• 07
  • October
    2011

When it comes to estate planning in Florida, there are plenty of stories about family conflict, hurt feelings and even plots to cheat relatives and hijack an inheritance. It is not often, however, that these plots involve violence. That is why a recent British story has gotten so much attention.

A teenage girl, her 49-year-old mother, her teenage girlfriend and her teenage brother all plotted together to kill the girl's grandfather in order to try to get the grandfather's money. Like many violent criminals, the plotters were not very smart. They went on the internet and did a search for the "easiest way to kill an old person."

Florida estate planning attorneys who have often seen the worst in greedy family members were nonetheless shocked by news reports that the plotters tried to frighten the grandfather to death by throwing bricks through his window during the night. The plotters also cut the gas lines on the grandfather's car, in the incorrect belief that this would cause the car to explode.

When these attempts on the man's life did not work, the plotters physically attacked him with bricks that they swung in plastic bags. The grandfather survived the beating.

The man's 49-year-old adopted daughter was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the plot. Until the attack, she had been paid to be a caregiver for her father. Her teenage son has been sent to a juvenile detention facility for an indeterminate sentence. Her daughter was sent to a juvenile facility for 26 months. The girl's friend got a three year sentence.

The elderly man has an adult son who was not involved in the plot in any way.

Source: Guardian "Family sentenced in plot to kill grandfather for early inheritance" Sept. 29, 2011