I just witnessed my millionaire Republican aunt steal $250,000 from my two cousins who are poor

[NNN0LHI]

Thats right. My millionaire aunt who is a millionaire a few times over waited until her brother, my uncle, was diagnosed with dementia and was dying from cancer and needing morphine to keep him out of constant excruciating pain (the father of my two cousins) snuck behind all our backs and talked him into signing his financial and medial affairs over to her.

I was actually encouraging my aunt to do something with the money when I found out that my uncle had over three hundred thousand dollars in a single bank account and all the banks began closing. I was worried the bank would close and 200 grand would go poof. I didn't want her to steal it though. I truly loved my aunt like anyone would. I would have trusted her with my life before today. She used to be my most favorite and respected aunt.

At the funeral today where I was a pallbearer my aunt handed my cousins a checkbook with about 50 grand in it and said this is all you are getting. When my cousins questioned her about this my aunt said the other accounts were payable to her upon death. She is also the one who opened the accounts. She said to my cousins that she was just following Gods will. She is a devout Catholic. My Godmother actually.

The only good thing about this day was the wonderful sendoff the Navy gave my uncle at Lincoln National Cemetery today. He was a medic during WW II. Taps were played and they had 21 gun salute and all. I kept one of the shell casings as a memento. That gave my cousins three of them along with the folded flag that adorned my uncles casket. You guys know me pretty good but that was enough to bring a tear to my eye and make me proud to be part of this country we know as America.

The stealing of money from my cousins just makes me so sad. My brother who also was a pallbearer today said that if anyone of trust ever pulled something like that on him he wouldn't even want the money any more. He would just want to blow up the person(s) who did it.

Don

[Ikonoklast]

1. A good attorney can fix that.

Nothing is written in stone.

[amdezurik]

2. get a lawyer NOW

that sounds like abuse of a ill person to me.

[jwirr]

26. Elder abuse and this shit happens more often than we think. Get a

lawyer.

[Crankie Avalon]

3. I don't know what to say...

...didn't he have a will in place before the dementia set in?

[NNN0LHI]

8. No will

[TomInTib]

4. Damn, that is cold-blooded.

Taking the funds and then handing them the checkbook, like that, at the funeral.

Sounds like mt ex's family (although she would never dream of doing something like that, as she is the sweetest, kindest person I have ever known).

[NNN0LHI]

My aunt was the sweetest, kindest person I have ever known in my life until today Tom

I'm not exaggerating one bit. I loved her with all my heart. I guess we never really know.

Don

[TomInTib]

22. Man, that is pouring sad on sorrow.

I am just as sorry (maybe more so) for you as I am your cousins. Money can be replaced, trust cannot.

[NuttyFluffers]

35. well, that's evil's favorite face, but let's ignore that now. love & money/power can rarely mix...

the results are usually tragic. you are now witness to the power of temptation -- and in the face of family tragedy no less. i am sorry you had to finally see your aunt for who she really is. when the chips are truly down, that is where she stands (that is, unless she is placing this money in a foundation trust to help your cousins for their long-term future. but that is something you do not seem to know). it is always a blow to truly discover that your sense of judgment is misplaced and your trust abused.

:(

now the truly excruciating part is coming to terms with the fact your beloved aunt is human like the rest of us and capable of bad things, and then walking the path of forgiveness. probably too soon to even think about now. but it will be needed to pick up the pieces of a shattered illusion and move on as a family.

[EFerrari]

5. I'm so sorry. My family is just starting to deal with stuff like that.

I don't even want to know what they're doing. It's too ugly, Catholics or no. :(

[fed_up_mother]

6. I would check your state's inheritance laws

Get an attorney quick. What your aunt did is against the law. If your uncle was not of sound mind, the papers he signed are worthless, and one of his kids should be appointed to take care of his affairs. This has to be done quickly, and once they get power, they can get statements from the banks proving that the money was there.

Good luck.

[Raine]

7. Have your cousin's get a lawyer

a doctor could certainly testify to the fact that the man had diminished capacity.

[damntexdem]

9. Such a devout Catholic -- devoutly worshipping the Almighty Dollar.

Let's hope there's an afterlife, where she can burn for a while.

[lapfog_1]

10. I suspect that all of her money is headed to her Church.

Unless she has a penchant for living the high lifestyle.

Use some of the money that she gave them (at least $20K) to hire a lawyer.

[panader0]

11. Sorry about the death of your uncle

I have the flag and shells from my dad's funeral in one of those triangular wooden boxes. He never had enough money for me and my brother to argue over. He too had dementia. Maybe your aunt's new found money will go to your cousins when she passes. I'm certain that you can't take it with you. Take care Don.......

[Poll_Blind]

12. Your cousins can probably get the rest of the money for about $10K in lawyer's fees.

  That's a great return on the investment. This kind of thing happens all the time, unfortunately- with bigger and smaller sums of money. Most people don't bother and let the crime go unpunished. It's up to your cousins, but they definitely could win this one, based on what you've shared.

  And by the way, I'm terribly sorry to hear about your uncle. Dementia robs us of those things which make us unique in this world- and that's a terrible, terrible thing.

PB

[NNN0LHI]

16. As bad as he got he never forgot who I was

He might not remember I was in the day before to see him but he always had a nice smile for me when I visited him and he always said my name.

I did love him a lot.

Don

[Midlodemocrat]

17. A good attorney will force HER to pay the legal fees due to her dishonesty.

[iamahaingttta]

13. That's how the rich get richer.

It's always been that way.
Probably always will be that way.

So sad...

[FormerDittoHead]

14. GET A LAWYER NOW. DON'T CHEAP-OUT. YOU WANT TO FILE FOR INTESTACY.

My (evil) uncle-in-law had my aunt sign a will in the hospital WITH AN "X". (she was unable to sign her name). He was worth MILLIONS. He owned a TV and RADIO STATION in Philadelphia.

Her share of her family's estate was over 20 MILLION. It's a long story...

YOU WANT TO FILE FOR INTESTACY.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intestacy

DON'T GET A LAWYER WHO WANTS A *COMMISSION*, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

[fascisthunter]

20. .

[Midlodemocrat]

15. The same thing happened to my husband. By the time we found out

it was too late to have it reversed. GET AN ATTORNEY NOW!!!!!

My SIL reduced my FIL to a pauper while keeping all of his accounts as well as the house, which, at the time, was valued at $650,000.

My husband, the father of this man's only three grandchildren got NOTHING. NOTHING. Half the value of those accounts would put all three of my kids through college and allow my not well husband to retire.

Well, that's not exactly true. We got to support said FIL after SIL started abusing him and when he died in his bed upstairs, (found by my 14yo son) we got to lay out the $8500+ for the burial and funeral.


Get an attorney. The one we had sought out after we discovered this said that the statute had run out.

And, her being Catholic doesn't really factor in. I'm Catholic and I would never pull anything like this. She's a bad person regardless of her religion.

Good luck.

[Sebass1271]

18. did you say anything to your cousins about the money your

aunt took? You should. You should not let her get away with it. What is wrong is wrong and you must speak up.

[Initech]

19. Damn that is evil. Get a lawyer pronto!

[fascisthunter]

21. That is What Religious Folks Call "Evil"

lawyer up

PS - sorry about your loss

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

23. Key part of your story - "waited UNTIL he was diagnosed with dementia"

If he was actually diagnosed prior to her actions, I think just about everything she did can be reversed and she'll be lucky if she isn't charged with elder abuse and fraud. It's true that bank accounts with a beneficiary of record are outside of wills and estates.

ALTHOUGH - there's an alternate take which is - The only one interested enough in your uncle to take day to day charge was the aunt who took control of the accounts and paid his legitimate bills - Cancer and dying can be very expensive. It's entirely possible that $250K was eaten up in legitimate expenses over a period of time. Is there more to the story than you know at this time? Why didn't the cousins have control of the money and the bills?

[wtmusic]

24. Never ceases to amaze what money can do to people.

There is a legal argument to be made, as the transfer was clearly done under duress.

Nice story about your uncle though. :thumbsup:

[whatdoyouthink]

25. I,ve seen some of the

Nicest / friendly people turn - once money was involved - its a disease, Called Greed

Watched the worst - recently, the brother of a good friend - got control (he seamed nice to me before) of the estate...then all hell broke out - and as a third party (non invested) saw what money does to a family (sic)

I would rather be broke (oops - already poor) then turn into something like that! So anybody leaving me anything rather keep my Honor and say thanks - but no thanks, don't need the hassle.

[Sal Minella]

27. Thanks for the happy thought -- I never realized before that the people who hang around with me and

are such good friends sure as hell aren't doing it in hopes of an inheritance. Oddly comforting, that!!!

[KoKo]

28. I feel for you Don...

It's been amazing to me how family members I loved could turn ugly when money and inheritance was involved.

I had a similar situation to yours, recently...that still hasn't been resolved. It's tough to deal with. But, glad you didn't let it discourage your good feelings about your uncle.

:hug:

[fishnfla]

29. Don, I know you are grieving right now and dont mean to be crass

But parts of this equation dont add up, like the part that requires probate, the law. You cant just flip someone a checkbook like that, it does not fly, especially without a will.


I'd bet there is more to the story than just 300K. The 50 is just a bribe.

Get a lawyer

[Cleita]

31. There's lots of ways to put assets into trusts, joint tenancies and

tenants in common that bypass needing a will. Rich people do it all the time to avoid inheritance taxes. A lawyer can determine if a person was made to sign papers that he didn't understand or was not in a lucid mental state to do so. It would be up to a judge and maybe even a jury to decide if the rules of dying intestate apply in that case.

[FormerDittoHead]

33. Exactly. It sounds like she got power of attorney before his death... Very messy. n/t

[baldguy]

30. If she cares more about money than family, then her immortal soul is in danger.

Or so my old priest Father Magner would have said.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[hay rick]

34. Three shell casings

My wife was guardian of her uncle John, retired Navy and Pearl Harbor veteran. He passed away in August. Uncle John was survived by four sons. She arranged to have a Navy color guard come in for a presentation of the flag ceremony at the funeral home. She wanted to have a flag for each of the sons. The VA provided one for John, she bought 2 more, and she had another one from John's brother Bill, also a veteran, who had predeceased him.

Whether by accident or design, the color guard used uncle Bill's flag in the Presentation of the Flag ceremony. Just before the final unfolding of the last triangle we heard a clanking sound. A gloved hand calmly removed three casings and placed them at the base of the casket. The flag was displayed, the casings were replaced, and the flag was refolded and presented to the eldest son. Your post reminded me of the incident.

My wife's uncle also had dementia. She became his legal guardian (co-guardian actually, with the out-of-state eldest son) when one of the sons began using Uncle John as an ATM. Very sad.