Can anything be done?

[rloger]

Wisconsin------I'm going to try to state just a few basic facts.

Husband deceased & Wife has a living trust (I guess you call it) from the husband. The one and only original will said the wife could live and do as she saw fit with all property till time of death and then it was to be divided equally between her 4 children.

Through the years she gave money regular every month to 1 son. She had a lot and did it because the 3 daughters were all wealthy and had exceedingly good positions in life. The son was a factory worker.

The mom had a stroke (we think...we were never given the real details) and was hospitalized. When she left that hospital she was never the same again and was not in her right mind. You couldn't discuss anything with her again. The daughter took her away to another state to live near another sister and we think that's when they planned the whole thing.

The oldest daughter was in charge of her finances. I forget the word for it.

The mom died and we signed off on the will so it could go to probate. We felt there was something wrong but the sisters said if we tried to contest the will they'd all be against us and they have money, we don't.

Before the mom died the sister took the mother to her lawyer and had the entire property passed onto her as a living trust. She got everything that way. We were not told about this and knew nothing about it till after the funeral and we signed of on the will. We also now know that she moved very large sums of money *before* the mom died. They said they had to do this so a nursing home wouln't get the money. Although the sisters at the time would not admitt to it. But the one told him before the burial that he already had his share. That's what us suspicious at first. Also he was told on several times that he got his share through the years. Which led us to believe they split the money. They were all jealous of him because he was the mother's favorite.

He got nothing. The oldest sister sits on the property and won't sell which is the only way he'd get his share of that. It's about 75 acres in a high tourist resort area and valuable. He received no money other than a thousand that was left over in a checking account. She planned well.

We are at a loss as to what to do and we can't afford thousands of dollars for a lawyer. They will have better one's and can afford it. And if we lost it would put us under.

What we'd like to know is if you sign off on a will can the case still be opened and looked into again? What would you need to do it?

Also, and most important, can an attornery get access to the mothers bank accounts and stocks to find out if any money was moved??? Or is this privileged information and not possible even after death?

If it could be and it was proved that she moved money and can't explain where it was spent, would we have a chance????

It isn't right and is pure greed and jealousy what the sisters did. I have become disabled and can't work anymore. It's very hard to make ends meet now and he deserves his share. The mom and dad earned the money, not the sisters and it's not up to them to say he had his share. It should have been split equally as the mother wished.

We don't know how to prove she wasn't right in her mind and the sisters will deny it. They already stated as much. We have no real proof that money was moved but know it was. One of the sisters admitted as much. We no longer talk to any of them. The oldest sister lived with the mom for many years and knew all her business. She's the one that had it all put in her name. Even the sig on the will is so shaky you can hardly read it.

I just want to know if it's possible to do anything with this. The mom died 3 years ago this Summer. Shortly before her trip to the hospital she told her son the Will, will never be changed. But that isn't proof. We don't have legal minds and just don't know what to do, but people shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. It's downright illegal if you ask me.

Thanks for any help,

~~Ruth~~

 

[ALawyer]

Once you sign off on the Will, and consent to have it admitted to probate, you give up rights to contest that Will. But you do NOT give up rights to fraud or improper dealings that may have been comitted before the death that may have impacted the amount of assets in the estate. Here it does not seem that what the will says is at issue, but what was done before the death.

If you do not have money to retain a decent lawyer, however, you will likely not be able to hold the others accountable and will continue to lose.
Consult a lawyer, see if there is a basis for suit, and if so what the chances are and the likely costs. That may cost you a few hundred dollars, but it will be worth it, if for nothing else, in terms of peace of mind, and just possibly there can be something done. These are not cases that lawyers typically take on a pure contingency basis.

Very often although the others can hire lawyers and afford to run up huge fees, they don't want to waste good money on lawyer fees, and spend the time and energy fighting, especially if their position is weak or they fear public embarrassment. In such cases, if pressured by your lawyer, perhaps even with a letter, may settle with you.

 

[advisor10]

3-11-2002

DEAR RLOGER:

Your message is a little bit unclear about who you are and what your interest is in this matter--I assume you are the wife of the son.

The biggest mistake was made in not consulting with an attorney to find out what your rights/options were BEFORE signing off on the will, although this is understandable that you didn't know. Their threat about them having money doesn't mean much, you can still contest the will if you had adequate grounds (a suspicious, shaky signature, etc.).

Looks like the daughter HAS planned well and trumped everybody.

Did the mother have a will and have you all received anything from her will? If you haven't already done so, you need to go to the county courthouse probate court and look at the mother's probate file to see exactly how the estate was handled (financial information and other documentation, etc.) which could be eye-opening and would at least give you a more complete understanding of how things were done.

The master stroke was having most or all of the monies/assets put into the trust. Trust information is confidential only to the trustee and the beneficiaries, and you would need to consult a trust attorney to find out if you have the right in your state to request a copy of the original trust documents. If the daughter got power of attorney or is trustee, then she has complete authority to handle the money in whatever way she wants.

Try to find out if the house is mentioned in the will, which would be somewhat of a conflict if it is mentioned in the trust also, but the trust will predominate and can not be overridden by the will. But if the house was mentioned in the will, then that might be grounds for showing that there was confusion about how it was supposed to be handled and the daughter would look bad and greedy for also having it put into the trust.

Unfortunately, you may have waited too late to do anything. It's a shame you all were treated so unfairly.

SINCERELY,

advisor

 

[rloger]

Yes, I am the wife of the son. We never thought we had to consult a lawyer. We didn't know she took the mom to the lawyer and had everything signed over to her. Even when we signed off on the will the sister said is was done to keep the nursing homes from getting it and she acted like there might be a little for us. It wasn't all clear to us till much later the extent of her greed.

What hasn't been answered for me is, can a lawyer check into the mom's bank accounts to see if any large sums of money were moved? If that could be shown, that would be enough proof for any judge, wouldn't it? Or is that an impossibility? What would it take to have this done? We figure it was at least $400,000 and maybe a lot more that the 3 sisters split.

~~Thanks Ruth~~