Can we do anything?

[lecarrie]

My mother had POA and was listed as primary for medical directives for her uncle since 1995. (he has no children) I was listed as the backup for the medical. He is 86 years old. At the time they set up the majority of his money in a trust to protect my uncle. My father also does his taxes on a yearly basis, (he is an accountant) We all live out of state.

While gathering data for taxes this year it was discovered that someone else is now listed on his bank accounts. After further investigation it seems that my mother has been removed as POA and medical directives. This happened last year in April after the taxes were done. We have also discovered that the trust was dissolved and everything was moved into joint bank accounts.
The other person is not letting my uncle send over the last bit info we need to do taxes. We feel that there probably is money missing from this account.

Is there anything we can do after this much time has gone by? We do not feel this other person is trustworthy and has my uncles best interest at heart. We just want to make sure my uncle is protected and has his money when he needs it.

 

[lwpat]

Yes. You can petition the court for guardianship. Once that happens, you can go after the person if the money has been misused. The problem is that once you start the person will probably take the money and run. If you can quietly get to your Uncle and get the POA reinstated, then you can move the money out of their control. This has to be done quietly and I assume that your Uncle still has the capacity to execute a POA. It is not unusual for a caregiver to take advantage and for the money to disappear. Then there is little you can do.

My suggestion is to plan a visit with your Uncle for a couple of days and somehow get him to an attorney. You can assume that his will has also been changed.