Will executor nightmare

Cubicsrube

Did your step mother have capacity during the time the bets were made? You might need to get medical evidence or testimony from the staff in the care home to determine how vulnerable she was to abuse.

if she didn’t have capacity, did someone have power of attorney for her?

If you’re going to investigate this and potentially take the brother to court to get the money back (or garnish it from his portion) you will need to do so on a cool, calm factual basis as the executor on behalf of the estate, not as a fellow beneficiary with suspicions and beef. I.e a stance of ‘what happened to this unexpectedly large amount of missing money?’. Even more reason to have a lawyer advise and stand between you.

tooldle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82072874#Comment_82072874

Probably unlikely given the circumstances, but useful to be aware of online betting. Not sure if it’s possible to determine online or in person from the bank statement.