Don’t be a victim!
Sage has investigated estate fraud whereby the executor violates his / her fiduciary duties and enriches himself / herself at the expense of the members of the estate. Depending on the amount of money involved and the desires of the members of the estate theft charges can be brought against the executor. This is generally difficult because the executor is generally a family member or close friend of the decedent.
There are many different types of estate fraud. Here are just a couple scenarios:
1.) Your brother uses his authority as agent of your mother’s power of attorney to take money from your mother’s bank account for his personal benefit;
2.) Your disinherited sister destroys your deceased parent’s will to force the estate into intestate succession where she’d get an equal share of the assets;
3.) A close family friend uses undue influence to get your infirm father to change the beneficiary designation on his brokerage account to the friend’s benefit;
4.) The trustee of your parent’s trust keeps making up excuses for long administration delays while he spends trust funds on himself.
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