“Mom, Starting Next Month, We’ll Transfer All Your Money To My Account.” My Son Said That, And I Just Smiled. That Night, As Always, He Came With His Wife For A Free Dinner.

But this wasn’t about expectations. This was about theft, about deception, about a son who saw his mother as a source of resources that he could exploit without consequences. The next morning, I did something I had never done.

I went to see a lawyer. It was a small office in the city center. The sign said William Sanchez, attorney at Law.

I had seen an ad in the newspaper that offered free consultations. I went in feeling small, feeling ridiculous, a 62-year-old woman coming to complain about her own son. But the receptionist smiled kindly and showed me in.

Attorney Sanchez was a man in his 50s with graying hair at his temples and kind eyes. He asked me to tell him everything, and I did. I told him about the money that had disappeared, about the credit card I hadn’t applied for, about the electricity account, about the papers that Lawrence wanted me to sign.

He listened without interrupting. He took notes in a notebook, and when I finished, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Mrs.

Menddees,” he said, “what you’re describing to me is financial fraud and a breach of trust. If you sign those papers your son is asking you to, you’re giving him total legal access to your money. He could empty it all out and you would have no legal recourse because you yourself gave him permission.”

The words fell on me like stones.

I knew it. Deep down I knew it. But hearing it said out loud by a professional made it real in a different way.

“What can I do?” I asked. He leaned forward. “First, don’t sign anything.

Second, you need to report the credit card fraud and the theft from your bank account. Third, you need to change all your passwords, your personal identification numbers, everything. Fourth, consider getting a restraining order if you feel you’re in danger.”

A restraining order against my own son.

The idea seemed absurd and devastating at the same time. “I don’t want to get him in legal trouble,” I told him. “He’s my son.”

Continue reading…