Legal Question in Elder Law in New York

Elderly victims of identity theft

My elderly mother was victimized by a con artist who emptied her savings account, as well as running up substantial credit card debt in her name. By the time I came to be in charge of my mother's financial affairs, she had already lost almost $60,000.00 The bank became aware of questionable transactions which included automated debit transactions for accounts that were not my mother's, stolen checks, forged checks, and credit card fraud. The bank advised my mother to prosecute but she refused because the con artist is my sister-in-law. It appears that she was able to get away with this because my brother and my, now deceased, father had the same first and last names. I can only assume that she called her creditors and gave them my mother's account number, which then still had my fathers name on the account. The bank statements clearly reflect who the automated deductions were paid to, which is easily traced back to my sister-in-law. My mother has now recently passed away, leaving the credit card debt and medical bills. As my mother's executor, can, and should, I now prosecute my sister-in-law to have monies re-paid to the estate so that I can pay my mother's bills? Am I still responsible for the credit card debt?

Thank You

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Elder Law questions and answers in New York

Looking for something else?