Possibly robbed of Panhandle Eastern/Anadarko/Duke stock

Possibly robbed of Panhandle Eastern/Anadarko/Duke stock???

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ILLINOIS
Ok, quite a confusing scenerio but here goes. While looking through some papers belonging to my deceased Grandmother I came across a letter from a bank in Texas dated May 29, 1984 referring to her desire to transfer some stock belonging to her father, my great-grandfather (deceased in 1983). In this letter it stated that in order for her to transfer this stock into her name it would require MY signature (it listed my name as sole heir) to transfer along with death certificate etc. I don't recall EVER signing anything like this nor did I even know anything about this until about 6 months ago. Apparently she somehow got these transferred into her name, as I have the stock certificates with her name on them. Upon her death in '04 my father was to inherit all of her possessions. He claims these stocks were never to be mine, but if that were to be true why would my name have been brought up over 25 years ago? A investment person told me that I'm "out" because of my grandmother's will. Am I? And if I'm not how do I go about reversing this? Help!

You need to be looking at what happened BEFORE she died. If I were you I would be talking to a stock transfer agent or a business law attorney (who has specific experience with stock ownership) to find out if you have legal authority to write to the company to ask about what documents they might have on file regarding this matter. You should also be visiting the county courthouse probate court to look at your grandmother's probate file to see if there is any mention of the stock being handled as a part of her probate. It's hard to know exactly what has happened here, but it seems that she or your father may have forged your name on a document to get the transfer done.

Thanks for the advice! I am inclined to believe (hate to say so, but go figure--it's family) it appears as if it could be a good possibility that SHE might has done the signing (or had me sign something I was unaware of--if that is possible??) in order to get them from my great-grandfather's name into hers. I believe that after her death my father indeed did (or attempted to) get them transferred into his and my mother's names. Additional court documents I have point that direction. I do have the original stock certificates in my possession, with all the numbers and I have considered calling each of the companies shareholder information departments with my concerns, but was unsure how that would be received. I am totally ignorant concerning stocks and like I stated in my earlier post I spoke to financial advisor, who told me I was out of luck. This is truly a mess...I hate to throw good money after bad by hiring an attorney. The attorney who took care of her estate is no longer practicing so it would require starting from ground zero. I will continue to watch this forum and will welcome any and all additional advice! Thanks!

Go get a copy of the probate file, from your great grandfather death. You'll see what the will said as to who would get what assets.

You can go ahead and contact the companies now and give them the information you have and they can research to find out what happened and will report back to you.

I have continued the search process by consulting with yet another individual from another nationally known investment firm. Not certain I should mention the name(??) He was DEFINATELY more helpful and was intrigued by this situation. He ALSO advised me to consult with a transfer agent, but was unsure of how long these companies would retain the type of records I am trying to locate. Through this I have discovered that the original stock, Panhandle Eastern no longer exists, but has been sold, "spun off" and due to different acquisitions had been twisted in to Anadarko, Spectra, "Old" Duke Energy and finally "New" Duke Energy Corp, and that my father is receiving the Spectra dividends as (his name) "executor of the estate" of (my grandmother's name). I encountered a very nice lady at Spectra who kindly educated me on this, offered any future assistance that I might need, and directed me to contact the "New" Duke Corp. The "Old" Duke shares were supposed to be surrendered to be replaced with the "New", but I'm uncertain whether this change has indeed taken place, since what I have appears to be the "old". Unfortunately at this time the person there is unavailable for approximately a week and needless to say I am quite ready to find out if I can get a copy of whatever it was that was supposedly signed (and by whom) that started this transfer nightmare back in 1984. Meanwhile, I will continue making phone calls to agents and also intend go to the courthouse to see if there is a copy of my Great-grandfather's will on file. Thanks again, I couldn't be doing this without your assistance. Keep the advice coming!

While at the courthouse you should try to find out if an estate was ever done for your grandmother.

Ok, just returned from visiting the courthouse. My great-grandad's will places my grandmother in the position as executor of his will, which was my assumption. That will was made out in 1962 (before I was born 1966 and he would have purchased it after then) and of course filed in 1983 at his death and there was no mention of the stock certificates. I went to the judici online site and my grandmother's estate was closed 1/30/09, a little over 4 years after her death!?? From documents I received it appears that the attorney filed several continuances for whatever the reason. Is there something else in these documents that I need to be looking for? Many Thanks!

When looking at probate files, be sure to look at all pages in the entire file (not just the will) so you can get other clues as to how the financial assets were handled and who the heirs were, etc. You may or may not get lucky as to whether the stocks are mentioned as an asset.

BINGO! I just may have hit pay dirt! Spoke to an individual at Duke who "found" an archived document dating back to 1984. After faxing the letter that I found, both my great-granddad's and my SSN#, mailing addresses and phone numbers he will be mailing me a copy of this document. I am sincerely hoping that this will be the one I am looking for and if not, atleast I know that there indeed is information out there and it can be retrieved. I guess now I just get to wait and see! Thanks again, I will keep updating as I receive more information. Keep the advice coming, this isn't over yet.