Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Athena and Elizabeth here. (It’s anonymous!)
Dear Pay Dirt,
In late 2017, I collected $133,000 from a wrongful death suit for my oldest son’s death. I placed the check in my account, which was originally a guardianship account for my daughter opened about 10 years earlier. When she stopped using it, I just kept it for my own use, continuing depositing only my paychecks for at least eight years. The associate at the bank was supposed to have changed it to be only my checking account, but keeping this daughter as a signor but no longer primary (for emergencies).
I soon moved across the country to live with her because she wanted to “take care of me.” (I am just 58 this year.) After living with her for a few months, in which she treated me horribly, even though I was paying a lot of her outstanding and current bills, we had a terrible fight, and…
