Brother took $400k of late mother’s inheritance money under the guise of “investing in family business,” then secretly bought a condo under his wife’s name. How to take legal action?
My mother passed away two years ago after a battle with cancer. Before she passed, she sold her 3-room flat, leaving behind about $600k in cash savings.
My older brother (36M) has always been the “golden child” in our family. He is charismatic, mouth super sweet, and my parents always trusted him blindly. I (32F) work as a quiet accountant.
When my mom passed, there was no formal written will (she believed in verbal agreements, huge mistake). My brother sat me down and said: “Sis, mom’s cash got around $600k. If we split $300k each and put in bank, inflation will eat it up. How about this: I take $400k to expand our family logistics/trading business. We inject capital, double the profit in 3 years, then we split the company dividends 50/50. I will give you $100k cash now first.”
Because we are blood siblings, and he showed me fake “business proposal slides”, I foolishly agreed. I took the $100k (plus $100k went to mom’s funeral/debts) and let him handle the $400k. No lawyer, just family trust.
Fast forward 18 months. The “family business” showed zero progress. Every time I asked for financial statements or dividend updates, he brushed me off: “Market bad lah, supply chain crisis, need time to mature.”
Last week, my sister-in-law (his wife, 33F) hosted an Instagram story party. She accidentally posted a photo holding a glass of wine with the caption: “Finally collected keys to our new sanctuary! 2-Bedder at Pasir Ris! Hard work pays off! #PropertyOwner #Blessed”
I immediately ran a property title search through my legal contacts.
They bought a new launch condo unit worth $1.3M under HIS WIFE’S NAME as a first-time buyer (to dodge ABSD). The downpayment of ~$380k was paid in cash.
He didn’t put a single cent into any family business. He took my mom’s inheritance money, passed it to his wife, and bought a condo for themselves!
I confronted him at his house last night. He didn’t even deny it. He looked me straight in the eye and sneered: “So what? Mom gave the money to ME. There was no written will. In law, it was a voluntary cash gift from mom before she died. You accepted the $100k, that means you agreed. You go sue me lor, see if you got black-and-white proof!”
My jaw dropped. My own brother betrayed me and stole my mother’s hard-earned life savings for his wife’s property portfolio.
Lawyer friends of Reddit SG: Since the money transfer came from my mom’s bank account directly into his personal account (not a corporate account), can I sue him under Constructive Trust or Unjust Enrichment? Is there any chance of recovering my share without a formal will?