Episode 10 - Stand, Fight, Win! LIVE: Real Lawyer, Real Answers - Financial Elder Abuse

[@RHINO41153]

All pertains to my situation, you touched on everything... what a mess... I got nothing, sister influenced Mom and had a change made to the trust 2 months before Mom passed.

[@RHINO41153]

Mom and dad retired to Las Vegas in 1991. Sisters whereabouts unknown, she has always been the bad seed. 1993 Mom and Dad created a Revocable living family trust State of Nevada. I had 3 Children and Dad had a pool put in so we could visit often and kids would have something to do. Visited often, a minimum of 7-10 times a year. I was named as a successor Trustee 3rd in line following Mom and Dad. Year 2000 parents were concerned about my sister, her whereabouts and if she was alright. I searched for her and found her living in a rundown hotel. Mom and dad invited sister to come stay with them, under the condition that she got a job. Sister worked at Walmart, Dad would not allow sister to live with them unless she held a Job. Dad is died in 2001, shortly afterwards sister quit working. 2008 economic downturn put me in a precarious financial situation where I was doing all I could to stop a foreclosure on my home in Simi valley California. Called Mom on a regular basis. 2009 I could not ever get a hold of me Mother by phone and I had no vehicle to travel to Las Vegas to see Mom. Christmas 2009 I borrowed money to rent a car and went to Las Vegas with my youngest son. Sister started barking orders at my son off what he can and cannot do, we had an established routine whenever we visited, sister determined that she was in charge. My son was upset and told me about my sisters demands. The house was a 4 bedroom 3 bath and over 3000 SQ feet... I found Mom in the smallest bedroom, she had been isolated. Sister would not leave me alone with my mother at all, I asked sister to leave Mom and me alone so we could talk, my sister refused. Mom had cancer and when I 1st saw her I was aghast at the condition she was in. With my sister in the room my mother said too me "Son, why haven't you called me"? I told her I had but could never get through. There was a landline on a nightstand within reach, Mom said she would have heard the phone ring had I called, The phones ringer was shut off as was the answering machine... Mom at 1st didn't believe me, I took out my cellphone and held it up so Mom could see I was dialing her number, the house phone didn't ring and the answering machine also did not pick up. I asked Mom about the bills and how she was paying them? Mom tells me that my sister pays them for her, I asked her how, did my sister write out a check and bring it to my mother to sign? Mom says "No, my sister pays them online"... That triggered and suspicion and I asked Mom where are all her credit, debit, and checks, Mom says sister has everything, including pin numbers. Being very upset I told my sister to hand them over and that I will be taking over, sister refused! Got into a big argument with my sister and right in front of my mother, Mom was very weak and fragile and this was very upsetting to her. This was Christmas Eve 2009, seeing that things were going to deteriorate and get worse my son and I left and headed back home. It was the holidays so I waited and called protective services right after New year's, the social worker called me back about a week later and said she didn't see any problem, I told her about my sister and her having access to all the finances including credit cards along with the pin numbers, social worker says "It's my mom's money and she could do whatever she wants with it"...! I tried to explain that it's in the Trust and didn't belong to her, to no avail. April comes and it's the 10th, my birthday is the 11th of April, the phone rings and it's my sister saying "Mom's in the hospital and she is not going to make it". I borrowed a car and headed to Las Vegas, I got there around 7:00 into the evening. Mom is comatose, eyes wide open, tubes running all over the place, put on a breathing machine and a tube down her esophagus into her stomach gurgling out blood. Asked my sister if she had mom's directives and if she didn't I brought my copy, she clearly spelled out that she did not want to be kept alive by any artificial means nor be resuscitated... sister tells me that the directives I had were not good anymore and that everything had changed. Sister wanted to keep my Mom alive until my nephew, my sisters son got there, he was driving from New Mexico! Around 5:30 in the morning, (April 11th, my birthday) 2 orderlies wheeled a machine in, I asked what it was and was told it was a diyalasis machine... I told them to get it out! And I wanted to talk to the doctor in charge, when I saw the doctor I told him to take everything off my mother that was keeping her alive, the doctor thanked me and said this should have been done a long time ago. The doctor had 1 request, to give my Mom a shot of morphine before she passed, I told him absolutely! I held my mother's hand and watched her take her last breath, looked at the clock and recited the time 6:06 am April 11th. This all gets much worse afterwards, come to find out that once there were changes to the Trust my sister had mother put in a nursing home and never told me about it.