Q: Abuse of authority in a POA agreement and theft of lawsuit settlement by a family member.
The admininstrator was supposed to deposit the settlement check and distribut to be money to beneficiaries. He kept the money. When confronted he became extremely hostile and stated he will never turn over a dime. The law firm that handled the POA said they can't help. Who do I call?
A:
I'm so very sorry to hear about this situation - it's terrible when these types of disputes occur.
There are at least four things you can do.
1. If the beneficiaries are adults, you may be able to get help from Adult Protection Services. If the beneficiaries are children, you may be able to get help from Child Protection Services.
2. If the Administrator can be shown to have committed some sort of fraud or theft, you can contact the criminal division of the Prosecutors Office for the county in which this occurred, and ask if they think there's enough evidence to prosecute for theft or fraud or embezzlement or whatever is appropriate under the circumstances.
3. If the settlement came out of a case filed in court, you can file a motion and set a hearing and ask the judge for an order ordering the administrator to distribute the funds to the beneficiaries. This process can be a bit challenging for lay people to handle on their own, but a lot of people can figure this out.
4. Finally, if no court has been involved, you may want to write a demand letter (so you have documentation in writing - get a receipt for the letter you send - or have an attorney do this for you (unfortunately, this can sometimes cost as much as $1000); or file a lawsuit against the administrator (if the amount is less than $10,000, you may be able to use Small Claims Court for this.
I hope that helps you get started. Best wishes,
Merry
1 user found this answer helpful
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