Inheritance

[Sacredspace]

Hi there, I’m wondering if anyone can advise please? I live in Wales if that makes any difference as we have our own devolved parliament. Maybe I should put in bullet point form:
4 siblings
Lost our widowed mother recently.
She had been suffering from dementia for around 10 years.
She had been in various care homes for around four years.
No will.
Brother had Power of Attorney for several years prior to her death.
During those four years he got through around 50k of her life savings and monthly private pensions, transferring it into his own account, writing cheques, taking cash and using her payment card as his own
On her death he was able to withdraw the last of her savings - around 10k.
We had to insist that he paid the funeral costs out of the estate, he didn’t see why it should come out.
He expected us to split it between us.
He split the remaining money between 3 of us (leaving out 1 sibling - who he told mum left nothing except personal items and furniture).
He spent mum’s life savings (which would have been our inheritance) and still took a share of what he had left in her account on her death.
I have made a complaint to mum’s bank, the office of the public guardian and Action Fraud who have referred it through to the police. I am worried about instructing a solicitor due to the expense if we don’t win and the probability that my brother has spent every penny and has no further assets.
What else can I do? I have also discovered that all of mum’s jewellery is missing too.

[BubblesBuddy]

Who paid for the care home? You have to pay if you have over £23,000 I believe. So your brother paid out of her money. That’s why there is little left I would assume.

Holding power of attorney means he has to keep records of expenditure he incurred on behalf of your DM. Ask to see them. However, after many years of care, I’m not surprised there is nothing left. He should be able to account separately for all expenditure and it should not be mixed up with his own money.

You have asked for him to be investigated so you will have to wait and see what the outcome is. I’m so sorry this has happened and joint and several power of attorney is best so everyone is in the loop.

[gostiwooz]

Did he have a bank card for her account, or was he using hers?

[daisychain01]

This is a most terrible situation for you and your family to have to deal with. You are right to be cautious about appointing a solicitor, as you may be left with a legal bill but no inheritance if he claims he has spent all the money. Additionally, he could have sold your DMs jewellery and those funds may not be traceable.

You've reported him to the authorities which is the right thing to have done. That in itself must feel painful to have to report your own brother, but he deserves to have his actions exposed. Maybe the police can prosecute?

[Sacredspace]

Hi Bubbles, sorry I should have explained, here in Wales our laws are more generous with the amount an elderly person can have in savings. So my mum had sold her house and paid for her care until it got down to the savings threshold (around 50k). It’s this money my brother has spent consisting of savings, investments and her monthly income from her pensions/private pensions/my dad’s pensions (my brother has a different dad if that’s relevant and just to complicate matters)! My brother was previously bankrupt, he’s a criminal who has got away with terrible things due to loopholes, lack of evidence, a good solicitor maybe? Because he is so dodgy we couldn’t have joint power of attorney with him as we all might have got into trouble and he is manipulative and controlling.

[Sacredspace]

Yes, it’s a horrible situation, I knew my brother was dodgy, but since my mother died he’s been unbearable saying the most cruel things to my sister and I. Saying he was my mother’s favourite and that mum wanted him to inherit everything. A few days after my mother died he asked in the sibling Whattsap chat his I was doing. When I answered him honestly (terrible) he said ‘well you’ve just got to get on with it haven’t you’!
So that was very helpful! I wasn’t actually not getting on with it, he was the one not getting on with it, withholding the funeral arrangements because he didn’t want to use money from the estate! 😡

[gostiwooz]

With the benefit of hindsight, it might have been better for a solicitor to have been appointed to act as power of attorney.

How did he get power of attorney 4 years before her death when she had already been diagnosed with alzheimers by then? She wouldn't have been competent to take the decision to hand her affairs over to him.

If he's that dodgy, then definitely involve the police. He was stealing from her when she was alive, and has continued to steal from the beneficiaries of her estate after her death.

[Sacredspace]

@gostiwoozHis solicitation must have felt she had capacity. I have her medical records that state otherwise..He also tried to get a @gostiwoozsolicitor to draw up a will leaving everything to him. The solicitor decided that wasn’t appropriate. @gostiwooz

[BubblesBuddy]

I didn’t realise Wales was more generous. I can see the big problem now.

Your mum must have drawn up the LPA with him as sole attorney but it wasn’t used until 4 years ago. We have just registered ours and it won’t, hopefully, be used for years. Your mum obviously made a massive mistake and presumably didn’t talk to you or your sister about what she was doing, which is very wrong, I’m afraid. Families should make these decisions together.

I rather suspect your brother had some sort of hold over your mum. He was presumably a favourite son and she wouldn’t, or couldn’t, see any wrong in him whereas others can. It does sound as if he’s taken advantage of his position. I do hope you get something back but if he’s spent the money, then what? This is so sad.

[notapizzaeater]

Who decided the remaining sibling wasn't getting a shAre ? If no will it should have been shared equally

[EileenAlanna]

Has he a house or other assets? I'm pretty sure they'd be seized if necessary to pay any money to you & your other siblings on the back of a Court Order. Don't waste sympathy on him if so.

[Sacredspace]

@BubblesBuddy he only set up the power of attorney 4 years ago after she had lost capacity. Her medical records show a very low score confirmed by her consultant. (I know there are two types of power of attorney but I don’t know which one he set up) My mother would never have allowed him to have controls of her money. He has always struggled to manage his own money, resulting in debt and bankruptcy and having to be bailed out regularly by mum x

[Sacredspace]

My brother had control of the final 10k in mums account. He held onto it when we were trying to organise the funeral, refusing to pay any final bills. Until all of the bills were clear the money should not have been touched. Once all the bills were clear he split the remainder three ways, even though my sister and I insisted our adopted brother is equally entitled to a quarter. My sister and I have each opened a special account for our shares as we don’t consider the money ours at this point. We had to take it though to look after it otherwise it would have all disappeared. We are in talks with our adopted brother about what, if anything, we are going to do.

[Sacredspace]

@EileenAlanna he has little assets as his late wife was sensible and left everything to her children. So he has to vacate the house he’s living in soon. He only married her for her money, but she wrote her will before dying suddenly from a rare cancer. He is now targeting another lady who he has quickly formed a relationship with. (He took her to his late wife’s funeral and was laughing and drinking with her at the reception). She has just sold her house, as has her elderly widowed mother.

[stucknoue]

The office of the public guardian will investigate and potentially cps prosecute. Over 4 years they will allow him to explain away a certain percentage to give to your mother/pay for incidentals, maybe £25-50 a week, but beyond that they could insist it's repaid to the estate

[Jessbow]

I thought-I might be wrong- that a bankrupt person couldn't hold POA for anyone.

[Jessbow]

www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/choose

No you can't so please take the matter further

[Sacredspace]

@Jessbow thanks so much. He was declared bankrupt 20 years ago so it might be a case of that didn’t prevent him applying for POW by 2015.

[Sacredspace]

@stucknoue as my mother is now deceased I’m not sure the Office of the public guardian will investigate. I have made a complaint to them as I feel there was no supervision at all.
Had anyone asked myself, my sister or other brother’s opinion, we would have insisted that my brother was totally inappropriate to act.