Is Someone Casing Your Estate?

Unintended ‘heirs’ might pounce. 

You likely have money, property and other items of value that you plan to leave to loved ones or charity. But do they know your plans? It’s important that you tell them — and sooner rather than later. Why?

Because communication is one of several ways you can protect yourself from an insidious, all-too-frequent crime that is both underreported and underprosecuted, and which victimizes families of all social and economic levels.

I’m talking about inheritance theft.

No matter how smart you are or how stable your family, no one’s estate is entirely safe. Thieves are known to siphon assets from healthy, highly educated people about as often as they do those of the infirm and feeble-minded. And they get away with it because the thieves usually know the victims — and know the victims won’t prosecute.

In other words, the thieves are likely to be members of your own family. Inheritance theft can be hard to detect because thieves use whispered lies, fraud, psychological manipulation and forgery — acts hard to uncover and even harder to prove in court.

Some people never discover they were victimized or the thief convinces them that no theft occurred. Other victims are ashamed to reveal that a family member or close friend stole from them, and others don’t report losses to avoid publicity.

There are two types of estate hijackers:

Family members. Some steal because they want revenge after a lifetime of feeling neglected or abused; others feel compelled because of drug addiction, their own marital or family needs or financial strife; and some simply are greedy.

Outsiders. These include overly friendly strangers, some of whom assist the elderly or infirm to gain their trust; club or church friends; spouses from second marriages; caregivers or healthcare workers; someone who constantly criticizes or tries to portray someone as incompetent; anyone entrusted with handling another person’s money or financial affairs; anyone with a power of attorney; unethical executors of wills or trustees of trusts; and salespeople pushing financial products that are not in a client’s best interests.

How can you protect your estate and intended heirs from thieves and interlopers? While nothing can make you invincible, here are four ways you can help yourself and your parents avoid becoming victims of inheritance theft:

1. Prepare an estate plan. Documenting your desires for the disposition of your assets is the first step in preventing people from claiming you made verbal promises to them. Hire an estate attorney that you’ve vetted personally or who is referred to you by a trusted source.

2. Choose a trusted friend or family member to serve as your executor and/or trustee. And to help make sure he or she follows your instructions, distribute copies of your will and trust documents to at least one other heir — and preferably to all of them. If you feel uncomfortable letting others see your plans, require your executor or trustee to retain the services of an estate attorney (at your or your estate’s expense) to oversee matters. Instruct that the attorney be paid on an hourly basis rather than as a percent of the estate’s value. (Note: We don’t recommend that you name an attorney, bank or trust company as executor or trustee because they typically charge exorbitant fees, often as a percentage of the estate’s value. And they can be difficult or even impossible to fire — leaving your heirs helpless if they are unhappy with the costs or service.)

3. Keep all your legal and financial documents in a safe place, such as a safety deposit box or a fire-resistant home safe. Create digital backups.

4. If you make changes to your documents, inform all concerned. And that includes your independent, objective, fee-based financial advisor.

Originally published in Inside Personal Finance July 2012

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Is Someone Casing Your Estate?

Portsmouth Police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin fired

Aaron Goodwin

 PORTSMOUTH — Subject of a disputed $2.7 million inheritance, police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin was fired Wednesday, announced Police Chief Stephen DuBois and Police Commission Chairman John Golumb.

Goodwin was terminated from his position with the Portsmouth Police Department by DuBois, "with the full support of the Portsmouth Police Commission," it was announced in a press release to the community and area media.  

"The decision comes after extensive review of the findings of the Roberts Report and careful deliberation over six meetings beginning on June 2," it was announced.

"This termination is only one of many changes that we have made and will continue to make as we seek to close what has been an unfortunate chapter in the otherwise proud history of the Portsmouth Police Department," DuBois and the commission announced. "We wish to thank the citizens of Portsmouth and the men and women of the Portsmouth Police Department for everyone's patience."

Goodwin is accused in the Strafford County probate court of exerting undue influence over the late Geraldine Webber, while she was impaired by dementia, to inherit most of her valuable estate. The Roberts Report referenced by the chief was published earlier this month by a panel led by retired Judge Stephen Roberts and funded with $20,000 approved by the City Council. 

The report noted that Goodwin violated three regulations in the Police Department's Duty Manual and three regulations in the city's Code of Ethics, all pertaining to his inheritance.

Goodwin denied the allegations during a two-week hearing in the probate court last month and said he provided Webber with comfort and care during the end of her life. He said he never told his elderly benefactor that he couldn't accept her house, car, stocks and bonds because he's a police officer. Instead, Goodwin testified, "My long stance with her was to just do whatever makes her happy."

He testified that he told Webber he'd help her find a lawyer to change her will if it made her happy and that if it made her happy to leave him her valuable stocks and bonds, then she should do that.

Goodwin's contested inheritance diminished inheritances to two medical charities and the city's police and fire departments, which were each one-quarter beneficiaries in Webber's prior will.

During the probate hearing, Goodwin confirmed that he referred to his relationship with Webber as like a mother and son. But he said he also knew that Webber told an investigator with the attorney general's office, on Feb. 1, 2011, that he "could move in with me anytime" and that she was "in love with him" so she wanted to give him her house.

Evidence presented during the probate hearing showed that Goodwin met Webber while he was on duty and that he had 6,328 minutes worth of phone calls with Webber, on his cellphone only, from the time he met her in 2010, until her death in December 2012. Goodwin said he took Webber out for cocktails and to casinos and during a previous deposition, said he regularly buttered Webber's banana-bread toast and helped her count cash she kept in her waterfront home. 

Goodwin said that in January 2011, he told former police chief Lou Ferland that Webber wanted to give him her house and Ferland responded by telling him to keep their relationship off-duty. But Ferland testified during the probate hearing that he didn't learn about the inheritance until after Webber's death.

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Portsmouth Police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin fired

See Also:
Police officer: 'I was watching a crime'

Conflict of Interest? Explanations Needed! 

Portsmouth officer to be deposed about $2.7M inheritance

Police Commission Authorizes Probe of Shady Inheritance

Police brass caught in cop's disputed inheritance case

Police brass caught in cop's disputed inheritance case

PORTSMOUTH — A lawyer who helped an elderly resident leave most of her $2.7 million estate to police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin, kept notes that say the deputy police chief shared information about the case with Goodwin’s defense attorney and that the police commissioners were told how to respond to media questions about the case.

The notes were written by attorney Gary Holmes and made public after his Oct. 16 deposition. Holmes wrote a last will and trust for the late Geraldine Webber, which is now disputed by multiple parties alleging Goodwin exerted undue influence over Webber, while she had dementia, to inherit most of her wealth.

More than 100 pages of Holmes’ handwritten notes about the case were obtained by the Herald and one of them, dated April 12, 2012, states Holmes learned from Goodwin’s attorney, Chuck Doleac, that a Herald reporter called Webber and that Deputy Police Chief Corey MacDonald “had off record conversations” with the reporter. The Herald did on that date have a 25-minute conversation with Webber, as well as an off-record discussion with MacDonald about the situation, in general terms, for background information.

Holmes’ notes dated Sept. 21, 2012, document a conversation he had with the Herald. He wrote he told the Herald there were “many sides” to the story and he was “sure” the Herald had heard “of other facts” that involved Portsmouth attorney James Ritzo, who wrote Webber’s 2009 will that did not name Goodwin as a beneficiary.

Holmes, who authored Webber’s last will and trust, made notes saying the Herald responded it had not heard the “other facts” about Ritzo, “in spite of (Holmes) being told by Chuck (Doleac) yesterday that Corey MacDonald had off-record conversation about Ritzo.” In other words, MacDonald told Goodwin’s lawyer he had an off-record discussion with the Herald about the controversy and somehow that was communicated to the lawyer who drafted Webber’s contested will the next day.

Attorney Paul McEachern, who is representing four of Webber’s former friends contesting her last will and trust, said Holmes’ notes, showing communications among MacDonald and lawyers for Goodwin and Webber’s estate, “support my original instinct that this is official corruption and they support it.”

MacDonald explained one of his jobs as deputy chief is to monitor ongoing litigation that could affect the Police Department. He said he contacted Doleac at that time “to gauge the status of” Goodwin’s case, “its impact on the department, and (Doleac’s) observations as to its impact on Aaron Goodwin, as he was under extreme stress by all accounts, and was serving as a police officer for the department.”

“During my conversation with attorney Doleac, I may have also included a statement that I provided the Herald an “off the record” perspective on the department’s take on the Goodwin-Webber matter at that time,” said the deputy chief. “My goal in providing the Herald that information was so that our newspaper would have a better understanding of what the department was doing and why, though I could not officially comment at that time. Though I have no recollection of it, I equally have no reason to believe I would not have mentioned to attorney Doleac that I had expressed the department’s position to the Herald as ‘background.’”

Chief Stephen DuBois said MacDonald has “above average” communication skills and for that reason, he interacted with Doleac, which “is exactly what this administration and prior administrations have expected of him.”

By letters dated Sept. 18, 2012, and sent by certified mail to the Police Commission and DuBois, the Herald first inquired about the allegations against Goodwin. According to his handwritten notes dated the following day, Holmes wrote that the Herald had written to the Police Commission for comment and that “police will respond — Aaron will not.” Holmes’ notes for that date also say, “the police commissioners have been told they support Aaron but no comment.”

Police Commission Chairman John Golumb denied the commissioners were told how to respond to the inquiry. “Nobody told us how to respond,” he said.

If someone had suggested how the Police Commission should answer a media inquiry, Golumb said,  the commission would acknowledge the suggestion politely, but then act on its own. “But I can make it clear that did not happen,” he said.

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Police brass caught in cop's disputed inheritance case