Stepfather taking my mother’s RMD’s from her IRA and putting into a savings account that is only in his name. She is not aware at all.

Location: Maryland

Family includes my mom and stepfather (married for 47 years,) my older brother and myself are my mom’s kids and my younger half-brother is my mom’s and stepdad’s child.

My stepfather recently asked me to be executor of his and my mom’s estate. In the process of discussing, he acknowledged that he has placed my mother’s RMD’s from her IRA and placing them into his own savings account. She is nowhere on this account as even a beneficiary. This has added to quite a bit of money – around mid 6 figures.

My mom has never had any clue about their finances but worked and saved a substantial amount as my parents knew she would need a significant amount of money to cover care for her as she has a chronic illness that has left her nearly bedridden. He claims he didn’t know how to add her to account etc. He is a highly educated lawyer (non-practicing.)

Maybe he is attempting to move assets in the very likely event she will go into a nursing home and be in a spend down situation. The whole thing seems very underhanded to me. He has written “punitive” – his phrase – in the past based on whoever he is angry with at the time. So another possibility is he is trying to take this money to leave entirely to his own biological son. I truly don’t care about inheriting money – I don’t need it – but the whole thing seems sketchy to me. His behavior over the years definitely warrants distrust but that is a whole other post.

What should I do, if anything, to protect my mom?