My brother died after an apparent overdose of prescription drugs in combination with alcohol after arguing with another sibling over promises the sibling made then broke.
The brother he was arguing with belittled him and told him he could not be trusted to baby-sit his child (after already promising and arranging for him to watch his child) due to the fact that he was being treated for depression. No attempt to try to spare his feelings was made nor was any concern over his resultant state of mind assessed.
My mother spoke with my now deceased brother after the argument on the night of his death and he informed her he had taken a handful of pills. My mother called the sibling he was arguing with and begged him to go check on the now deceased brother as she could no longer drive – he refused and stated “let him kill himself if he wants to, I don’t give a damn”.
He was found dead the next morning.
The brother that argued with him admitted fault the next morning and started to show some remorse. He found out two days later that my deceased brother made the brother he was arguing with the sole beneficiary on a large insurance policy.
There was no will and unfortunately since my deceased brother’s estate is insolvent, the heirs have nothing to inherit short of the right to purchase a few personal items.
The brother that is the beneficiary on the insurance policies first promised to pay for the estate debts, all funeral expenses and share the insurance money with the surviving siblings. He has since backed out of every promise he has made.
I was appointed my brother’s personal representative by mutual consent of the surviving siblings (there are 5 in total). I have lost considerable wages spending time working on his house to get it ready to sell and managing the estate. Since the estate is insolvent and specific laws limit compensation for personal representatives to a percent of the estate, there is no hope of collecting the lost wages.
The brother that is the beneficiary of the large policy then demanded that he be allowed to purchase personal items from the estate for his girlfriend (over other family members). I Refused, he got angry and we no longer speak (this is not the first time we agreed to part ways due to his lies, arrogance and drunkenness).
He has also bragged to friends and relatives that he has more money than anyone in the family and has decided not to distribute any insurance money to anyone for at least a year to insure everyone treats him properly. He also now denies any responsibility for the death.
For my behalf, I have told him I do not want his blood money and will not accept it under any circumstances as I would never hear the end of it if I did. I have no regrets with this decision. I just wish my deceased brother had thought through his financial decisions better prior to making them. I do not foresee that damage done here will ever be repaired. It is a shame that the one who helped put someone in their grave is the one who profits from it.
In this case, more than greed is at stake – include arrogance, self-centeredness, lies, deceit and callousness. He obviously has no conscience as I cannot believe that he could live with himself (and brag about his new-found riches) after what has happened.
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