My 88 y/o old aunt has severe dementia that has progressed quickly that has caused a few financial questions to arise as we navigate her long term care options.
The main issue: In the late 70s/early 80s, she won 2 “very large” settlements. Because of the NDAs required in the settlement agreements, she was always very secretive about all money, bills, etc and she never disclosed the amount of the settlements or where she had them invested, only that she “had never touched it” since she received it and she implied to 1 family member that it was in excess of $25 million (this was in 2021 but had made the “never touched it” comment to 3 family members several times over the past 40 years). She also told almost all of us over the years that her and her husband set aside “$1 million for retirement” in the late 80s to supplement their income over the rest of their lives that was in stocks and IRAs.
We have found all the investment accounts and IRAs from the million she stated they had set aside for retirement that they only used for large purchases/year insurance/etc but all monthly expenses were covered with pensions, social security, dividends.
We found no paperwork or statements for an account that we did not know about but I understand from the Medicaid specialist that some accounts can be set up to constantly rollover forever and they do not have statements or tax forms unless withdrawal or closed.
*note: In my entire life, I never heard this woman be boastful or tell even a small white lie to save your feelings (and the million for retirement was confirmed) so I cannot rectify her saying she would like to see “how shocked the family will be” when she died and they found out she was actually “the richest person in the family” if she didn’t truly have the other account.
So the question is, how do we find out if she actually has any accounts from the settlements that she “never touched”?
How do I find any “hidden” investments my aunt with dementia may have?
byu/Little-Apartment-503 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Little-Apartment-503
3 Comments
I think the easiest way would be to find paperwork on the settlements, then following the money
If it’s a super large amount she would have to disclose it, so I would look through tax transcripts and tax returns.
She must have had a financial advisor or accountant at some point, maybe that money is in a trust account specialized in wealth management and she might have cards or letters archived?
If you believe there was actual settlements; then there was a court case of some type and lawyers involved. Google a local estate attorney in your area and pay them to have a paralegal track down all filings (court/IRS) associated with your aunt.
You “can” do this yourself but you likely do not have the actual knowledge needed to navigate the system and it should not be very expensive; maybe 20 billable hours in total (depending on what if anything they find). They will also be able to access bank records much more easily than you will, in the chance that the settlements were not invested just socked away in a savings account (they will need limited power of attorney).