Stavro Haralambopoulos was a very wealthy man by the time he began to overlook payment of various utility and other accounts. When he was finally cajoled into making out a power of attorney he made a bad choice which not only resulted in none of his accounts being paid, but in the systematic diminution (by theft) of his assets by over half their value. Stavros appointed his Son Con and his Wife Leanne as his attorneys.
Leanne was the slutty Australian girl that Con had married against the wishes of his parents, Brothers and Sisters, who could not understand why Con would not find a suitable Greek girl for marriage. Now, normally I would have absolutely nothing against a slutty Australian girl, but in this instance she did let the team down.
You see, Stavros, when he made out his Power of Attorney, overlooked the fact that his life long Solicitor had inserted the words "Jointly and Severally" into the actual appointment. This meant, of course, that Leanne could sidle off and unilaterally sign cheques, draw funds and sell property without consulting her Husband, or Stavros for that matter.
She began slowly and cautiously, simply paying the odd account of her own so that it would be difficult to tell, upon a cursory examination of the accounts, whether it was one of Stavros' bills or not. Over time she became hugely emboldened, writing out cheques directly to herself, to her children, buying a a new car, televisions and so on. When it was obvious that absolutely no-one was watching she actually gifted some real estate property to her daughter Voula who began erecting a house on the land. Other family members noticed this activity and started asking inconvenient questions.
Leanne's ship had finally hit the sand.
Are the police interested ? Not really, " it was all done strictly on Stavros' own instructions" you see.
Can we get the money back ? Yeah right.
Can Stavros amend his will to rectify the situation ? No, his condition has deteriorated into full blown dementia by now.
Hopefully Con and Leanne can be convinced to waive any further entitlement to their Fathers estate, but this remains to be seen.
The moral to the story? Appoint a sole attorney or joint and several attorneys only in rare and exceptional circumstances. Remember Joint AND Several means just that.
Leanne was the slutty Australian girl that Con had married against the wishes of his parents, Brothers and Sisters, who could not understand why Con would not find a suitable Greek girl for marriage. Now, normally I would have absolutely nothing against a slutty Australian girl, but in this instance she did let the team down.
You see, Stavros, when he made out his Power of Attorney, overlooked the fact that his life long Solicitor had inserted the words "Jointly and Severally" into the actual appointment. This meant, of course, that Leanne could sidle off and unilaterally sign cheques, draw funds and sell property without consulting her Husband, or Stavros for that matter.
She began slowly and cautiously, simply paying the odd account of her own so that it would be difficult to tell, upon a cursory examination of the accounts, whether it was one of Stavros' bills or not. Over time she became hugely emboldened, writing out cheques directly to herself, to her children, buying a a new car, televisions and so on. When it was obvious that absolutely no-one was watching she actually gifted some real estate property to her daughter Voula who began erecting a house on the land. Other family members noticed this activity and started asking inconvenient questions.
Leanne's ship had finally hit the sand.
Are the police interested ? Not really, " it was all done strictly on Stavros' own instructions" you see.
Can we get the money back ? Yeah right.
Can Stavros amend his will to rectify the situation ? No, his condition has deteriorated into full blown dementia by now.
Hopefully Con and Leanne can be convinced to waive any further entitlement to their Fathers estate, but this remains to be seen.
The moral to the story? Appoint a sole attorney or joint and several attorneys only in rare and exceptional circumstances. Remember Joint AND Several means just that.
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