My “Golden Child” Brother Gambled Away My Dying Grandma’s $200,000 Life Savings. My Parents Are Now Paying For His Defense While Calling Me A Traitor For Filing A Lawsuit. Am I The Jerk For Refusing To Forgive Him?

Ella went to her bank manager and explained the whole situation, asking for permission to provide official statements about the suspicious transaction patterns she’d observed. The bank manager reviewed Ella’s documentation and admitted they should have flagged the activity sooner, but the power of attorney documentation appeared legitimate so the system didn’t catch it as potential exploitation.

He agreed to let Ella provide official statements and said the bank would cooperate with any investigation. Ella felt relieved that she could speak openly now without worrying about violating privacy rules.

I scheduled a meeting with a civil attorney named Mr. Harrison who specialized in estate litigation and elder abuse cases. His office was in a building downtown and smelled like old books and coffee. Mr. Harrison was maybe 60, with gray hair and reading glasses that he kept pushing up his nose.

I brought all the documentation, including bank statements, Ella’s timeline, Aunt Linda’s expense spreadsheet, and copies of the power of attorney papers. Mr. Harrison spent almost an hour reviewing everything and asking detailed questions about Kyle’s relationship with Grandma and the timeline of events.

He explained that criminal prosecution was complicated by the power of attorney because technically Kyle had legal authority to access Grandma’s accounts, but civil action for breach of fiduciary duty had much better chances of success. He said that having power of attorney creates a legal responsibility to act in the person’s best interest, and using their money for personal benefit like gambling clearly violates that responsibility.

Mr. Harrison reviewed all the documentation again and said, “We had a strong case that Kyle violated his fiduciary responsibility by using Grandma’s money for personal benefit instead of her care.”

He explained the process for filing a civil lawsuit and what we could potentially recover. Then he gave me the hard news about costs, estimating legal fees around $15,000 with no guarantee of recovering anything if Kyle has no assets.

He said, “Even if we won the case and got a judgment, collecting money from someone who’s broke and has gambling debts is extremely difficult.”

I asked if it was worth pursuing, and Mister Harrison said that depended on whether we wanted justice and accountability or just money back. He said sometimes getting a legal judgment on record matters even if you never collect a dollar.

I told him I needed to talk to Uncle Robert about splitting the cost. When I explained the situation to Uncle Robert, he said he was in for half the attorney fees because this wasn’t about the money anymore; it was about making sure Kyle faced real consequences for once in his life. We both knew my parents wouldn’t contribute anything toward a lawsuit against their golden child.

I called Mr. Harrison back and said we wanted to move forward with the civil case. He said he’d start preparing the paperwork and we’d need to pay a retainer of $7,500 each to get started.

That same afternoon, my mom called crying and begging me not to pursue legal action against Kyle. She said the family was already torn apart and a lawsuit would destroy any chance of healing and moving forward together. I told her that Kyle destroyed the family when he stole from Grandma and let her live in terrible conditions while he gambled away her life savings.

Mom said I was being cruel and vindictive and that I’d regret this decision when it was too late to fix our relationship. Dad sent an email to me and Uncle Robert saying that if we pursued legal action against Kyle, they would consider it harassment and would consult their own attorney about filing a counter suit.

He said they had documentation of all the ways they’d supported us over the years and we were showing incredible ingratitude by attacking their son during his time of need. The email made me realize that the family division wasn’t temporary or fixable; it was permanent and getting worse.

Uncle Robert forwarded Dad’s email to Mr. Harrison and asked if the threat of a counter suit was something to worry about. Mr. Harrison said it was an empty threat meant to intimidate us and that we had every legal right to pursue civil action for breach of fiduciary duty. He said to document all communication from my parents in case their harassment escalated.

I sent Mr. Harrison my half of the retainer fee, and Uncle Robert sent his portion the same day.

Within 3 days of us filing the retainer, Kyle hired his own attorney named Richard Crane who specialized in criminal defense. Uncle Robert heard about it through his police contacts before my parents even told anyone. Mr. Crane immediately started making statements to Detective Moore about how Kyle’s gambling addiction was a recognized mental illness that impaired his judgment and decision-making abilities.

He was building a defense around diminished capacity, claiming Kyle couldn’t form criminal intent because his addiction was controlling his actions. Detective Moore called to warn me that this was a common strategy in financial exploitation cases and that it sometimes worked to reduce charges or avoid prosecution entirely.

She said the key would be proving that Kyle knew what he was doing was wrong and did it anyway, which the pattern of lies and cover-ups would help establish. My parents jumped on this narrative like it was a life raft. Within a week they were telling everyone who would listen that Kyle was a victim of disease who needed treatment and compassion, not punishment.

Mom actually posted on Facebook about the importance of supporting family members struggling with addiction and how society needs to view addiction as a medical condition rather than a moral failing. She didn’t mention Kyle by name, but everyone knew what she was talking about. Several relatives who didn’t know the full story about Grandma’s money commented with supportive messages about how brave she was to speak out and how proud they were of her for standing by her son.

I wanted to scream every time I saw another comment praising my parents for their compassion and understanding.

Meanwhile, I spent an entire weekend creating a detailed timeline document that showed Kyle’s pattern of manipulation and lies going back years. I started with the cheating incidents in high school where Dad called the principal to make excuses, then the drunk driving accident they covered up and bought him a new truck afterward. The failed business that lost 20,000 of their retirement money. Every time he stole from Mom’s purse or when Dad’s tools went missing. The recording studio they built that he never used.