I don't think it was as much being played as it was getting older and not paying attention. There were three banks involved in one of the individuals, but as far as I know now only one on the second. Notices had been sent every time the CDs were ready to be renewed. I spent an entire day going thru twenty years of notices stuck in drawers. Let me give you an example. Four CDs were bought at an Integra Bank sometime in the early 2000s. That bank failed in 2008-9 (I think). The CDs then went to a Bank in Evansville, Indiana that I've never heard of, then they were bought (??) by a bank in our home town. Others CDs were bought at a 'Liberty Bank' which was itself bought by 'Peoples First' which was bought by 'Union Planters' which was bought by 'Regions'. I am trying to trace all these down. At another bank I gave the not very friendly lady by name, SS number, and POA papers and she looked it all up on her computer and started laughing. Said they had been trying to contact the owner but were getting no replies to their letters. She said she was relieved to see me. She admitted on the second visit that at first she thought I was going to try to take money from the accounts for my own use. Surprisingly the bank people have directed me as to which of their competitors were paying higher rates and giving better terms. I have received a very good education on CDs and financial dealings in the past month. We are going to move a LOT of money from three banks to another. The bank paying the highest interest in not the winner. The one with a slightly lower rate but better rules on withdrawal won the contest. The way they are going to let me structure the CDs will also make it easier to remove money if the owner needs it for their care. At their age it is highly likely that they will. Also there will be a total of eighteen names on the CDs. Did I say this was complicated? Most banks said it would have to be eighteen different CDs but the one bank will let me structure all this into three different groups consisting of all children, all grands, and all great grands. They will all be POD also. Which means Pay On Death to the second name on the CD. This is so nobody will know about it until the owner passes. Sadly this is considered a necessity by some involved. The penalties and fees for early withdrawal of all the financial instruments (big words, ha) will be made up in two weeks and two days at the new rates. Understand why I have had constant indigestion for the past month? All of the banks have penalties for early withdrawal. Most are a cash amount, $25-$35, and the interest for a certain time. At all the banks except one you must cash in an entire CD, get the money you need, pay the penalty ($25 + a year's interest on the entire CD), and roll the remainder into another smaller instrument. The bank we have chosen will allow us to take out the money needed from the CD and only pay the $25+a year's interest ON THE AMOUNT WITHDRAWN. This is not my money. I am doing this because the person trusts me and knows I will not cheat them. EVERY SINGLE PERSON I have dealt with at eight to ten banks, I forget exactly, has been polite and helpful. Some were skeptical of me at first. I have heard enough horror stories from them to understand why. Also heard about the brother and sister who came in one bank earlier this year asking about their recently deceased parent's checking and savings accounts. Said they knew their parents didn't have much because they had been putting money into their checking each month for years so they could buy groceries. They were surprised when told that they now had over a hundred thousand in CDs they didn't know existed. Their parents had been buying CDs with the extra money they got each month. RSKY
