Simplify the following text for a Grade 5 native English-speaking person.
Original: At the time the author owed large sums of money to creditors , and was trying to help the family of his brother Mikhail , who had died in early 1864 .
Simplified: He owed large sums of money to creditors , and was also trying to help the family of his brother Mikhail . Mikhail had died in early 1864 .