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Message
Family Squabble - Advice Requested
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:19 pm
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:19 pm
I'll try to keep this as brief as I can...
I have an elderly uncle who has a little nest egg (prob. $2M-4M). He isn't on death's doorstep, but it won't be long - 5 years max.
He has no kids, so he assigned power of attorney to my dad, my dad's brother, and my dad's brother's wife (my aunt). Obviously, he did this so that in a time of need, he has people who can manage his financial affairs. All of them are listed as beneficiaries of his estate in his will, as are their kids - my dad has 2 kids, they have 4.
My dad just recently learned that my aunt cashed out one of my uncle's annuities for $250k. My dad is looking into the rest of my uncle's money, but he suspects that she has gone in and cleaned out all of my uncle's savings, retirement, etc. and moved it to her own account. So, basically, my uncle is now penniless and she has $2M-$4M that would otherwise be divided among the family.
My aunt is "caring for him", so she has a lot of mind control over him, plus he is starting to have some dementia, so he doesn't always know what's going on. Also, my aunt handles paying his bills, etc.so when he needs something, she buys it for him and he doesn't realize that she has actually moved his money from his accounts to hers.
This is very new info to my dad and me, so we have not confronted anyone yet. But, I am curious what recourse we have.
Does her having power of attorney basically allow her to do whatever she wants? Or does she have a legal obligation that he has to be in his best interest? (This is in the state of Mississippi, FWIW.)
Thanks for any input / advice.
I have an elderly uncle who has a little nest egg (prob. $2M-4M). He isn't on death's doorstep, but it won't be long - 5 years max.
He has no kids, so he assigned power of attorney to my dad, my dad's brother, and my dad's brother's wife (my aunt). Obviously, he did this so that in a time of need, he has people who can manage his financial affairs. All of them are listed as beneficiaries of his estate in his will, as are their kids - my dad has 2 kids, they have 4.
My dad just recently learned that my aunt cashed out one of my uncle's annuities for $250k. My dad is looking into the rest of my uncle's money, but he suspects that she has gone in and cleaned out all of my uncle's savings, retirement, etc. and moved it to her own account. So, basically, my uncle is now penniless and she has $2M-$4M that would otherwise be divided among the family.
My aunt is "caring for him", so she has a lot of mind control over him, plus he is starting to have some dementia, so he doesn't always know what's going on. Also, my aunt handles paying his bills, etc.so when he needs something, she buys it for him and he doesn't realize that she has actually moved his money from his accounts to hers.
This is very new info to my dad and me, so we have not confronted anyone yet. But, I am curious what recourse we have.
Does her having power of attorney basically allow her to do whatever she wants? Or does she have a legal obligation that he has to be in his best interest? (This is in the state of Mississippi, FWIW.)
Thanks for any input / advice.
10
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:26 pm to tiger114
I'm pretty sure only an attorney could give any kind of useful advice here. So I would get one fast.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:32 pm to Brightside Bengal
Sounds like your dad needs to have a chat with his brother ASAP...and threat and delivery of an arse beating is a must.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:34 pm to tiger114
my input, as an attorney, is to go see an attorney.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:35 pm to tiger114
Should have ran to an attorney as soon as you found out.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:35 pm to tiger114
Money does crazy shite to people, my aunt did same to my great grandad, stole over 1M.
Gonna be a rough battle, my advice is get a lawyer who will go for the throat. Wish my grandfather had. He chose to take high road.
Gonna be a rough battle, my advice is get a lawyer who will go for the throat. Wish my grandfather had. He chose to take high road.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:36 pm to tiger114
Real good friend of mine had a similar situation. 3 sisters all with POA.
Dad who had several M cash and securities plus some very nice properties.
One of the sisters caring for him. She cleaned it all out. They found out after the money was blown over several years however, so there was very little recourse other than putting the one sister in jail.
My advice: Act fast.
Dad who had several M cash and securities plus some very nice properties.
One of the sisters caring for him. She cleaned it all out. They found out after the money was blown over several years however, so there was very little recourse other than putting the one sister in jail.
My advice: Act fast.
This post was edited on 5/17/13 at 2:37 pm
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:36 pm to Tiger4Ever
quote:
Sounds like your dad needs to have a chat with his brother ASAP
He did that and my uncle said he didn't know anything about it. I sort of think that my uncle is in on it.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:37 pm to tiger114
quote:
little nest egg
quote:
(prob. $2M-4M
Little nest egg? My immediate family probably hasn't earned this much cumulative money over the past 10YRS.
Then again, I have no legal issues. Mo money mo problems biatch
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:41 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
Meauxjeaux
Thanks. That is what I am thinking.
Do you know what the recourse is if she hasn't blown it?
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:44 pm to tiger114
my aunt is doing it right now to my grandmother. has her under control like Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Its sick.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:46 pm to tiger114
There may be a law that prevents the holder of a Power of Attorney to transfer assets to herself.
See this article for reference. But as you can see in the article, there may be a statute of limitations.
I would consult an attorney ASAP.
** I'm not an attorney
See this article for reference. But as you can see in the article, there may be a statute of limitations.
I would consult an attorney ASAP.
** I'm not an attorney
Posted on 5/17/13 at 2:58 pm to LSUGUMBO
Thanks. I saw this yesterday, too. Coincidentally, my dad just told me about what he found last night.
I am just worried that my aunt having POA is going to make her immune to recourse as she will say "Uncle ******* wanted me to move that money to my account." And, he is so old and whacked out right now, my aunt can get him to agree to anything.
I am just worried that my aunt having POA is going to make her immune to recourse as she will say "Uncle ******* wanted me to move that money to my account." And, he is so old and whacked out right now, my aunt can get him to agree to anything.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 3:00 pm to tiger114
I'm not an atty but these are my thoughts:
1- I believe anyone granted POA can legally do almost anything alone,
2- UNLESS, there was some agreements in place for shared responsibility - things like 2 signatures needed for check writing, a vote of 2/3 to open and close or move accounts, etc.
If there was nothing in place OR if there was something in place but 2 of the 3 were in cahoots, not much can be done if the money's already gone.
Please get an atty fast, like within the next two hours.
There may be a way to sue if they 2 are in cahoots or 1 is acting alone and there is still money left over.
ETA: When I say fast, I mean like if there are accounts with money in them, I think an injunction can be issued to freeze them immediately.
Again, I'm not an atty, but saw first hand how this tore a family apart. It's gonna be rough no matter what, so put "the high road" on the backburner for now.
1- I believe anyone granted POA can legally do almost anything alone,
2- UNLESS, there was some agreements in place for shared responsibility - things like 2 signatures needed for check writing, a vote of 2/3 to open and close or move accounts, etc.
If there was nothing in place OR if there was something in place but 2 of the 3 were in cahoots, not much can be done if the money's already gone.
Please get an atty fast, like within the next two hours.
There may be a way to sue if they 2 are in cahoots or 1 is acting alone and there is still money left over.
ETA: When I say fast, I mean like if there are accounts with money in them, I think an injunction can be issued to freeze them immediately.
Again, I'm not an atty, but saw first hand how this tore a family apart. It's gonna be rough no matter what, so put "the high road" on the backburner for now.
This post was edited on 5/17/13 at 3:04 pm
Posted on 5/17/13 at 3:03 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
Meauxjeaux
Thank you.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 3:04 pm to tiger114
See my edit.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 3:24 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
put "the high road" on the backburner for now
Exactly what I told my dad last night. She will continue to care for my uncle, so it isn't like he is doing without. She is just positioning herself so that she gets all of my uncle's estate and cuts my dad (and me) out of the equation.
I told my dad IDGAF if she goes to prison over this. She is essentially stealing from my dad, me, and my kids.
Posted on 5/17/13 at 3:41 pm to tiger114
I would contact an attorney and also there should be an elderly abuse center in the area I would make sure to contact and ask them for advice.
Also.....they should have setup a trust with them as trustees for his money. That way legally they would have to account for their actions. I would definetly have your dad say this needs to be done now.
Also.....they should have setup a trust with them as trustees for his money. That way legally they would have to account for their actions. I would definetly have your dad say this needs to be done now.
This post was edited on 5/17/13 at 4:15 pm
Posted on 5/17/13 at 3:48 pm to tiger114
If your dad has POA, he can easily get to the bottom of the situation relatively quickly.
Is he not concerned about the situation? Seems to me like he would've gotten himself involved long before $2m disappeared.
And no, just because your aunt has POA, it does not give her authority to clean someone out. It is still illegal and theft. POA does not make her "joint owner" on every penny he has.
Is he not concerned about the situation? Seems to me like he would've gotten himself involved long before $2m disappeared.
And no, just because your aunt has POA, it does not give her authority to clean someone out. It is still illegal and theft. POA does not make her "joint owner" on every penny he has.
This post was edited on 5/17/13 at 3:51 pm
Posted on 5/17/13 at 4:13 pm to tiger114
I believe you are in trouble.
The POA allows one to do whatever they want. I had POA for my now deceased grandmother. I could do whatever I wanted whenever with just a phone call to the bank. It was basically my money at that point to write checks from, move to my account, etc.
She spent many years (about 10-12) in assisted living and nursing homes with $5k a month in bills. I paid everything over those years from my account or hers, but with the POA there was no difference that I could tell, so you might be in trouble.
The POA allows one to do whatever they want. I had POA for my now deceased grandmother. I could do whatever I wanted whenever with just a phone call to the bank. It was basically my money at that point to write checks from, move to my account, etc.
She spent many years (about 10-12) in assisted living and nursing homes with $5k a month in bills. I paid everything over those years from my account or hers, but with the POA there was no difference that I could tell, so you might be in trouble.
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