Legal Question in Elder Law in Arizona

My brother had a poa over my mom, but cleaned out her acct's. So I went and got guardianship over her and reported him to APS. APS started the case against him, but in the middle of the investagation, my mother passed away. So now the investagator dropped the case. They said even tho we can see that he did abuse the POA, by her dying theres no victim anymore. Why can't they still charge him,?? isn't it still a crime against her estate?????


Asked on 4/25/11, 7:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Donald Scher Donald T. Scher & Associates, P.C.

You are right, the estate and her heirs have a claim against your brother for breach of his fiduciary duties to your Mom. In fact, it may be a crime as well, if you can prove the facts which show he stole her money. There are both civil and criminal penalties which may apply to this case. APS does not prosecute anyone, they may investigate and then turn over their findings to the county attorney or a local police agency. Only the county attorney or grand jury can bring criminal charges against a person.

You can open a probate case for your Mom's estate and seek appointment as personal representative of the estate. Then, you would have the legal authority to file an action against your brother to force him to provide an accounting of your mother's money and what he did with it, and then the court could take action against him.

You should retain legal counsel and go after him.

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Answered on 4/25/11, 9:28 pm


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