[quote=toots] . . . I am not inclined to take his financial advice considering he’s on his second bankruptcy in 15 years. The only reason I know about the 1st bankruptcy is my dad bailed him out and put it in his will to subtract the amount from my brother’s inheritance(he died 10 years ago and I was given a copy of his will; maybe that’s why my mom has no savings). My brother is executor. My dad must have turned a few times in his grave. . .
He tells me all the repairs will cost in the 20 30K range (not just the roof).[/quote]
[quote=eavesdropper] . . . I’d get to your mom’s house as soon as possible, consult an attorney, and make sure that your mom has not signed anything over to your brother. Her local senior services office may be able to direct you to experts who are well-versed in the financial problems of senior citizens. The local district attorney may have programs that can assist you in identifying signs of fraud, and in providing information on scams that target seniors.
If your mom has already made your brother executor of her estate with power of attorney, you may not be able to change her mind. But you may have to be brutally honest with her, and paint a picture of what could happen if she continues to trust him (i.e., house could be sold from under her, she could end up in a seriously substandard nursing home, etc.)
If your mom needs money for living expenses, and for paying annual property taxes (as my mother does), in addition to the home repairs, the RM may be the way to go. If you go with the HELOC, read all the fine print, and (as someone else on this thread advised) make sure that there are adequate assets to make the payment each month, or you could find out, after the fact, that the property has been sold out from under your mom. No matter what, I would sit down and make up a ten-year plan with budget, to see if the up-front costs of a RM are worthwhile, or if the HELOC will be adequate for your mom’s needs.
And I don’t know whether it’s an option, but if you can forget about the “inheritance” aspect, and just concentrate on working out how your mom is going to live for the remainder of her days on the assets she has, it may make it less complicated for you. Make sure that you include a variety of scenarios, such as what happens if your mother suffers a broken hip that requires skilled nursing care for 2 or 3 months as opposed to an incapacitating stroke that could rapidly eat up all her assets (I wouldn’t count on your brother providing in-home care, no matter what he says). Also, find out what your mother’s state rules are regarding tapping into the assets of her children to pay for her care, and also her assets.
Best of luck to you. Your instincts are spot-on: don’t trust your brother.[/quote]
I totally agree with eavesdropper here, but did not mention the DA Elder Abuse Unit (don’t know what is avail. where your mom lives) because you don’t yet have any proof that fraud is going on.
toots, if you will pm me (I will get you the records for your brother’s 2 BK’s (including lists of creditors and amts. discharged) from my PACER acct. for .08 pg. that you can use to share with your mom (if she’s able to understand it) along with your copy of your dad’s will to refresh her memory. You will have to get her out the house under the guise of taking her to lunch or shopping. You can also share this info with her local attorney or county aging specialists for use as a motive if you find your brother has been writing big checks to himself for cash or buying himself things on her checking acct. BK records are public.
