A man deceives his grandmother and tricks her into an old age home so he can sell her house. But he is in for a surprise and a terrible disappointment.
Valerie Dumont was 87 years old, and she never expected to bury her only son. When Larry passed away at the age of 65, Valerie was devastated. With Larry gone, the only family she had left in the world was her grandson, Steve.
So when six months after Larry’s death Steve started talking about Valerie selling her house and moving to Memphis to be close to him and his children, she agreed. Steve told Valerie that she’d be moving into his guest house, but that wasn’t what happened.
Steve put Valerie’s house up for sale, and to make things easier, she signed over power of attorney to him. He could make decisions, sign for her, then deposit the money in her bank account — at least that’s what Steve told his grandmother.
But what actually happened was very different. Steve deposited the money from the sale of the house into his own bank account, and when Valerie flew to Memphis, Steve didn’t drive her to his home and the pretty little guest house at the bottom of the garden.
Instead, he drove her to the retirement home into which he’d had her admitted using the power of attorney she’d granted him. Valerie was stunned. She sat in the lobby and watched Steve walk away, get into his car and vanish down the drive.
For the next three weeks, Valerie just cried. By then, she realized there was no money in her account and that she’d been duped by the only family she had left in the world. “Oh Larry,” Valerie whispered to her dead son, “This would have broken your heart!”
The other residents of the old age home were too busy working through their own memories, regrets, and sorrows to pay much attention to Valerie. So she was miserable and lonely too.
She called her best friend in Denver, Betty, but her carer told Valerie that she was very ill and had been taken to the hospital. Valerie was saddened. She and Betty had grown up together, and now it looked like she was losing Betty too.
Valerie’s only ray of sunshine was Martin, a hairdresser’s apprentice whose grandmother lived in the home. He’d come by on Saturday mornings and set the residents’ hair and he was especially fond of Valerie.
“Miss. Valerie,” he’d say, “you’re just so pretty! If you were 50 years younger I’d marry you!” And Valerie would laugh and tell him stories from when she was a girl and all the crazy things she and Betty had done back in the day.
One day, Steve got a call from a lawyer who asked him for his grandmother’s address. “I’m asking on behalf of a German firm who is handling the estate of a Mr. Groenfeld.”
“Groenfeld…” Steve said. “Oh! That’s my grandmother’s maiden name! Must be some old relative from the old country! So what did he leave her? Family photos?”
“I believe your grandmother inherited real estate in Bavaria valued at approximately $2 million, or thereabout,” the lawyer said, and Steve nearly dropped his phone.
“I have the power of attorney to address all my grandmother’s financial issues,” Steve said quickly. “So maybe…”
“Sorry,” the lawyer said. “The property is only hers AFTER taking possession of it. Only then would the power of attorney have validity, so please, could I have her address?”
Steve reluctantly gave the lawyer his grandmother’s address at the old age home and her phone number. The next weekend, he dropped in to visit Valerie.
“Hello, gran!” he said cheerfully. “I’ve come to take you out for lunch…”
“I’ve been here for a year and you’ve never even called,” Valerie snapped. “I think I know why you’re here!”
“Come on, gran,” Steve smiled uneasily. “I’ve missed you and so has Dina and the kids…”
“You know about the Bavarian mansion, right?” asked Valerie, “And you’ve come sniffing after the money?”
“Now, gran,” said Steve in an injured tone. “I just want what’s best for you, and at your age things get confusing…”
“Not at all, Steve,” Valerie said smiling. “My head is clear as a bell, and I have a declaration from two different doctors saying so. Just so you know, I’ve revoked your power of attorney. You want the money, you’ll have to wait until I die!”
Steve left in a huff. Valerie was determined to take care of her own affairs (and was doing so very well) and to stay in the home where she was finally making friends. She lived on for many more years and occasionally traveled to Europe with her feistier friends.
When she finally passed away in her sleep at the age of 97, Steve was summoned for the reading of her will. The lawyer simply handed him an envelope and walked off.
“Wait!” cried Steve. “Surely there are papers to sign? Property transfers?”
The lawyer smiled. “Mrs. Dumont was a very organized lady. You’ll see that everything is taken care of.”
Steve opened the envelope. Inside was a note. He unfolded it. His grandmother had written in her familiar spiky handwriting: “Dear Steve. Don’t think I forgot about you, my only grandson. You’ll get your share of the inheritance in this envelope.”
Steve peeked into the big brown envelope looking for a check, but a $1 bill fell out! Stapled to it was another note which read: “Buy yourself a conscience.”
Steve’s greed had cost him everything he’d wanted, as Valerie had left her money to her friend Martin and his family.
What can we learn from this story?
Cherish your family because they are your greatest treasures. Steve exploited and robbed his grandmother instead of caring for her, and it cost him a huge inheritance.
Greed always leads to disaster. If Steve had been kind and loving to Valerie, he would have been a wealthy man when she passed away. Instead, he was left with nothing.
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