Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
California... My father added me on his bank account as co owner in somewhere back in 09. I could make deposits write checks with draw just the same as he could. My question is am I liable for any transactions made to buy things he asked me to buy? Reason for the question is now years later he may possibly have dementia and my siblings are taking advantage of that. They have now hired a lawyer to check his account and change his trust and are question activity on his bank account. What am I liable for?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Are you liable? It depends on what you spent the money on and whether or not your father had the capacity to make decisions when you bought things he asked you to buy.
Consider two examples.
1. Your father told you to buy him a new chair, and you did, and it's in his living room, not yours. There's nothing wrong with that.
2. Your father asked you to take his money and pay for you, your spouse, and your children to visit Disney World, and your father's mental state at the time was that he relies in your judgment instead of his own, and has memory problems, and isn't really able to manage his accounts and pay the bills. If this was the situation, it would likely be considered as elder financial abuse.
The bottom line is that money spent on your father's benefit is OK, but money spent on your benefit is suspect.
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