So we’ve had a lot of questions on how to protect yourself from a probate fraud scam. If you are in a family or part of an extended family where somebody has died and there are assets to be distributed, how do you make sure that some of the relatives or heirs aren’t going to take more than their fair share, or maybe some people that weren’t supposed to get anything take money from the estate? This is the most common type of fraud we’re seeing in our agency in the last 18 to 24 months. People within a family are stealing money from each other when a person is deceased.
Misuse of Assets Before Death:
Even before they’re deceased, if somebody’s sick or they’re in hospice, they are going to start diverting assets and conveying assets back and forth. Sometimes relatives will even put an older person into conservatorship so they can start stealing their assets, which is tragic.
Appoint a Trustee:
So how do you protect yourself? Well, first make sure that there is an appointed, assigned trustee for any estate. Don’t leave it up to the family or just multiple people to do this. Have somebody appointed and established in writing as a trustee. Make sure that person is bonded. Make sure they get a surety bond. It only costs a few hundred dollars. You can get a link below to a surety bond company that we recommend. It’s called probbonds.com, and they can bond a trustee.
Regular Updates and Accountability:
Also, during the course of the time where these assets are being distributed, make sure you get regular updates at least once a month on what’s going on with the assets. If there’s bank accounts, if there’s real estate, if there’s vehicles, if there’s stocks, make sure that whoever the trustee is has a reporting system to give monthly updates about what’s going on with these assets.
Follow the Flow of Funds:
The biggest problem we see is a year or two goes by, and all of a sudden nobody knows what happened to the assets because there was no following the flow of funds, following the tracing of assets during that time. It’s very difficult to go back and recreate all that. Make sure you have regular reporting.
Ask Questions About Assets:
Don’t be shy about asking your relatives about what’s going on with the assets. You’re not being rude. They’re being rude if they’re not giving you updates. If they’re in charge and handling the money and they’re trying to hide it from you, that’s being rude, and they’re going to use your kindness and intimidation to try to keep you from finding out what’s going on with these assets.
Economic Struggles and Family Greed:
Here’s the problem: the economy is bad, inflation is up, and the younger generations don’t have the same privileges and advantages that older people do, like baby boomers. So they’re grasping at straws. They’re struggling. They’re panicking about how they’re going to survive financially, how they’re going to afford retirement, and how they’re going to pay their bills. The only place they know that there’s any money is from older relatives.
Relatives Taking Advantage:
So, they’re doing everything they can to try to strip those assets from the relatives. Especially if one relative is poorer than the other, they might say, “Well, my brother-in-law and my sister are better off than me, so I deserve more money from this estate, so I’m taking it.” And it’s terrible.
Honoring the Deceased’s Wishes:
Remember, if the person who’s dying or has died has very specific instructions about what to do with their assets, if those instructions or wishes are not adhered to, if they’re violated, that’s not honoring their wishes, and that’s a relative you should be honoring. If you decide you get money and want to give it to another relative, that’s fine. That’s your prerogative, that’s your choice. But don’t let the relative just take it without proper authority.
Rampant Probate Fraud:
Probate fraud is rampant. Almost every single case we look at has fraud in it. Even something as small as Grandpa’s old Camaro that was in the barn that nobody knew about, somebody took it and sold it on eBay. Make sure you do a full asset search. You can get information about that from our website, activeintel.com. Make sure that you get a full accounting of any assets owned by the person.
Investigating Conservatorships:
You can also use our website to do a consultation. If you’d like to book a live one-on-one video consultation with a licensed investigator, you can do that on the website, usually with me. If a person has been put into conservatorship, find out who the beneficiary is, find out who benefits from this, who gains, and who’s in control of the money.
Asset Transfers Before Death:
Check for life insurance policies, check for pensions, retirement, and check for assets that have been switched over recently. Even if the person died this week, go back six to eight months to see if their house was quitclaimed to somebody else. When somebody’s dying, usually they know about it. They know that they’re sick, and they might die within a year. Sometimes, relatives will jump the gun a little bit and start shifting stuff around.
Relatives Concealing Information:
They’re going to lie to you. They’re going to hide records from you. They’re going to gaslight you with information, and they may have other relatives in on it with them. Sometimes there’s two sides of the family, one that’s taking the money and one that’s getting ripped off.
Taking Action:
Don’t want to let it slide. Take advantage of resources you have to get to the bottom of it so that the assets go where they’re supposed to go. And like I said, if you decide later you want to give some away to somebody, you can do that, but don’t let them do it on their own because that’s going to set a bad precedent that they can mistreat you and lie to you anytime they want.
Final Advice:
In the future, if there’s another situation that comes up, whether it’s another relative or just something in general, they’ll know, “Hey, I can steal from this relative, and no one’s ever going to call me out on it.”. Don’t let them get away with it.
