Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts
My father died in 2007. My mother died after in 2010. My father had a savings acct. In a local bank. He had given me the acct. number and told me in 2007 right before he died that there was a little over 14000 in it. I have one older sister and one older brother. I am 58 yrs. old. My father also had over 80000 in cash hidden in a steel box in his bedroom. He also had about 10000 more in cash in the back of a drawer in his bureau. He told me when in his last days over and over to go and get the money yo split up three ways between my 2 siblings and myself. I never did because I was so upset about my Dad and was with him right until the end. Well, when I went in about a month to get the money it was gone. My brother had torn the house apart and stole all of it. My mother was 93 yrs. old when this happened and my brother lived with her (and my father) for years and sponged off of them. He had my mom brainwashed and at the time I do not even think she knew of the money. My question is: is it possible to go after my brother for that money ( my share and my sister's) as there has to be proof that he deposited a very large amount of money somewhere. Or spread it out in different acts. or invested it. There has to records of this. He has only worked a menial part time job forever because he lived off of them.Also, that account with over 14000 in it? What can my sister and I do about that? It's also in my bank that I have my accounts in and I am able to check the amount over the phone with the acct. number and the last four numbers of my Dad's SS number and it is still there, which tells me that my brother knows about that money too and never had told my sister and myself. I think he knows that he can't touch that money because it's still in my Dad's name, my brother still lives in their house so I know there has to be bank statements still sent there so he knows about it.
Thank you
Patricia
3 Answers from Attorneys
To get the money in the account in your father's name, if it has not been escheated to the state is to open an informal estate for him and seek to appoint you and/or your sister administrator.
At that point you can tell your brother you know about the $80K and seek to get part of the money back. However the most likely thing is that you will share the $14K with your sister.
I am curious, what happened to your mother's estate, the home et cetera. unless the home was put into your brothers name by your mother, the house is subject to division between the three of you,
Good Luck
You should make an appointment with a probate attorney to review the important documents and relevant timeline. Theoretically, you would need to probate your father's estate. Once you have probated your father's estate, someone can then probate your mother's estate and explore what property or assets there are. If property or assets are missing that should have been part of your mother's estate, you can address that with the power of the personal representative (formerly called executor). You will most likely need help with this. Good luck.
You should consult with an attorney who does probate and probate litigation. Depending on whether your father's account has another account holder listed with him, you may need to open probate on your father's estate. This can be a simple process, and, if appointed, it would give you access to your father's account.
As for the stolen cash, that is a bit more difficult. But in order to sue your brother to recover the money, you will first need to be appointed as the personal representative of your father's estate. Then you could sue your brother. You would then have a right to conduct discovery and try to create the paper trail for the stolen cash.
Give me a call or email - I would be happy to sit down (for free) with you and come up with the best solution for this problem. I have handled many cases like this and would be glad to assist. You can reach me at 617-859-8966 or by email at [email protected]
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