It's a classic fraud scenario. Well-to-do, elderly parents in ill health decide to turn over management of their affairs to one of their two children, the younger child. As time passes, the older child suspects something is amiss with her parents' finances. The issue lands in court, and a judge appoints a guardian ad litem to oversee the couple's estate.

The guardian then hires a forensic accounting firm to conduct an independent investigation to locate assets and examine financial records. As investigation proceeds, it becomes increasingly clear: The daughter was right to raise questions. In the end, the investigation finds that the brother has defrauded his parents—to the tune of nearly $10 million.

This anecdote is no hypothetical. It's a brief description of a real-world case that our firm investigated, and it serves as just one example of the stakes and players involved in trusts and estates-related fraud cases.