By Greg
Wright
MBA,
CFE, CFP®, CLU, ChFC
Certified
Fraud Examiner
Certified
Financial Planner™
 |
| Stephen W. Schuyler mug shot |
Sarah Wilding trusted her
attorney to give the remainder of her estate to her church’s building
fund. Elder attorney, Stephen W. Schuyler
had other uses for the money. Only recently, it finally
came to light that Schuyler had over-charged and diverted as much as $500,000
from some of the 130 estate cases he was
administering.
East Lynn Christian Church is a small Anderson Indiana
church. Following Sarah Wilding’s death
on April 20, 2012, Schuyler paid her
final expenses and distributed funds and assets
to her named beneficiaries. That was the
plan. The remainder, $145,003, was to go
to the church building fund toward paying off the 2005 sanctuary
expansion.
The church
was aware that Sarah had made a final gift to them, and they sought payment from
Schuyler. He stalled and requested the
court approve yet another payment for additional attorney fees. Undeterred, the church pressed him to close
the estate and pay them. Schuyler’s
check bounced.
Finally, the
police and prosecutor investigated. They
ascertained that, in addition to Wilding, other estates had been looted. They identified four other estates specifically,
and 130 unsettled estates that were eventually assigned to other attorneys.
The East
Lynn Christian Church filed a civil complaint against Schuyler and his girlfriend,
Kem Golden, for conversion of $164,101 from the Wilding estate. In addition to
the civil complaints,
Charges have
been made that involve the estate of Frances Clem from 2010 to 2014 of $156,790.
Other victims may include other churches, and the local Humane Society.
Unsurprisingly,
Schuyler’s law license was suspended indefinitely, and he is facing 13 felony
counts.
Since
supervision may be lax or even non-existent, there are probably similar cases
in other communities that have simply not been reported. The deceased had counted on a trusted
attorney to carry out their final requests and not to loot the estate. But, the lawyer treated the estate assets
like his personal piggy bank.
Inheritance
hijacking is not that rare. Thieves who
target the elderly and the dead are cunning and patient. The vulnerable elderly within us are perfect
targets – 20 percent are victims.
Strongly
consider not waive the requirements that executors be bonded, as many attorneys
suggest. Consider not giving your
attorney authority to be your executor.