A family’s effort to protect a 73-year-old woman from further financial harm has created tension inside their home.
Kelly told “The Ramsey Show” that her mother-in-law lost more than $150,000 to scams over nine months.The extent of the losses became clear after a bank flagged unusual activity in her account. She later became “very angry” after the family stepped in to manage her finances.
“It’s not fraudulent. It was all on her own doing,” Kelly said after learning she had sent more than $150,000 to scammers. She said the money could not be recovered.
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Downsizing, Falls And A New Living Plan
Kelly told hosts Rachel Cruze and John Delony her mother-in-law has lived alone for more than 30 years and her repeated falls have become a growing concern.
“The reason that I think she even fell victim to these scams is that she’s very lonely,” Kelly said.
A few years ago, they moved her into a smaller, single-level home, and both properties are paid off and in their names.
“We are pretty confident that the person scamming her would have convinced her to get a second mortgage on the property,” Kelly said.
Over the last year and a half, they discussed her safety and living alone. After outgrowing their home, they bought a larger one using a bridge loan, planning to sell the two paid-off properties and own the new house outright.
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But Kelly said she began noticing behavior she had “never seen out of her in 18 years.” She described her mother-in-law as “very angry,” increasingly demanding and almost entitled about the new home.
Eight Credit Cards And Frozen Credit
Kelly said the conflict is closely tied to finances. Her husband had financial power of attorney in place when they purchased his mother’s home in 2021.
“If she’s got early onset dementia or some sort of cognitive challenges and you’ve had to step in to help, then part of stepping in is knowing there’s going to be pushback,” Delony said as he asked whether there had been any diagnosis of cognitive decline.
The family first believed she had two credit cards but later discovered eight, all filled with fraudulent charges. With her present, they froze her credit at all three bureaus and have not allowed her to obtain a new debit or credit card.
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Kelly said they live in a small community where she can still write personal checks for groceries and car service.
“No adult likes that kind of help,” Delony said.
Cruze said that if the mother-in-law is mentally stable, there is only so much control her son and daughter-in-law can realistically exercise over her choices.
Kelly said she recently told her mother-in-law she felt a “big wave of regret,” even after discussing the move for more than a year. “I feel like I may have over promised something that I don’t know that I can deliver on anymore,” she said.
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