Mom has had will and POAs with me as executor/POA for past 15 years. Myself and her only grandchild were the beneficiaries. I am an only child.
Last December, Mom was diagnosed with stage 4 dementia/Alzheimer's.
Just found out she has removed me as POA, created a Living Trust, and moved her largest asset (Home) into the “Trust” last month, likely naming her only remaining sister (my aunt) as the Trustee and beneficiary.
I know this as about 6 months ago, Mom showed me a “draft” version of the “Trust” and when I questioned her about it, she said because “aunty” told her it was for the best since I live 4 hours away.
When I had POA, I contacted the attorney who drafted the Trust and informed them my mother has Alzheimer’s and to never contact my mother again unless I am present. Have the Attorney’s emailed response confirming she would cease and desist.
Guess that didn’t work as now I am out in the cold and Mom is playing “dumb” claiming she knows nothing about it.
Confirmed via county assessor site showing Moms name replaced by “Trust” on the deed.
Aunt and I are not on speaking terms and she refuses to respond to call/text/open door.
Is legal action my only recourse? Elder Law attorney in Denver, CO wants $20,000 retainer!!!
Can Elder Abuse Division of Attorney General in the state get involved as I suspect undue influence and coercion?
If your Aunt was local to your Mom and your Mom has cognitive & memory impairment, then it is entirely possible your Mom was telling confabulations to your Aunt, who took it all literally and seriously and then acted upon your Mom's inaccurate information. This happens all the time with dementia.
My husband and I created a similar trust in order to protect our assets from our demented selves and from scammers, or greedy family members. It's not a bad idea in and of itself. If your Aunt had nefarious or greedy intentions she would not have gone through the time and expense of helping your Mom create a trust. She would have simply made herself the new PoA and then drained your Mom's money. This doesn't seem to be the case.
Also, a trust, a Last Will and a Living Will are all very different things (a Living Will has to do with medical treatment, a Trust can be active when the principal is alive, and a Last Will when the principal passes) so I get the impression you are not up to speed on understanding all the legal documents and protections.
If your Mom had an official diagnosis of dementia in her medical records before she created the trust, this may impact the legitimacy of the new Trust. But in my personal experience with a very elderly Aunt whom I accompanied to her elder law attorney... the attorney privately interviews her every time to assess her legal "capacity" level to make changes to important documents. I would think your Mom's trust attorney would have done the same. One can have *some* impairment and still be able to make changes to their own documents (or create new ones).
I think your only recourse is to hire an attorney to send out a letter to your Mom's trust attorney if you have proof that she did not meet "legal capacity" when she created the trust. Your Aunt may be ghosting you because your Mom is telling her confabulations about you. This also happens a lot with dementia. She is not "playing dumb"... she has dementia. She cannot help it.
I'm sorry for this shocking and distressing discovery. Please consider going through a certified elder law attorney.
Call APS and ask if elder abuse section can be accessed in their opinion and if they can do anything themselves. I hope you kept copies of your letters to the attorney who DID cease and desist. Looks like Aunt did this when mom was already diagnosed with dementia? Do you have the date the property was moved into trust? IF you are right and the property now belongs to the Trust, Aunt is Trustee and the one who is the only beneficiary this does stink to high heaven.
And I think you are looking at a property here WELL WORTH protecting with that retainer fee if that's where it has to go, and this needs to go as fast as possible. Get as good a recommend as you can on attorney. That's a high retainer fee.
Good luck; hope you will update.