So the drama continues even after MIL has passedz back story is on previous posts. My husband has been looking into things all week and has been able to determine that MILs partner took up to $20,000 from her personal account. She should have had more than $6000 in her checking out. We’ve hit some roadblocks as the credit union is not cooperative (that’s understandable). My husband called some friends at the DAs office and we can get her bank records if we file a notice of small estate with the probate court. I actually suspect he was helping himself to her money for awhile now. We can’t figure out where else her money would have gone. She has had no debt for several years. No medical bills. There were a few utilities but they totaled less than $500 and her brother was paying her rent. After taxes, she was bringing in around $48, 000 a year between her pensions and social security. She got paid the 15th of every month. She was down to $2000 when she got paid in May. Somebody was taking her money and the only person who had access to her accounts was her partner. My husband's siblings are supposed to come over today so he can tell them everything and see how they want to proceed however my SIL wanted to invite MILs partner over too! Not be part of the discussion but for our Father’s Day get together. So he’ll be coming at 6pm supposedly. I am not happy at all. Neither is my husband but he is the one who told her yes when he could have said no. They are supposed to talk about everything before he gets here. I am so anxious and on edge. I am just angry that my husband has been put in this situation. His sister is probably going to want to forgive and forget. But this doesn’t fall on her shoulders. My husband is the executor of the estate and he is the one who discovered the crime. We can handle the missing money, it’s not like it came out of our pockets and nobody wanted or expected money when MIL died. The problem for me is that this situation could cause a rift between all of us and my MIL, the backbone of the family, isn’t here to keep us together & talk some sense into everyone and that’s a hard pill to swallow.
Would it be an idea to get an accountant to do an audit? I don't know, but I'm guessing there will be some, or maybe bookkeepers, who do neat tidy double entry summaries for families for a modest fee.
I mean, part of the trouble, it seems to me, is that you're (you plural, not you personally) expecting this chaotic old boy, who whatever you think of him has just lost his partner and is bound to be upset anyway, to provide a coherent financial narrative for several months past; and then getting annoyed and suspicious when he can't, or anyway doesn't.
I just wonder if it might be helpful to have an objective, disinterested person go on a fact-finding mission and take it from there. The aim after all is to end up with everything tidy and sorted, it isn't to hunt down a criminal.
Poop hit the fan again tonight. We went to the house to pick up the cashiers check and it was there. As my husband was walking out the door, MILs partner told him there is still a credit card out there with a $4000 balance & that it’s for her burial plot! My husband gets in the car and he comes running to my door and says Hi and tells us that the house is being tented in a couple days and it’s gojbb to cost $270. After we drove away my husband said something is going on, he is up to something again and he had me text his sister to tell her he was going to call her in 20 minutes and to answer the phone because he he is 2 seconds away from having MILs partner arrested! My BIL was waiting at our house because he had his paperwork filled out for MILs retirement and my husband told him everything. We were all told by MILs partner back in May that her cards were paid (she always paid them off monthly never carried a balance). So we pulled up her bank accounts and unfortunately on Monday night we did not look further than April 2017 and tonight we found that he took $14,000 in mid March! So his excuse for taking the $20,000 was that he sold his truck and turned around and paid $20,000 to Honda for MILs car. When she did the trust and everything was discussed, he was to get a $40,000 charger it’s not in writing but she gave him her other car and it was because he had helped pay for her car that she was now giving to my husband. So back to tonight....my husband calls him and he’s on speaker phone so my BIL can listen and my husband asks him about the $14,000 transfer from MILs account and he said she gave it to him for the Honda. And that he was there with lawyer when she said this. And my husband called him on it and said no, you got the dodge. She never said you were getting any money. He claims they did everything 50/50 but the bank accounts tell the true story. They did not. He did pay for part of her car-the car was $33,000. She bought it in January 2017 and put $5000 down. She paid it off in december and through out the course of 2017, he transferred $14, 510 to her account in monthly payments and every transfer was made just before her car payment was made. So he paid 40%. The dodge he got is currently worth around $25,000.
So my husband put fear in him. Told him he’s ready to have him arrested. He doesn’t know that there is only enough evidence to have him arrested for the June 1 theft. But my husband told him he doesn’t believe she gave him the money and the car and that he needs to make this right. He says he doesn’t have the money anymore, that he paid it to the IRS. They discussed my husband giving him the Honda back and taking the dodge. And her partner said he will pay the credit card bill. my husband has already spoken to a lawyer and now it’s a matter of deciding whether or not to hire him and pursue this further. And feeding whether he will be arrested or not. My SIL still isn’t convinced he’s a bad guy, I understand she considers him her dad but what he did is royally effed up. And he’s telling bold faced lies. All he did tonight was lie lie lie! So things are not good right now. My BIL is very upset and my husband is angry. And this is gonna put them both up against their sister.
I am so sorry that you are having to go through this experience.
He’s a sociopath. This was all planned. A sociopath can smell money and weakness. And then they pounce.
He needs to be in jail.
We know he’s going to claim that MIL told him to take the money because when he sold his truck in 2017, allegedly for $20,000, he says he turned around and paid the entire amount towards MILs car-a car which we know own, she gave it to us 3 months ago. Back at the end of April, I had a conversation with him where he told me about his truck and putting the $20k into MILs car. Then last week when we picked up the deed to the house, he told my husband how MIL always wanted him (her partner) to have half of everything and he always told her no, give it to your kids and that she told him to take the money he had put into her car because she was worried about his tax bill—this is why my husband believed he took up $20,000. Because of the conversation I had with him and his comments last week about her telling him to take money to repay himself. His tax bill is because he got caught working under the table and he got hit with taxes penalties and interest of $40,000 or so he claims. I know for a fact he was stressing over money since April. But we know him too well. If she told him to take the money, he would have taken it right then and there. Not 2 hours after she died! He would taken it and paid the IRS to avoid more penalties and interest!
If he taken the money before 6/1, we would have had to let it go. We wouldn’t be able to prove she didn’t tell him to take the money and it would have been a civil issue so we would have had to hire a lawyer and it wouldn’t have been worth the money. That it happened the day she died, which I had been siltently hoping for all week, maybe it’s a sign that she’s still here with us, protecting us. She was a devoted mother who always protected her children. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for them.
Deanna thank you so much for the lovely poem. I really needed to hear those words today. I’m not so much hurt like the others are but I am angry and having trouble understanding all of this and how God could allow something to happen that could destroy the family! My MIL wanted us to stay together, to become closer. She was the one who kept us together all these years. She would be devastated if her kids stopped being a family now! I don’t understand how we got to this place where something bad has happened that could destroy relationships forever. My young nephew has lost both grandparents now (he has no relationship with his mothers parents, one is late stage dementia, one is just not involved). He was very close to them too. My BIL has to be the bad guy and tell him he can’t see his grandpa anymore. My SIL now has to face what her father figure did and how it has angered her brothers. I know she still wants to give him the benefit of the doubt and not lose that relationship and I don’t blame her at all. My husband ultimately has to deal with this and face anger from his sister if things get really ugly. He has be the one to ask for the money back and to pursue criminal charges. He has to face the fact that the first thing this man did when she died was help himself to her money! At first he was really upset because he thought the money was taken before he called my SIL to tell her mil was gone but he made the call to SIL sometime between 7-7:30, she called my husband at 7:30 and the money was taken at 8:07.
And now I have to drag my parents into this too! He is supposed to be going up north to visit them in the next week or 2! He told them this at her funeral and he told me again on Sunday, that he was going to call my mom and let her know when he’ll be there. So now I have to call her and tell her what he did. I worry because my parents are old and naive, I love them but they just can’t say no to anyone and I don’t want him going up there and playing the victim, making my husband out to be some horrible unappreciative monster who had no right to take the money back and con them into giving him money! He is a smooth talker, a con artist!
Pepsee I’m glad my story has been helpful to you! I’ve been following yours & I’m rooting for you! I may not have much advice because im not a caregiver situation with my parents (yet) and this is a learning experience for me & I don’t know how to handle these kind of things myself and how things work.
Revenge for *his* having stolen money from your late MIL?
I don't think revenge works that way round. He is the one who has committed the offence.
I think the first thing I'd be asking for is an explanation. Then, failing an explanation - can't imagine what, but then that's why you're asking - repayment. Then, failing a satisfactory agreement there, police. On the face of it, it's straight theft from MIL, hence the executor of her estate has no option but to pursue it. He *can't* agree to forgive and forget, and SIL needs to grasp that point. It isn't a choice.
Huh, I never put together you're in CA. Im in PA, So there's a time difference....duh Pepsee😞
Please keep venting and updating. In some unknown way, my hearing you handle this with such grace and poise, helps me. I know that sounds wierd, but it does.
Vent and get it out here, so you can continue to keep your cool and be supportive to your family. What a great job you're doing.
I would find it tough to know when to talk and when to keep my feelings and opinions to myself. You're a great example of how a dignified lady acts under pressure.
I had such an argument with a receptionist at the radiologist's office the other day. I just couldn't keep my cool. She was absolutely wrong in her assumption, and did talk to me like I was a 3 yr. old. However, I still could have handled it much better.
But I did learn from it. It's matters of the heart, that trip me up. And this surely was one.
Now, dealing with Mom's care (big matter of the heart) I absolutely must keep it together. Like NOT giving the paramedics lip because I feel they took to long getting to my house. Oy😩
Thanks for listening (reading) and being an inspiration! Hope mil's partner decides on the easy way, instead of forcing DH hand.
This time in your life isn't easy,
but you're walking through it
with such a clear reflection
of GOD'S GRACE.
Still there must be days
that are harder than others,
when you feel like this is
more than you can handle.
In those moments your heart
is in a PERFECT PLACE--
a place where
GOD's strength will be there
to give you EVERYTHING YOU NEED.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
II Corinthians 12:9 KJV
^^Prayers^^ & {{{Hugs}}}
WOW. The partner withdrew the cash BEFORE the mortuary picked up your MILs body? How Terrible for all of you! I can't imagine how you are feeling right now. {{HUGS}} to ALL.
And now the partner "wants the house tented and treated for termites"...WELL--HE IS the BIGGEST TERMITE in the house C:)
"Maybe Wednesday morning we will get a call that her house burned down. Since he has said things that lead us to believe he might burn it down for the insurance money." Oh, Good Lord, this guy is a "piece of work"!
As much as you and your family hope that whatever happens will not affect any relationships within the family or ?with the partner?--Everything that has happened has already changed and affected all of your family's relationships. I am SO, SO sorry that this has happened to you.
I started crying after reading your post. It is so sad what some people will do for money. I have a poem from Roy Lessin that I am going to put in another posting. {I changed my mind and typed in a different poem.}
Who knows. Maybe Wednesday morning we will get a call that her house burned down. Since he has said things that lead us to believe he might burn it down for the insurance money.
Frequent flyer, my MIL had no medical bills. She had Medicare and private insurance-she kept her blue cross policy when she retired. Her only out of pocket expenses were some prescriptions but they cost only a few dollars. He didn’t sell off any furniture or take the money to pay off her bills.
Yesterday when my MILs partner came over, he was asked for her bank log in information in front of all 3 kids. He gave a user ID and password that did not work. As of last night, we knew there had been a withdrawl after she died because the lady at the bank did disclose that much to my husband on Friday but she did would not disclose an amount and she would not give him any records. And she told
Him she could see why he was concerned that something was going on with MILs partner and her accounts. This lady knew them both since it’s a small credit union and they banked there for years. She even told us, when we went to consolidate the accounts, that he had been in already to “take care of things” whatever she meant by that.
Today we got solid proof of the theft and when it occurred. My husband went to pick up some paperwork MILs partner filled out in order to claim a small death benefit through her pension and he asked for the correct bank log in, he told him the accountant needed it for his moms taxes. While my husband was there, This guy also had the nerve to try to get him and MILs estate to help pay to have the house tented and treated for termites! The trust says he’s responsible for all expenses while he lives there and he has the nerve to ask for money knowing he stole $20k from the trust?
Anyway....this time he provided the right information and we were able to log into her bank account.
My MIL died on June 1, 2018 at 6am. On June 1 at 8:07am $20,000 was transferred, through the bank website, from her personal savings account to their joint account. My MIL did not transfer this money, she was dead. And she was comatose on 5/31. Also, sometime on June 1st, $20,000 cash was withdrawn from the joint account.
My husband broke the news to his siblings tonight. My BIL is very hurt. This guy couldn’t even wait before my MIL was cold to steal her money. What kind of person loses the so called love
Of their life and the first thing they do is steal her money? Who does that? My husband is angry. Angry that someone who has lied and manipulated for years is still trying to manipulate us. That he stole from his mother when he should have been crying his eyes out and mourning her death. My SIL is sad because this man is the closest thing to a father that she has. Her biological dad (my FIL) was not around much. My MILs partner treated her like his own kid and has done a lot for her. So she is understandably upset and doesn’t want this to ruin relationships. My BIL and his wife are also understandably upset because their son was very close to my MIL and her partner and he just spent the weekend with her partner and now they don’t want him having anything to do with him. He lost his grandma and now he’s losing his grandpa. And that is really sad. My heart breaks for him. I am just disgusted that it has come to this. That we are all in this situation. It hurts to think that he didn’t think about anyone else and how this would affect his relationship with my SIL and nephew. All he had to do was be a man about it. If he had approached my husband or all 3 kids together and said hey look I need money or I think I should be compensated for this and that, they would have helped him out. But he didn’t do that. He stole the money while she lay dead in the living room of the home they shared for 20 years!
My husband is going to confront him tomorrow night and tell him to return the money, and that if he doesn’t, he will go to the police and have him arrested. There is enough to get him for elder abuse and grand theft and other charges. He also will tell him he’s going to turn him in for IHSS fraud. And that he’s going to have him evicted from the house. (Have to ask the lawyer if that’s even possible though). Obviously nobody wants it to come to this. I hope he does the right thing and we move on from this.
We glanced over the bank statement for April and May and he looks to be bringing in $1800 a month between his social security, the fraudulent IHSS and a small pension. I noticed that every time he got a paid (direct deposit) it was followed by a cash withdrawal in almost the same amount. He got a $576 IHSS payment in May and the same day $600 was withdrawn. When SS hit, there was a $1200 withdrawal. He got paid $1001 social security though but he would take out $1200. I am going to assume he was stashing that money in preparation for my MILs death. He was taking out a couple hundred more a month than he was bringing in and he was using that account to buy groceries and prescriptions and pay some bills.there were no frivolous expenses or anything on the may statement but there were cash withdrawals every time he got paid. And a few small ones in between so he got all his money, the trust didn’t get any of it (and they don’t want it). He didn’t appear to contribute anything to the household in May and April since he withdrew all his money as soon as he got it. My MILs money paid for everything. So she didn’t owe him. She supported him for several years when he had no income and was too good to take a minimum wage job.
Thank you for the update on yesterday's meeting. Please keep us updated on what is going on and continue to "VENT" anytime you want. God Blessings.
Anyway MILs partner is now here at my house and he seems to be avoiding some of us. This is so very awkward. I really want to laugh about it. I can’t believe this is real life.
Anyway it’s only 3:30 here so no one is here yet! I myself don’t think this is worth a family rift and severed relationships. It just concerns me that my husband is accountable for everything here.
I think that you and your husband are grieving the loss of his Mother (your MIL) and that you are taking out your "grief anger" on your MILs partner. You have no way of knowing whether your MIL gave the money to her partner or whether the partner just took the money without your MIL's knowledge.
Use today as a time to reminisce your MIL and all of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) times of her life. God Bless!
Cyber Huggz