We're continuing the story from our last post of a probate case that didn't happen in Florida, but it certainly could have. The case involved an 82-year-old woman who was taken to live with her violence-prone daughter under shady circumstances; and, she remarried her abusive ex-husband just weeks before she died. Other members of the family, including her younger son and her brother, believe her dementia allowed the unscrupulous relatives to exert undue influence.

The mere fact that the mother would live with the daughter raised red flags for a cousin. In a letter to the probate judge, this cousin said that it was "extremely doubtful" that the decedent was aware of what was happening -- before she'd been taken to live with her daughter, she "never wanted to be in the same room" with either her daughter or her ex-husband.

The estate is still open and will be until at least two issues are settled. The alleged abductors benefitted from changes to the woman's will made just a year after she was taken to live with them, and the younger son and the woman's brother are questioning its validity. And the alleged abductors are questioning the disposition of the woman's house to her younger son.

As the brother and son, along with a cousin and other family members, try to figure out the estate, they are also working on a criminal investigation. The state's Attorney General has forwarded the inquiry to the state attorney and medical examiner.

The inquiry shouldn't stop with the family members, said the attorney pursuing the matter. The clerks and justice of the peace who facilitated the marriage are also responsible, because they affirmed that the decedent was competent. And, the attorney added, court officials are obligated to report "criminal and ethical wrongdoing" to the proper authorities.

Source: Conn. Law Tribune, "Probate Case Is About Far More Than Money," Thomas B. Scheffey, 02/14/11