My mother has recently passed away. My elder sister was enduring POA. We new my mum was being bullied but was in a situation she needed some care from my sister and couldn't get out of it. There is three of us siblings and my younger sister is applying for probate much to my elder sisters annoyance. Now my younger sister has thrown up a hornets nest. My elder sister has creamed off tens of thousands of pounds from the estate over 13 years . she even bullied my mum to have me and my sister removed from the will, but my mum reinstated us both without my sisters knowledge. Me and my younger sister have seen all my mums bank statements which verify that my mothers c/c and bank account have been used to fund her lifestyle. To further make the situation worse my elder sister also has a third part of the estate inheritance. My elder sister was not acting in my mums best interests as she didn't take up financial help from the local authority that she was told she was entitled to.
What can we do ? as we both feel now that our elder sister has obtained money by bullying, used mums debit card for her own purchases, and pressurised / blackmailed my mum into signing cheques.
I have to tell you, your account so far makes you and your sister sound not only like back-seat drivers, but back-seat drivers looking in the rear-view mirror. Hindsight's a wonderful thing. If applying for local authority support's so easy, why didn't you and younger sister do it then, eh?
You say that your sister has funded her own lifestyle using your mother's funds. You say this can be demonstrated through credit card and bank statements. If so, if you actually mean that clear as day the statements show that, for example, Big Sis authorised a £2K payment to Thomas Cook for a holiday where the registered traveller was Ms Big Sis and no other; and you are sure that Big Sis did not settle the credit card payment herself; then contact the OPG and ask them how to proceed concerning a historical abuse of EPA/LPA. You'd better be very sure about it, because these are criminal not civil matters.
I have seen examples of the same issues described but it was the youngest sibling that did the same thing in addition to another sibling which funded their lifestyle with retirement or estate monies, while the owner of the assets, grantor of will or legal documents still is in charge as long as they are not ill or dead.
I think it would be found that 13 years is 13 years ago, and typically if there is money still left on the table then that is all there is. It costs more money to investigate wrongdoing, even when it is 1 year ago, at times. But this situation is more permanent because your mother passed.
I would hope that someone, an attorney can help with an emergency issue to a court for your family that could possibly freeze assets asap, but the key I think is here is determining the full disclosure of all financial accounts, real estate, remaining financial assets.
Lastly, it costs money just to hire the attorney and then some and it could be your money first that is used or split between the people that want to address this financial dilemma. By having an attorney that can recommend that a guardian to be placed in the middle, there is hope that this will get resolved. Every email, every hour addressing this issue legally can hit the books a bit, but if you think it is worth it, and determine total value of assets. I am uncertain as to whether money will be paid back. The real goal is to stop the bleeding of funds and determine an equitable solution for all parties. Good luck!