Woman’s Remains Unidentified for Years after being found in Desert. Disappeared right after an inheritance!

Anthony Edward Simoneau, 46 left his Hawaiian getaway in handcuffs in face charges stemming from the death of his wife eight years ago. Mr. Simoneau pleaded no contest yesterday (March 12, 2015) tovoluntary manslaughter. Originally facing 25 years in prison he now only is facing 11 years of prison after possibly intentionally killing his wife for her inheritance! As a Palm Beach Probate attorney these stories are always shocking to me especially when you find out what actually ends up happening to the money if the suspect is convicted of murdering the heir.

• The body of Fumiko Ogawa Simoneau (41) was found on January 20th, 2007 near Bow Willow Campground.
• Her remains could not be identified until June 2011 based on DNA evidence.
• The defendant, her husband, Anthony was arrested last year in Hawaii where he was living and working as a tour guide (apparently he wanted a change of scenery).
• Simoneau filed for divorce against his wife but withdrew the papers when his wife got an inheritance from relatives in Japan. Her family lost contact with her in early January 2007 (being found about two weeks later) and he left San Diego sometime later in 2007. 

Some advice is just obvious, if your spouse is filing for divorce and changes course right after you inherit a million dollars from your Uncle in Delray Beach then maybe its time to just walk away yourself. But you may have some serious issues if you have already collected the inheritance by the time the assets are divided up:

1. Maybe your ex spouse will try to claim it as marital property and be entitled to half. If you are worried about this consult an experienced Palm Beach Probate and Inheritance attorney now before it becomes an issue for the family court!
2. If you are a wealthy individual, you probably already have considered prenuptial agreements right? Well what about if you have a wealthy family but are not “rolling in it”yourself, there is a good chance you are going to inherit something one day,you can protect these assets through a prenuptial agreement. Talk to an experienced Palm Beach attorney about how to protect any asset you are concerned about.

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