My brother stole our inheritance

A

Angry sister

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
My mom lived with me in another state. She gave me a power of attorney. She had an annuity of $200,000 and made me 100% beneficiary with an instruction to share this with my four brothers if something happened to her. She also had a checking and other assets worth $60,000. She moved back to live with my youngest brother as she wanted to see the rest of the family as I'm the only one who live in another state. My mom passed away and when I called the bank to report that she passed away, the bank told me that all of her bank accounts were closed when she was living. We have her last Will and the Will had a No contest clause with a statement, "...seeks to succeed to any part of my estate....any gift or other interest given to that person or entity under this Will shall be revoked and shall be disposed of as if it had predeceased me or ceased to function as an entity."

My mom's intentions were to always have her assets equally shared with all of us five children. My youngest brother never answered us or talked to us the whereabouts of my Mom's money. Her last will, her video recorded expressing her last wishes and her instructions to me about her money were always for us to share equally. How can we sue my brother without knowing where the money has gone? My mom was very sick when she moved to his house. That's why I had the POA to begin with when she was with me. Then he also got POA when she lived with him. What should we do in this matter to get our inheritance back? Thank you
 
Sorry, but nobody stole anybody's inheritance. The money was gone by the time your mother died so this has nothing to do with wills, intentions, wishes, or estates.

As long as your mother was of sound mind and gave away her money before she died, there is nothing you can do about it. That she was sick doesn't necessarily mean that she was of unsound mind.

Your POA gave you the authority to act for your mother but didn't take away her authority to act for herself.

I suggest you consult an attorney and review your options.
 
adjusterjack said:
Sorry, but nobody stole anybody's inheritance. The money was gone by the time your mother died so this has nothing to do with wills, intentions, wishes, or estates.

As long as your mother was of sound mind and gave away her money before she died, there is nothing you can do about it. That she was sick doesn't necessarily mean that she was of unsound mind.

Your POA gave you the authority to act for your mother but didn't take away her authority to act for herself.

I suggest you consult an attorney and review your options.
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My mother had dementia. This is why I had a POA when she lived with me. Her annuity had me as 100% beneficiary and had instructions to share it with all of us. My brother stole it because of undue influence. We were all present when we had a meeting and our mother told all of us that everything she had was to be divided to all of us.
 
Angry sister said:
My mother had dementia. This is why I had a POA when she lived with me. Her annuity had me as 100% beneficiary and had instructions to share it with all of us. My brother stole it because of undue influence. We were all present when we had a meeting and our mother told all of us that everything she had was to be divided to all of us.
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Please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your mother.
Despite what you allege was said, your brother got the loot.
No need to elaborate further here.
If you're unsatisfied with what went down, consult a couple local attorneys to determine what, if any, options are available to you.

Good luck.
 
A will only governs what exists at the time the person passes. If the money was already spent or given away, it is not part of the estate. While alive it was hers to do with what she pleased, or to give authority to someone else to manage as they saw fit.
 

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