A Family Feud Over a Lost Estate
A brother alleges that his sister's insanity was manufactured to seize her $100,000 fortune.
The story, cleaned up
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Claiming that his brother-in-law and his sister, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence E. Moulton, had used suasion and undue influence in getting Mrs. Dorothy Drury Siebs, another sister, to deed over all her property, valued at $100,000, to them, and that as soon as the will was signed they swore Mrs. Siebs to be insane and had her sent to the hospital, George W. Drury has petitioned the superior court to have Mrs. Siebs' will set aside, and the property divided between himself and his sister. In his petition, Drury claims that Mr. and Mrs. Moulton went east to Bridgeport, Conn., where Mrs. Siebs was living, and brought her back to Tacoma. He claims that even while en route his sister was mentally incompetent, and that under the persuasion of her sister, Mrs. Moulton, she deeded over all her property to the Moultons. Then, claims Drury, Moulton swore to the insanity of Mrs. Siebs, and she was sent to Steilacoom, where she eventually died. The case will be fought out in the superior court.
“As soon as the will was signed they swore Mrs. Siebs to be insane and had her sent to the insane hospital.”
Elder abuse and inheritance disputes remain a persistent concern in Tacoma's legal system, where the isolation of vulnerable seniors often leads to complex, multi-year probate battles. This case highlights the high stakes of estate law and the devastating potential for family estrangement when significant wealth is involved.
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