Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

My father passed and my grandparents cleaned him out.

My father passed away and he had several mini strokes in the months leading to his death and in that time my grandparents managed to convince him to cash in all his savings that his children were beneficiaries of and keep it from us.They knew he was going to die and never told any of us kids.They managed to have him cash in all his life insurance policies and his 401k, they basically left us with his bills and took all his money.He was not mentally compitant to make these decisions because of the strokes and I want to know how hard this will be to prove. I live 1300 miles away and never even knew he was sick until 4 days before he died.My dad has had many mental difficulties from epilepsy as well and now we are left holding his bills while they have his money what can we do if anything.He told me 2 years ago that if anything happened to him that we were the beneficiaries on everything and my grandparents decided that in their 80's they needed it more than his kids, that have to pay off his house and several other bills.Any advice on what can be done is greatly appreciated.


Asked on 8/09/05, 10:08 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
David Slater David P. Slater, Esq.

Re: My father passed and my grandparents cleaned him out.

1. You are not responsible for the bills, his estate, if any is.

2. Unless you can prove fraud or undue influence in court, you will have no claim.

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Answered on 8/09/05, 10:14 pm
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: My father passed and my grandparents cleaned him out.

I agree with David. Only his estate has responsibility to pay the bills, since you got nothing. I suggest you promptly contact an attorney, local to where your father was living when he died, to review the situation and, if necessary, start a suit against your grandparents. These suits are (1) costly, (2) require, in your case, extensive medical information on your father's mental capacity when the asset transfers were made, (3) can take a long time to resolve and (4) many defenses to such a suit can be raised so there is no guaranty you would prevail.

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Answered on 8/10/05, 11:06 am


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