Rich Old Man with $10M Fortune Is Manipulated into Changing His Will and Disinheriting Family

A wealthy grandfather who gave into highly manipulative “sweet talks” cuts his family off his will and gets a taste of his own medicine when his decision backfires.

A wealthy grandfather with a net worth of around $10 million decided not to give away a dime to his family. While they thought it was his prudent decision, they unraveled some spine-chilling details.

Redditor troubleinMA83’s grandfather worked his way to being a millionaire in the ’90s. His conservative and frugal lifestyle led him to make around $10 million. For so long until 2008, he was confident his family would inherit his wealth but changed his mind when a new love interest sparked in his life.

The Original Poster (OP)’s grandpa started showing mild symptoms of Alzheimer’s in 2003. Around this time, his wife’s passing placed immense stress on him, but he moved on with another woman.

The couple had been living together ever since but never married as the woman continued receiving a pension from her late ex-husband.

In 2008, the grandfather’s condition worsened, and he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. However, his girlfriend had a plan in her mind and intentionally decided not to have him declared medically unfit.

Instead, she took him to his conservator the next day for a bit of modification in his will. They revised the document so she became the sole beneficiary after cutting off OP’s mother and uncle from it.

The amendment also allowed the girlfriend to take anything from the trust to pay for her expenses without showing the grandpa’s family anything.

A year later, the conservator obtained a long-term power of attorney over OP’s grandfather. Since the girlfriend and this man were on good terms, they managed to defraud the grandpa over the next 6-7 years assuming nobody would find out.

Having looted most of his wealth, the two then decided to sell the grandpa’s house for an undervalued amount and even make him sign the papers when he was medically incompetent.

Meanwhile, another legal document surfaced for the first time in years and made OP suspicious.

They’d even taken out a mortgage on his house in his name for around $400,000 to buy and furnish the girlfriend’s lavish condo in Florida. The girlfriend later claimed she couldn’t care for the grandpa and his house anymore.

OP’s family soon found out she’d planned to put the grandpa in a nursing home. Yet, she was unaware of the other trust in the grandpa’s late wife’s name and how that money could be used for his care. OP’s family filed a civil case and managed to block the sale of the house. But the protracted legal battle didn’t end there.

They brought the grandpa to court to get him declared medically incompetent. But the attorney took the girlfriend’s side and stood his ground against the grandpa’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Adding fuel to their frustration, the judge sided with the attorney and refused to check the documents. OP’s family discovered the grandfather was now left with only $1.5 million despite selling a house that was worth $600K a decade ago. That estimation didn’t make any sense considering his frugal lifestyle.

They dug deep into the matter to find out how the remnants of his wealth diminished by a significant number. That’s when some hair-raising details came to light.

The girlfriend had trashed OP’s uncle for years and kept him away from the trusts’ rightful money he was granted monthly. The uncle had mental health issues and was homeless, but the woman was determined not to help him.

She visited him in the hospital pretending to care about him only because she needed his help to win the suit against her. However, OP’s uncle was unaware of the woman’s true intentions and sided with her.

The entire situation tangled into an elaborate trick story and urged OP to seek guidance on Reddit’s “legal advice” community.

“Hire an estate attorney and have an organized folder of all relevant documents...See if you can find medical documentation of your grandfather’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis,” user 802guru wrote, adding:

“The thing you have to consider is that the legal process will likely be very expensive, and you’re not guaranteed to win. I say this because you mentioned you used a court-appointed attorney in the past, indicating a lack of funds.”

“Does your grandfather have an accountant or firm that he used to manage his taxes? I assume that being a high net worth individual, he does, so contact them and see if they will release his records,” the person advised.

Meanwhile, another legal document surfaced for the first time in years and made OP suspicious. The grandpa’s former conservator had died, but the girlfriend intentionally didn’t tell the family for around four months.

OP’s family found a new document mentioning the girlfriend as the grandpa’s new conservator with a durable power of attorney in 2005.

Though the documents looked accurate, OP was confused about what made the woman the original conservator and gave her power of attorney again in 2008. Even more, the reason why she waited for so long to reveal the document was suspicious.

“This is her third marriage (they’re not technically married). In her last marriage, she did the same [expletive] thing - stole the house and everything else AND was sued…Unfortunately, it seems like our only recourse is to press criminal charges on the firm and the girlfriend,” OP concluded.

Questions to Ponder:

If you were in the shoes of OP's family, what steps would you take after learning about the old man's girlfriend's manipulations?

Many advised the family to take legal measures to win back the money they rightly own, but it would also be an uphill battle for them considering the costs of litigation. If you were in the shoes of OP's family, would you fight in off in court at all costs? Or what other measures would you possibly take?

Had OP’s family known about the woman’s defrauding history much earlier, would they have stopped the grandpa from making her a beneficiary?

Suppose it hadn’t been for his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the chances of OP’s grandfather not cutting off his daughter and son from the will would still be guesswork, considering the girlfriend’s manipulative abilities. So, trying to convince the grandpa about the woman’s cheating history and whether he would even change his mind after that is anybody’s guess too.

If you liked reading this story, then you might want to check this one out about how a single mother, who backs off from contesting a late wealthy old lady’s will, robs her daughter’s inheritance instead.

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