How can I find out if my brother is misappropriating Mom's money?
My mother lives in Las Vegas Nevada and I live in San Jose California. My brother lives in Las Vegas and convinced her when she moved to Las Vegas that for her safety she needed to open and account with her name and his name. She was later was diagnosed with mild Alzheimer. My brother admitted her into and assisted living home without my knowledge. I now believe he is misappropriating the money in her account's. How can I check on this? There was no legal conservatorships requested. Most important how can I check on her accounts?
Expert Answer
You are in a difficult situation. Not only do you have a conflict with a sibling over a parent's money, that sibling lives where your mother does, and you are hundreds of miles away.
I know of no easy way you can check on your mother's accounts. If she were competent, she could choose to allow you access to her accounts, but it's far from clear that she's now competent to do that. And even if she were competent, she would have to want to do it.
I take it that you have asked your brother for information about your mother's accounts, and he has refused to give it. If that's the case, your options are limited. You could threaten to file a lawsuit against him, on grounds that he is misappropriating your mother's money. Perhaps a threat would be sufficient to make your brother reasonable. But if a threat didn't work, then you'd have to decide whether you actually wanted to file a lawsuit. Before deciding to go ahead with a lawsuit, you should have some evidence (beyond suspicion) to support your case. Also, you'd have to decide if you were wiling to pay the attorney's fees required. As you undoubtedly know, lawyers are not cheap.
You may be facing a case of "elder abuse," which are, unfortunately, not rare these days. Elder abuse is not something I know much about, beyond the fact that it can be a problem. Perhaps you can find some organization which provides assistance in cases of possible elder abuse. I do not know of one.