Charlotte Foster
Legal

96-year-old woman alleges almost $500,000 stolen by son

A 96-year-old has allegedly lost almost $500,000 to her son and daughter-in-law who were supposed to be her carers. 

Documents lodged in the District Court in Mackay allege that Kathleen Turner had her care and trust abused by her son Maxwell Finlay Turner and his wife Debbie Maree Turner, by getting her to sign blank cheques over several years. 

The alleged behaviour only came to light when another family member accompanied Kathleen to the bank in September 2020, and the manager confronted her with the balance of her account. 

Legal action was taken against Debbie Turner last year in which the judge ordered she repay more than $401,000 or show it was held in trust.

In addition to this, a second suit has been filed against Mr Turner in recent weeks seeking about $85,000 in restitution.

In the claim lodged to the court, Kathleen's lawyers allege her son and daughter-in-law moved into her home in December 2015 to care for her, after she suffered a fall and broke her hip which required surgery and rehabilitation.

It has been alleged that as Kathleen aged, she relied on her daughter-in-law to help with everyday finances, finding no reason to not trust her when presented with blank cheques to sign. 

She was told the cheques were being used to contribute to the cost of food.

"The plaintiff (Kathleen Turner) signed as she believed she had an obligation and trusted Debbie to fill in the remainder of the cheques in an honest manner," the documents allege.

"There were words to the effect of, 'sign this, it's your contribution towards food and household expenses'."

It is alleged that Mrs Turner was not informed who the blank cheques were ultimately being made out to nor the amounts.

The documents claim Mrs Turner "trusted them to act honestly", and was "unaware" of the state of her finances until her trip to the bank in 2020. 

Ian Henschke from National Seniors Australia said that 85 percent of financial abuse against elders is committed by family members, with children accounting for more than 50 per cent.

A national campaign has been launched to combat instances of elder abuse, with a support line available to provide confidential support. 

Image credits: Getty Images

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legal, pensioner, son, stolen, money