Hi,
I'm afraid my Grandmother is being swindled by her own children. Let me set the background for you:
About two years ago, my grandfathers Alzheimers reached the point that he couldn't handle the finances anymore, so my grandmother had him taken off their account and put on ALL 4 of her kids on the account. Her attorney seemed perfectly fine with this. She also gave POA to all 4 of the kids. I really don't know why she did it, but it seems like a bad idea. Anyway, at that time, she had approximately $900,000 in the bank. One year later, it is down to $400,000. And nobody claims to know where it all went! She had some home improvement done (shingles, siding, driveway, etc), but nowhere near $500K worth. When my grandma asked two of my uncles where the money was and for bank statements, they refused to give it to her. My aunt was trying to intercept returned checks. She told my father to "tear up" the old checks. My grandma asked her lawyer (who she thinks is just wonderful, but sounds like an ass to me) to get the banking information (transactions,e tc), and he told her that the only way he'd get it is if she came in screaming and swearing at him to get it. What??!!! Sometimes I think this lawyer is on my uncles payroll.
A few months ago, my two uncles (and I suspect my aunt) went to the bank and withdrew all but $10,000 and put it in another account somewhere. But they didn't consult my father or my grandma. They just did it. In my eyes, that amounts to stealing it from both grandma and Dad. And her lawyer doesn't seem to see a problem with this and says it's best for her because "she might give it away if she had it". That may be, but she's still of very sound mind and can make those decisions for herself. But now she has no access to it, and my dad was completely eliminated from any control over the money. Was it legal for them to take the money without consent from my father and does he have a legal right to know where it went and to see bank statements?
Also, my grandfather is now living in an assisted living facility. My grandmother is going to be going to stay with him for a month or so while she recovers from a knee surgery. She is convinced that she'll be coming home after she's healed. But I and my parents are convinced that the other kids are going to trap her there so that they can sell the house. The house/land is to be sold and split four ways. Unfortunately, Grandma seems blind to this idea. She doesn't seem to think it's odd at all that Grandpa has an apartment style place, complete with TWO twin beds, a kitchenette (Grandpa can't cook), big walk-in closet, etc. It seems obvious to me that it's all set up for two people. When my grandfather was put in, my uncle just told her to sign the contract, but we don't believe she read it. I told my mom that the next time she takes Grandma up to visit, she needs to take a look at the contract, if they'll even show it to her.
I guess my basic question right now is if my grandmother and parents have any legal recourse regarding the moving of her funds. How can my father get access to the new bank account or to at least be able to see a list of transactions?
Thanks for reading through all my rambling.
I'm afraid my Grandmother is being swindled by her own children. Let me set the background for you:
About two years ago, my grandfathers Alzheimers reached the point that he couldn't handle the finances anymore, so my grandmother had him taken off their account and put on ALL 4 of her kids on the account. Her attorney seemed perfectly fine with this. She also gave POA to all 4 of the kids. I really don't know why she did it, but it seems like a bad idea. Anyway, at that time, she had approximately $900,000 in the bank. One year later, it is down to $400,000. And nobody claims to know where it all went! She had some home improvement done (shingles, siding, driveway, etc), but nowhere near $500K worth. When my grandma asked two of my uncles where the money was and for bank statements, they refused to give it to her. My aunt was trying to intercept returned checks. She told my father to "tear up" the old checks. My grandma asked her lawyer (who she thinks is just wonderful, but sounds like an ass to me) to get the banking information (transactions,e tc), and he told her that the only way he'd get it is if she came in screaming and swearing at him to get it. What??!!! Sometimes I think this lawyer is on my uncles payroll.
A few months ago, my two uncles (and I suspect my aunt) went to the bank and withdrew all but $10,000 and put it in another account somewhere. But they didn't consult my father or my grandma. They just did it. In my eyes, that amounts to stealing it from both grandma and Dad. And her lawyer doesn't seem to see a problem with this and says it's best for her because "she might give it away if she had it". That may be, but she's still of very sound mind and can make those decisions for herself. But now she has no access to it, and my dad was completely eliminated from any control over the money. Was it legal for them to take the money without consent from my father and does he have a legal right to know where it went and to see bank statements?
Also, my grandfather is now living in an assisted living facility. My grandmother is going to be going to stay with him for a month or so while she recovers from a knee surgery. She is convinced that she'll be coming home after she's healed. But I and my parents are convinced that the other kids are going to trap her there so that they can sell the house. The house/land is to be sold and split four ways. Unfortunately, Grandma seems blind to this idea. She doesn't seem to think it's odd at all that Grandpa has an apartment style place, complete with TWO twin beds, a kitchenette (Grandpa can't cook), big walk-in closet, etc. It seems obvious to me that it's all set up for two people. When my grandfather was put in, my uncle just told her to sign the contract, but we don't believe she read it. I told my mom that the next time she takes Grandma up to visit, she needs to take a look at the contract, if they'll even show it to her.
I guess my basic question right now is if my grandmother and parents have any legal recourse regarding the moving of her funds. How can my father get access to the new bank account or to at least be able to see a list of transactions?
Thanks for reading through all my rambling.
