Relatives That Steal The Inheritance: Life Insurance Topic #1

Sean Middleton
Jul 27, 2017 · 4 min read

Most of us have that one relative that got everything when an older relative died. It happened to my family in Charleston, South Carolina. You should take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

Money can make people do some crazy things

Think about your family. If you are anything like me, you have atleast one relative that has been old your entire life. As they get older they eventually become more dependent on relatives to help them with their day to day activities. In many cases, there is a relative in particular that takes a little more interest in this elderly relative than most. It gets to the point where they may become the main (if not the sole) person taking care of this elder relative. It’s easy for everyone to let this happen because of how busy life, work, and our own small family may keep us. Then, when this relative dies, everyone is in for a big surprise……..this relative got EVERYTHING! The stocks, bonds, life insurance policy, the house, cars, and rare coins. Sound familiar?

Are We At Fault?

In some ways we are. It is easy to depend on others to do things for us. Who likes life interruptions? But this is a huge mistake on our part. Here are some cases where trusted family members or those who are like family have taken advantage of the elderly or sick and stolen from the entire family (links are in the titles):

The Good Son & Brother: Took care of his mother in her final days. Tells sister she only was left $300 but he got the condo and the car. Sister later finds out she was actually left $110,000 and that her brother had emptied out all of the bank accounts soon after their mother’s death and made changes to the will.

The Maid: Stole thousands in cash from the home of the dementia patient she was supposed to be caring for. Why? To buy a horse for her kids.

The Trusted Daughter: Stole more money from her parents retirement account than most people make in a year in less than a month. Why? To feed her gambling addiction. Sounds like dad may have to go back to work.

The Helpful Family Member: Stole and cashed out two life insurance policies from her cousin’s son who she was supposed to look out for. Why? For gambling, bills, and a house. The son now has no money.

Another Trustworthy Caregiver: Gained an elderly alzheimers victim’s trust to get her debit card information and stole thousands. I guess she didn’t think banks tracked transactions???

The Son-In-Law Everyone Loves: Entrusted by dying mother-in-law to look over the money she was leaving for her 6 children (including his wife). He spent it on himself instead. Wait a minute. He stole from his wife? I bet dinner was pretty awkward that night.

Protect The Elderly & Their Wishes

Who would steal from this sweet lady? You would be surprised.

All of these stories have two things in common. There is a family entrusting one person to do the right thing on behalf of everyone. This person then takes advantage of that trust and victimizes the elderly or sick person and further violates that person’s wishes for their own financial gain. This is why it is very important to be involved in the care of the relative and help to protect their intentions and legacy.

Ways To Prevent Inheritances From Theft

There are some people who will do some unusual things for money, including stealing YOUR inheritance. Here is how to prevent it:

  1. Check on your elderly and sick family members yourself
  2. Help watch over their bank accounts and anything of value in the house
  3. Review any valuable documents with them and other close family members. This includes life insurance policies, wills, and deeds to make sure there aren’t recent changes that should be questioned. I mean really, what would make someone all of a sudden start changing documents they haven’t look at in 50 years?

Life can keep us pretty busy. And we can forget about our elderly and sick relatives. This is the perfect time for your brother, sister, caretaker, cousin, or other trusted person to start taking advantage of a bad situation. Prevent this by being active in the lives of your loved ones who are dependent on you.


If you like this article or found it valuable, please like, share, and comment. You can also visit my life insurance topics blog and suggest anything you want me to write about there. Also, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +

Sean Middleton

Written by

Owner of Life Insurance Topics blog aimed at educating everyday people on insurance before they buy and licensed life insurance agent in South Carolina

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