MONEY MANNERS
DEAR JEANNE &
LEONARD: When my mother-in-law died a few years ago, she left her estate to be divided equally among her children. Immediately after her death, all five kids had access to her checking account, and one of them, brother “Russell,” managed to siphon off $15,000 for his personal use before the rest of them figured it out. The children are now selling the last asset in my mother-inlaw’s estate, her home, and they want Russell to return the $15,000 he took. But he says: “No way. The statute of limitations has run out.” What should we do?
— Brother-in-law
DEAR BROTHER-INLAW: What you should do is keep a low profile. While it’s fine to be your wife’s consigliere, how to handle Russell is up to her and her siblings. You don’t have a vote.
As for what they should do: The sibling who’s the executor of their mother’s estate should deduct $12,000 from Russell’s share of the proceeds of the home and add $3,000 to the shares of the other four siblings (do the math, and you’ll see that this results in all five getting an equal share of the $15,000 that belongs in the estate). If Russell doesn’t think it’s fair to be docked for the money he stole, he can always hire a lawyer and — if he’s not too embarrassed — try to sue each of his siblings for $3,000. We bet he loses interest when the lawyer tells him what it would cost.