I suspect my cousin of fraud. Need advice. See inside.

Well, first of all I would take the direct approach and contact said cousin and ask him outright about the situation. If he either denies moving or taking the money, or, it seems he is evasive and you suspect he is lying. make a list of questions and use it as a script, stick to the biz. at hand, and watch to see if he attempts to deflect from the questions, watch for inconsistent answers, weak explanations, trust your gut. contact the attorney with your concerns and proof from the bank that the monies were moved or withdrawn from that account.

If you do not feel satisfied with his explanations and the money is not accounted for in the estates assets then bring it to the attention of the estate attorney.
Good luck, nothing like settling a family estate to bring out the vultures. I went through this some years ago, amazing what some people will do/try to justify in the name of greed. Bah!

Coloma, thanks. You are correct. When my aunt iniated this CD, back in the 80s, you can just imagine its worth today. I believe the interest rate, at that time, was around 16%.

I feel a family war is about to erupt over this.

@john65pennington Hang onto your hat, it took 5 years to settle my elderly uncles estate with his vast investments and 10 times removed “relatives” contesting the trust. It was a nightmare. I hope the attorney will take things into his hands, as he should. It was nuts!

I agree with @Coloma. Call the cousin.

If that doesn’t supply you with the answer put all of the info you know to be true into a letter and send it to the estate attorney via certified mail.

No matter what, the estate attorney should have transparency with all of the heirs. You should all be getting copies of letters stating what is happening with the estate.

I’ve been through this process a few times now. It sucks when family is involved!

I would ask him directly and see what he says.

In my family, my mom and her sister battled a third sister over my grandfather’s will. It got nasty and cost them about $35,000 in legal fees. To this day, the two of them don’t talk to the third sister. It caused a big rift in the family and we don’t get together on holidays with the third sister at all. It’s like the family is divided. Sadly, this is not uncommon.

Make sure the estate attorney has transparency- they should but they don’t always.

I agree to contact the cousin, but I would do it via e-mail, so you can document his responses. Save the files for later should they become necessary. My family went through this when my grandmother passed. The one sketchy uncle who was managing the estate was trying to do shady things, until we had a lawyer explain to him that there could be some nasty consequences for him; this seemed to do the trick because he quickly released the funds/records. The saddest part of course is how I’m sure your cousin’s actions would anger your aunt, which is a pretty despicable way to honor someone’s memory.

Sorry for your loss and that you have to deal with this garbage. Best of luck with the outcome.

First of all, I am sorry for your loss. Losing your Mom and then an Aunt so quickly must be pretty sad.

You need to make sure that if your mother’s death precedes your Aunts, that the Will expressly states, that, if she is dead, then it goes on to her children. You can’t will money to a dead person. The Will has to specify, that if that person is dead, then the money is to go to the deceased person children. You said you saw the Will document that states this?

OK, this totally sucks. You could first try talking to your cousin. If you meet a brick wall, I would go to your Aunts lawyer and tell them that you don’t believe your cousin has been acting in good faith. If he won’t hear about it, get a lawyer yourself.

I am very curious how you know all the bits that you know, like, how do you know that the account was closed and your cousin took the money out? How do you know that that was the intended money for you and your bother?

Often, what happens with these things is no one gets anything until all the property is disposed of. They seldom take a liquid asset and deal with that before the whole estate is settled. The liquid asset, the money in her account, may be used for funeral expenses, and the sale of her house will be used to pay out the funds that were promised to you and your brother, perhaps.

Good luck. I hope things sort themselves out.

You should definitely contact the attorney handling the estate.

Cazzie, my aunt left a note to my mother explaining the money my aunt left to my mother. I found this note, after my mother passed. I was my mothers POA. It was found as we were cleaning out my mothers personal belongings. It was dated and signed by my aunt. My cousin withdrew from mothers CD, in order to pay some of her bills. The bank officer and Ihave worked pretty close together, in order to track this info down. My cousin could have withdrawn money from three other accunts of my aunt, in orde to pay her bills. I think he chose our account, so this money wold not come to us. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I believe the bank made a mistake by releasing this money to my cousin. The money should be part of her estate and divided equally among the 8 survivors.

Bring the note and evidence you got from the bank to your Aunt’s attorney. Don’t try to talk to the cousin, he may try to hide his tracks somehow. This stinks.

I suggest you hire an attorney to represent your interests. Have your attorney request a copy of the Will to insure the money earmarked for you is identified. Provide your attorney with the documents that indicate you are entitled to the money promised to your mother.

If upon review of the documents the attorneys suspect fraud they can report it to the State’s attorney general. All you have claim to is the money identified.

If your cousin emptied the account you mention he could have done so under direction or approval of your Aunt. The key is to identify your claim against the estate, as defined in the Will or other documentation that may lead to a contesting of it.

If the attorneys suspect fraud they can deal with it, thereby keeping you out of the direct line of fire with your family. If your cousin didn’t do anything wrong he has nothing to worry about.

Here is a question that I have yet to receive an answer. If my mother was the beneficiary(she was) and she died before my aunt, then what happens to the CD(money then)? Bank officerwould not give me this information. Should it go to the next kin? My mothers will was very specific as to my brother and I, but does the directions on the CD over ride my mothers will? I still believe the bank made a mistake by allowing my cousin to receive this money.

I still believe the bank made a mistake by allowing my cousin to receive this money.

No, the POA can close the account. The bank was not in the wrong.

If my mother was the beneficiary(she was) and she died before my aunt, then what happens to the CD(money then)? Bank officerwould not give me this information

The bank is not an estate attorney. The question you were asking should be presented to the estate attorney. You need a copy of the will. If you are a beneficiary, then the attorney should contact you.

Have you rec’d any contact from said attorney?

Spatziel, my aunt did not have a will. My mother had a will.

Even without a will, she must have written down the beneficiaries on her CDs-etc.

You would really benefit from presenting these questions to an estate attorney. Even if it’s just a phone consult, you’d most likely have these questions answered and get some assistance on what to do from here on.

Since your mom passed first, and your aunt didn’t redo her banking to put you as the beneficiaries, I’m not certain that you & your brother are entitled to any of your aunt’s funds. Your mom’s will is the first topic to discuss with the attorney.

A good PI (private investigator) may be able to independently verify your concerns about fraud. The results can be referred to the executor and the local district attorney.

Of course you will need to evaluate the likely impact on family members and whether your actions will ultimately make your own life better in the long run.

Best wishes,

Your Aunt had no will? Then I really don’t know if there is any duty by the POA to give you the money. A note that is signed and not witnessed is not a binding legal document when I ever had to deal with this stuff.

If it was always understood that the money would go to your mother, then it ends there, with her death. If there had been a Will and it stipulated that the money was to go to your mother, and if ‘preceded in death’ I think the phrase is, then the money goes to her surviving children, split equally.

Take the note to the attorney. If the cousin wants to, and I think he should, honour his mother’s wishes, he should see that you and your brother get the money. But put yourself out of your misery and see if you have a legal leg to stand on by running this whole situation by the attorney. Quite the sticky wicket, I’m afraid.

You’re a cop! Arrest his ass!

Today, I talked to a bank officer where I do my banking. She explained the CD situation to me like this: If my mother passed before my aunt, then the CD would go to her estate. I really do agree with her that the CD should go to the estate of my aunt.

Here is another situation: I just discovered another CD is out there and my mother is the beneficiary on it, also. My aunt was fairly rich. She married three men and died of liver failure due to alcohol. Each husband left my aunt in a really good financial standing. My aunt really had no one to share thiis with, other than my mother. We have discovered that eight heirs qualify for equal shares in my aunts inheritance money. I am still not convinced that my cousin is not committing fraud.

Today, I talked with the estate attorney and he requested all the paperwork I have with the CD’s and my aunt and mother.

I have forwarded copies to him to investigate.