1/2 sister just stole $215,000.00 !!!!!!!! UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shared Acres]

That's horrible. I would def. get a lawyer to work on contingency.

 

[OPIE]

The realy bad thing is that I have another 1/2 sister (her full sister) who was going to use her part of that money to buy a home. She has been going through some pretty hard times and this was going to give her that "nudge" she needed.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Opie, as JennsPeep said 'what comes around goes around', I forgot about the rest of the story I mentioned the other day (I guess it is still hard to believe) This is what I was told--after our elderly friend passed and he only willed his two daughters $1 each (the rest went to very good friends of his) his youngest daughter that was in her mid 50's apparently died of a heart attack while on the phone yelling at her nephew that all she got was $1!! (not mentioning that she already ransacked the house and got guns, antique dishes, saddles and tack, etc when he was in the hospital.) This all happened 2 weeks after he died. It was 2 days after talking to her nephew that they found her dead on the floor with the phone in her hand. Not sure about the other daughter.

 

[mybelle5]

Find a good Probate Lawyer in the area.. Time is of the essence!
There is always something that can be done..

 

[OPIE]

have talked to several attorneys, they all say the same thing,
" nothing we can do, it had her name on it as a T.O.D. , that takes it out of the estate". Even the darn estate attorney says this.
All I can do is hope she gets whats coming to her in the end.

 

[horsejody]

The transfer on death indication is put on an account because the person wants those assets to become the other person's property. It is done to keep the assets out of probate, and the assets become the property of the person they are transferred to. Never, never, never put TOD on an account unless that is the person you want to own the assets. I am a stockbroker, and this notation is commonly put on accounts. People should not assume that they know the legal ramifications of such things as TOD, trusts, joint tenancies, etc. without proper research. Unfortunately, the 1/2 sister has done nothing illegal. The law has to assume that the person setting up the account that way was of sound judgement and his wishes were for her to have the money in the event of his death. That is what TOD means. I would strongly suggest that everybody look over your wills and the titles of all of your accounts, deeds, etc. I would also suggest that you do the same for any loved ones, especially if you think you may someday have an inheritance from them.

Examples:
TOD (transfer on death): the assets will transfer completely to the person listed without probate. It does not become part of the estate.

Joint Tenants WROS: The property is jointly owned. If one dies, the property transfers completely to the other person without probate. It does not become part of the estate.

Tenants In Common: Each person owns a portion of the property. When one person dies, their portion of the property becomes part of their estate and is passed to their heirs.

Be very careful when you open accounts or change registrations on accounts. It often doesn't matter what you put in your will if you register an account that lists a beneficial owner. Here is an example of a common problem. Somebody has children from a previous marriage and remarries. The children assume that since they are in the will they will get the assets. Meanwhile, Dad/Mom puts the new spouse on accounts or deeds as a joint tenant. When Dad/Mom passes away the kids don't get what they expected because it is now the property of the spouse-NO MATTER WHAT THE WILL SAID.

 

[HorseFeathers]

Ouch, and here I was thinking she'd robbed a bank...

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
She may be as immoral as a bank robber, but she hasn't broken the law (at least not man's law). We should all use this as a lesson to be careful of such things. Getting around probate in such matters often backfires. Also, even if a person is good and honest, they should never be put as a joint tenant or transfer on death beneficiary for an account if they are not intended to be the beneficiary. If that person has bad debts or legal liabilities the assets are considered theirs and they may legally become the property of those they owe money to. Courts can block them from transferring the property to their loved ones and the assets will be used to pay the people they owe.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
If you were listed as a joint tenant WROS (with rights of survivorship) on the account, the money is yours. It should not be part of the estate, and the bank should not have released it to anyone else. However, creditors may have a claim to the account. If you were on the account as tenants in common, part of the account is yours. If you were just listed as having power of attorney on the account, the POA died with him. If you are not sure of how you were listed on the account, check with the bank. If you were a Jt Tenant WROS and the bank released the assets to another party, then you may have some recourse against the bank because your authorization would be required to release the funds. Unfortunately, older people often just put their children down as having power of attorney. It's worth checking though.

 

[mudhen]

I am so sorry for you.

My 1/2 sister did the same 5 yrs ago. Only it wasn't a TOD, the funds were in probate, she talked the firm into releasing them to her early, and while the rest of us had to pay taxes (along with her share) before receiving funds from the estate, she got hers and the rest of us are out the $29K that was her share of the taxes.
Going after it is still being considered, we've got a lawyer that maybe willing to do this on a percentage basis.

What ever you do, karma will eventually catch up with your 1/2 sister.

And mine.