DID SON FINANCIALLY EXPLOIT MOM AND MIS-USE A #POWER OF ATTORNEY?
The Maine Court said “yes” in this #tortious interference with an inheritance case which was handed down literally days ago. This #probate lawsuit had family members accuse the dead person’s son, Paul, of, what we would call in Florida, #financial exploitation. You have to read these facts!
THE #ESTATE LITIGATION AND #FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION
There was a woman named Mary from Maine who had a son named Paul. This #inheritance lawsuit had all the facts of a typical #will challenge or #estate dispute:
- Mary signed a #power of attorney naming Paul as her #attorney-in-fact
- Paul added his name to his mother’s financial accounts as a #joint tenant or #joint owner
- Paul set up a new brokerage account funded with his mother’s money
- Paul put his name on the #joint brokerage account as a #joint owner— with a #right of survivorship
- Paul used his mother’s brokerage account for his personal benefit
- Paul used his mother’s money towards the purchase of a new car, even though his mother could not drive
- Paul used money to purchase groceries, tires and other household items that did not benefit his mother
- Paul paid himself and his wife $173,710.00 from his mother’s money, as caregivers, for about a year of service — while his mother was mainly in hospitals or institutional care facilities
- Paul induced [his mother] or wrote for her signature a check to Paul for $45,000
BROTHERS AND SISTERS SUE #PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF ESTATE: SON IS SUED BY SIBLINGS IN #PROBATE LAWSUIT
Paul’s brothers and sisters sued him after he was named #personal representative of his #mother’s estate, when he opened up #probate, and was appointed personal representative of the #estate.
The siblings also sued Paul :
- for a complete accounting of mom’s money
- to explain what happened to mom’s liquid assets
- to explain what happened to mom’s brokerage account
- breach of the duty of good faith as #personal representative
- to justify the money he received for expenses
- for #tortious interference with an #inheritance
- #conversion of mom’s money in their #inheritance
What Did the Judge Do? The Probate Court found:
- Paul had solicited a #power of attorney when his mother “was not of sound mind” —- and wrongfully depleted his mother’s assets and #estate
- Paul breached his fiduciary duty owed to his mother
- ordered him to repay the #estate the money wrongfully taken
- Paul was liable to his siblings in the amount of $244,815 for the #breaches of his fiduciary duty that diminished the value of his #mother’s estate
Do you have a #Florida estate or #Florida probate with similar facts? Our #West Palm Beach, Florida probate law firm handles #elder abuse, #and financial exploitation of the elderly, and #power of attorney misuse. In fact, our law firm has a distinguished #probate litigator with over 25 years of criminal justice service prosecuting #financial crimes against the elderly in Florida.
FOR REFERRAL SOURCES, LAWYERS AND LITIGATORS
Our #Florida probate law firm
- does not draft estate plans
- does not draft wills and trusts
- does not steal your clients or your probates
- Our #West Palm Beach, Florida #probate litigation firm :
- hands your clients back to you at the conclusion of the #Florida litigation
- after all, they are YOUR clients
- we try cases
- we handle appeals
- restricts its practice to #Florida probate disputes
- we work with you on #Florida estate administration, #Florida probate
- we litigate for and protect beneficiary rights
- we represent #Florida personal representatives or executors, and #Florida trustees
- we receive 95% of our clients from other lawyers
- we take contingency fee cases.
Our firm is comprised of
- serious Florida litigators,
- focused probate lawyers,
- experienced paralegals and support staff.
We have been involved in high profile, nine figure, multi-, multi-million-dollar #Florida estates, including Madoff matters, old # Palm Beach money and complex trusts and multi-party #Florida probates. We also handle “small” or “simple” matters. All we do is litigate and help you with #Florida estate and trust administration. #Tortious interference with an inheritance and allegations of #undue influence, and #will challenges and trust challenges are a unique subspecialty of the law. Does your client know which ones to file, when to do that, and why? Do you know the different ways to prove each case? How about quantifying or assessing damages? It would be our pleasure to work with you and to serve your clients. For a complete copy of this very recent legal opinion please email michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com.
John Pankauski, www.johnpankauski.com, is the author of The Trustee’s Book – An Individual’s Guide To Money, Misfits, Marriages, and Mismanagement, and the upcoming The $41 Trillion Inheritance War. He is an estate and trust litigator in West Palm Beach, Florida. www.pankauskilawfirm.com and has been featured on the CBS Evening News, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NBC, ABC and Fox.