Did my cousin steal our money?

Q: Dear Mrs Macaulay,

My mother died on August 10 last year leaving a spouse and three daughters. She had stopped working in 2012 because of ill health. She was working in one of the hotels in Montego Bay. When she died, my cousin, who worked at the same hotel, informed me that HR had something for my mother. My cousin is also good friends with the HR manager. She kept urging me to visit the hotel.

We decided to go there together one day, but interestingly, she got to the hotel before I did, even though I kept trying to contact her.

The HR manager told me that because my mother had stopped working there for a while, her life insurance policy should have been cancelled, but because she knew my mother’s situation and because of the relationship she had with my mother, she still kept the policy going and the company paid on her behalf. She said it was a Sagicor policy valued at $250,000 and my cousin was the beneficiary.

This shocked me because my mother had three adult children and a spouse. My mother had also never shared good relations with our cousin. Because I needed the help financially I did not persist with my protests, after the HR manager advised me that though the cheque would be made out to my cousin, the money should be used towards funeral expenses.

She said that to me in front of my cousin and my aunt, a police officer.

When we left the office my cousin kept asking me how much money she would get, and she finally settled at receiving $10,000.

HR requested documents belonging to my mother, and I provided them all. The funds weren’t ready in time for the funeral, but we borrowed money and my mother was buried on September 7, 2014.

About a week later the hotel said the cheque was ready, and I accompanied my cousin to collect it.

My cousin signed for the cheque, and I signed as a witness. Then she changed tactics.

After that my cousin started saying that the money should be split 50-50, and refused to cash the cheque. She deposited it to her credit union account.

She kept saying that she was the one who ‘begged’ the money, and said she would give me $100,000. To this day I have not heard from her.

The rest of the family has refused to get involved, so has the HR manager who said it is out of the company’s hands.

Since my cousin kept saying she was the one who ‘begged’ for the money, I confirmed with HR that it was in fact the company who was paying on my mother’s behalf. I asked who put my cousin’s name as beneficiary and she said my mother, but I refuse to believe this.

I want to know what is the best way to deal with this situation. Is there some law that would make me entitled to see what documentation was drawn up with that policy showing my mother’s signature with my cousin being added as a beneficiary? I think they used me to get my mother’s documents, for if they didn’t have them no claim could be made.

I suspect foul play.

A: I have noted from your letter that you seem to imply a theft of your mother’s life insurance proceeds by your cousin after her death. One thing you state quite clearly in your letter is that your mother and your cousin were never on good terms and that she was very good friends with the HR manager of the company where your mother had worked. This is the HR manager who dealt with the processes for the insurance to be obtained and who informed you that your cousin was the beneficiary named in your mother’s policy.

You clearly doubt this statement but you have not stated that you even saw the policy with your cousin named as beneficiary and you also did not seem to have seen your mother’s signature on the document. It is also strange that the HR manager sought to have you believe that she was the one who had kept alive your mother’s policy after she stopped working in 2012 when she fell ill. As you made clear, it was the company which kept the policy going by making the necessary payments on your mother’s behalf. Further, the same HR manager knew the total of the policy, which you cannot say for sure was the entire total of the proceeds as you did not check the documents yourself. She also stated or directed that though the cheque was made out to your cousin the proceeds must be used for your mother’s funeral expenses. This is extremely odd because in my opinion it is not the HR manager’s business what an entitled beneficiary does with the proceeds of the deceased benefactor’s insurance policy. One has to ask why the HR manager would interfere in such a manner. What did she know? What had she or they done? It does lead one to question the entire procedure.

You also say that your mother was buried before the cheque was issued and that the hotel called and informed you of this. I have to wonder again, why did they call you? If your cousin was truly the beneficiary you were out of the picture, so why did they call you?

For goodness sake, why did you not act on your knowledge and intuition that something was not right? So what should and can you do?

Your legal options

You should decide whether or not you want to pursue the matter both in the criminal court and civil court. For a criminal action you ought to go to the Fraud Squad and report the matter giving them all the details you gave in your letter to me and more particulars especially the details of the documents you supplied to the HR manager. You must make clear to them that you suspect that either your mother’s signature was forged or the insertion of your cousin’s name as beneficiary was a forgery with intent to defraud your mother’s estate. Since you state that your mother left a spouse and three children, it is normal in those circumstances for an insurance applicant to be advised to insert her ‘estate’ as beneficiary. You should also make clear to them that you cannot find any reason whatsoever why your cousin would have been named by your mother as her beneficiary especially knowing the relationship between them. You must then continuously check that the Fraud Squad has interviewed the relevant persons and properly examined all the documentation supplied to the HR manager and that their handwriting expert is satisfied by the insertion of the name of your cousin and about your mother’s signature.

You can also decide to sue your cousin for the proceeds which you will claim are due to your mother’s estate and that your cousin has fraudulently converted these estate funds to her own use through illegal means.

In any event, whether criminal or civil, you would be entitled to see and examine the documentation and you can even have your own handwriting expert’s report done and used in the course of the proceedings. You ought to consult a lawyer to consider the matter and act for you if you intend to sue in the civil court. You can go directly to the Fraud Squad and I suggest take your aunt with you so that you all can give your statements on the same day.

I trust that this has clarified matters for you and I wish you all the best in whatever action you decide to take.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver. com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5.

DISCLAIMER:

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.