stolen money help!!

princeofpounds

I think there are a couple of charities that can advise you on elder abuse, and although she has passed away they can probably point you in the right direction. Age UK maybe?

Scorpio33

carol53 wrote: »

cab said to get intouch with a solicitor and when we did get in contact with them they only deal with defense cases... it seems everywhere we turn were getting no help. we have all the bank statements etc. the thing is she wont give us anymore money or we would just settle she and her husband rang my dad swearing shouting abuse etc she really doesn't care !! i think its the last we will hear from her. we can get a statement from social services saying the amount she paid them 19k, thats not a problem so surely she should have to account for the rest of the money?! so were not gonna see a penny, but we have accepted that we just want her accountable!! so frustrating.. shes a vile vile creature. what if we could tae her on the phone admitting it etc?!

Sounds to me that you just got in contact with the wrong solicitor? The solcitor you approached dealt with criminal defence cases. You need a solicitor dealing in civil prosecution? That will probably cost though - and if Anne has no money then even if you win you will still be left with the costs.

The only other thing I can think of is if you entitled to legal aid? But I don't think you can in this instance, as no criminal activity has occured.

carol53_2

my dad just has a pension so think hed get legal aid. and yes we have care home records stating she had pent £593, and they have the petty cash records again for hair dressing. all other expenses were paid for bu jean . the prblem is we have no money to pay a solicitor, the police arnt intrested and as you say legal aid and as you say as its not classed as criminal shel get away with it grrr x x

carol53_2

yes we tried age uk but they charge £1000, whether she gets charged or not and we simply dont have the money. if we were rich shed defiantly be getting in trouble, its just wrong that we dont have any money so she gets away with it.. x x

CH27

You are disputing £19k.

£19000 divided by 6 = £3166 each.

Is it worth the aggro & the legal costs to pursue it?
Are all the brothers & sisters in agreement to persue it?

securityguy

This is a sad story, and one that is unlikely to have a happy ending.

There is, however, a lesson to learn for other people from Carol's misfortune. Family members administering the affairs of elderly relatives "informally" is never going to end well. It essentially hinges on the fact that while thirty years ago forging a cheque was quite hard, today possession of a PIN gives a helpful relative access to cash. So it seems simpler to give someone a PIN than to sort out a power of attorney. However, firstly there's no way to tell who did what, so even if there's not obvious fraud, the suspicion of it can be equally toxic. And secondly if the situation does develop to the point where a PoA is absolutely needed, to perhaps sell someone's house, then it's likely that by then a PoA can't legitimately be obtained. You then need to instead go to the complexity and cost of using the Court of Protection, which helps no-one.

So the lesson is: don't give your relatives your PIN. Give them a properly drawn up PoA with several attorneys. And if you believe people in your family are operating by sharing PINs when a PoA would be more appropriate, sort it out.

carol53_2

yes its not just about the money (its 31k, she paid care home 19k) its the fact off the horrendous things she has done.. she abused her trust and lived a life of luxury off it.. were are all disgusted... yes its most defiantly worth the agro, she its a vile vile creature, it wouldn't matter if it was 3k divided by 5 its whats shes done, and that shes going to get away with it, we accept were not going to see any money but its not about money now!!! she needs some kind of consequence for her actions.

Sommer43

If the police believe there is enough evidence, to take the case to the CPS, then they would have done. The CPS makes the decision to prosecute, not the police or a solicitor.

The best to deal (and you must be so angry and upset about this) with this is to instigate civil proceedings. There is little point in going through a solicitor until you have a case. Civil recovery means you have a case, at the very most, you will have a chance of gaining a judgement, if she doesn't pay then a warrant of execution can be arranged for seizure of her goods.

Given the fact, she has POA, (I have this for my mother) and as you Nan is no longer here to ask what is going on with her money, (and to be given POA, there was enough evidence to state your Nan was lacking capacity mentally to be in charge of her own finances) is likely the reason the police are reluctant to become involved. To them, it is a family dispute.

carol53_2

and shes not even sorry , shes been threatening my dad her and her husband being vulgar, she really doesnt care!!! and i agree never trust anyone!!! she was trusted to take care of finances as the family thought she would be the best person and look whats happened!! and we never saw this coming!! xx

carol53_2

so how do we go about a civil case then? do you know of any charitys that can help?