle of the year, I will simply stop using them.