Madisgram,

BTDT - sigh - a long story of my own. My sister did a little switcharoo herself. But she never admitted it & it couldn't be proven. Girl, tell me about "letting it go"!

In my humble opinion, get whatever admission of debt owed to you that you can from her in writing (a copy of her properly executed will would be ideal), see if your son, dil or whomever will agree to give depositions regarding what they know or have witnessed.

I would ask around for a good attorney. I would hope it's a sizeable amount of money considering possible attorney fees. But I'd still seek an attorney's opinion for knowledge of what options are available to you under the law. The length of time involved would not bode well for you I suspect, but you don't know unless and until you seek counsel.

There's another consideration, what state laws apply? Out of town costs?

Maybe you could settle for pennies on the dollar? "I won't take you to court if you settle for 65% of the total due in x-number of days".

You could consider a paid in full life insurance policy for the full amount which she could probably purchase for a percentage. That way you still won't see the money in your lifetime but it could be part of your estate.

It's amazing what bonds are broken for money. Sorry it happened to you.