Elder Financial Exploitation | An Innocent Child's Dilemma

It's natural - even good - that we should desire peace and avoid conflict. This desire might pale in the face of injustice. Families strained by the financial exploitation of a parent by a sibling or other close relative find themselves conflicted over calling out wrongdoing or trying to keep the appearance of harmony. That said, there are times in our lives when common decency and respect for the dignity of others will call us action - to painful confrontation. We pay a price for this.
There are common elements to elder financial exploitation stories - stories that clients, potential clients and readers of my book tell me. The focus of an elder financial abuse story can be mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, aunt or uncle - but let's make it easy for discussion - it's mom.
Mom is 84 years old. Dad died five years ago. Mom owns the family home in a trust that she and dad set up when they were in their sixties. The trust also owns securities, bank accounts and some other investments. Mom and dad's trust, consistent with their expressed wishes in their joint lifetimes, provides for equal division of assets to their three children after both of them pass away. This long mutual intent for family equality will be under siege...
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[@PureMagma]

As someone who is basically viewed as "Doris" by my older sister in a situation not nearly as extreme or dire as this specific analogy, I can definitely object to categorizing Doris's siblings as "innocent" in this context. Anyone who willingly allows a sybling to solely bear the burden of caring for their aging (or elderly) parent(s) deserves to receive little or nothing from the estate... However, in my situation, after my Dad passed away, II pushed my Mom to put everything (farm, farmland et al) in a non-revocable trust that I manage for the benefit of her, that grandchildren and future generations will inherent. My sister (who is already a millionaire) won't even speak to me because she is so pissed that she's not going to be receiving half the proceeds of an estate auction upon our mother's passing.