My sister is POA and Trustee of our parents, 86 and 88 yrs old. I noticed 3 withdrawals from Dad's IRA totaling over $11,000 being deposited into an account not owned by my parents. Sister's first reaction was fear of being arrested, then her reason was she had to pay taxes and now she is saying she gifted it to herself. Is this legal? Our parents' bills are constantly past due. Sis herself has filed bankruptcy for the third time about 10 months ago. Sis has not come up with receipts for our parents to file income taxes for 2 years now.
A judge probably wouldn't look too kindly on a POA/Trustee exploiting elders and abusing their fiduciary responsibilities. Plus there is also the issue of your parents being subject to a Medicaid penalty because they will look at it as being a gift. A good elder law attorney can help you navigate these hurdles and see if there is anything that can be done to make your sister repay the money.
she's digging herself in deeper.
she needs to understand. no gifts. no money. no property. no nothing. not until both parents pass.
SIS is also claiming the missing IRA $11,000. was a gift from our parents! This is news to Mom and Dad. I say TURN HER IN!!!!!
Oh yea, who would leave a thief as the Trustee? Not someone able to make good decisions , so obviously your parents have had some challenges for a while.
I personally think any person that would do this kind of thing should have the book thrown at them, this is when a chain gang would be just dues.
Whose brilliant idea was it to appoint your sister to this position in the first place? It can't have been news to anyone in the family that she and money are not a good mix?
make sure all bank accounts get changed over without her name.
Is she the current Trustee of the Trust, or does she inherit authority on your parents' deaths, or on the death of the first of them? Are the IRAs funded (title to the IRAs) transferred to the Trust? Or are the IRAs titled individually, with specific beneficiaries named?
In other words, when she draws down on an IRA, is she taking money from the Trust or assets outside the Trust? I ask to determine if she's defrauding the Trust or your parents assets which might be outside the Trust?
But someone with legal knowledge does need to review the Trust to determine if there are provisions for her to make these kinds of payments to herself. Trustees are entitled to compensation. And she could be acting as Trustee as opposed to proxy under a POA.
Someone also first needs to be determine if these are RMDs, Required Minimum Distributions, from IRAs. They might be, and if she's depositing them in an account for the Trust, that might be legitimate. It depends on what she's using the funds for and in whose name the account is titled.
From your description of her financial problems though, there definitely is a question whether she's inappropriate using your parents funds.
How are you getting this information? Do you have access to the IRAs or your parents' accounts?
Sheesh, some people. Get the lawyer involved, if there is one. Maybe, if you're super nice, give her one change to return all the money. IF she won't let the attorney handle it.
but my mom isn't in her right mind anymore.
is sister low on money because they are down on their luck. or because they constantly spend and reward themselves with expensive stuff? if they are taking money they should have at least told you. like for an emergency or something.
sorry I overreact - it just hit a nerve w me :(
the trustee has a extremely high amount of loyalty only to beneficiary (s)
called Fiduciary Responsibility.
I may or may not be stating it totally correct. but I take my responsibility seriously
and this to me is NOT good
I have had to tell my sister no money ! im glad im trustee. or id be in your shoes.