March 2015- Let's statrt spending part 1

In March Sonya, the daughter, got POA (power of attorney) over Carol, the mother and made plans to remove her from the assisted living facility Carol was staying at in April. Mike, the brother who lived 3000 miles away in DC, and I (Mike's wife) were in San Jose visiting and we witnessed and signed as witnesses for all the paperwork that would later make Carol a victim of financial elder abuse. I believe that visit was in mid-March as we were there during Spring break, as Mike works for a university.

Sadly, Mike constantly beats himself up over this, even after we've reviewed our actions and concluded that there was little that could have been done to prevent it. Sonya lived in San Jose and Carol lived in San Jose. Gene, Carol's late husband, was recently dead and out of the picture. Mike was 3000 miles away most of the time and could not have prevented his sister from manipulating and strong arming their mother. Sonya was local, Mike was long distance, and local usually wins. When Sonya brought us along to see the house she wanted to rent with her mom, I thought the whole thing was a bad idea. But who am I? I'm just an in-law and very aware of my lack of influence in the matter. So the only one to listen to me was the 4 year old N Kim, who came along to view the place.

But I digress.

As I said it was around mid-March Sonya got POA. The withdrawals/purchases prior to March 23rd could be Carol's. There are insurance premiums that are similar to previous months when Gene was still alive. We are aware Carol had credit cards, so it is possible those payments are for her Discover card and AMEX card. However the $14.00 paid to the ST OF CA DMV, California DMV maybe is suspicious. Carol suffered a stroke and her other health problems made it so that she did not drive.

The post-Spring break charges, are questionable, but there are excuses one could make. When I confronted Sonya with evidence of a later charges to the account that there was no reason a woman of Carol's age and disability would be charged for, Sonya gave lame excuses. Another charge, a $10K child support charge in 2016, she admitted "that looked bad." No shyte Sherlock. So even if Sonya ever bothered to look at this blog, I can think of some lame excuses she'd make up to explain that March 26, 2015 charge of $1099.41 from an Apple Store. "Oh, I needed a phone, or mom (with her Parkinson's) needs a phone," is a possible excuse. Then there are the clothing charges from Ross and Burlington Coat Factory. "Mom needs clothes," I think was what she may have told her brother Mike. What's that March 30th withdrawal of $120.85 for, beats me. Probably a mystery.

In part 2, I'll conclude March 2015. Compared to the baseline statements from December 2014 and January 2015, March 2015 is just a tad bit more active. There are a few more store purchases. Late in March we see what happens when Sonya (who might be suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness) gets access to her mother's bank account and it seems start spending money on Sonya.