My wife died of cancer, and now her brother claims I misused her savings while I was caring for her. Am I on the hook?

Unfortunately, on top of coping with your grief, you may also sometimes find yourself facing questions from surviving family members on whether the decisions made during your darkest hour were appropriate.

Say, for example, that Amir was taking care of his wife Maryam, who recently died. Maryam’s brother, Ziad, has now accused Amir of misusing Maryam’s savings while Amir was providing care. Now, Amir is worried he could face legal action and potentially be forced to give back some of what he spent.

But is this something that Amir should be concerned about? Here’s what the experts have to say.

Who actually owned the savings and how was it used?

The first big question is who owned the money in savings.

“If the money was owned jointly and it was authorized to be spent on medical care, household expenses, and other needs, then there may be little basis for a claim,” Patrick Simasko, a law attorney at Simasko Law, told Moneywise. “Just because the brother believes too much was spent doesn’t mean he has a leg to stand on.”

However, the brother may have more reason for concern if the money wasn’t jointly owned between Amir and Maryam.

“The situation changes if the money belonged solely to the wife and the husband was managing it under a power of attorney or other fiduciary authority,” Simasko explained. “If the husband transferred substantial amounts to himself or used her money primarily for his own benefit without authorization, then her estate could potentially seek repayment.”

If Amir wants to protect himself against this kind of claim, Simasko urges him to keep detailed documentation of what he spent the money on, including bank statements and receipts showing caregiving expenses.

That way, if Ziad takes him to court for breach of duty or improperly taking assets that should belong to the estate, Amir can show what really happened to the funds.

Who stands to inherit?

The next big question is: Who is going to inherit?

“Most states’ laws of intestate succession go first to a spouse,” Barry E. Janay, founder and president of The Law Office of Barry E. Janay, P.C., told Moneywise. Janay explained that the brother wouldn’t inherit under intestacy laws unless “the decedent [the person who died] was not married, had no children, had no surviving parents, and made no plan.”

Of course, Maryam could have made an estate plan and left the money to her brother, but Amir may still have had a claim to at least some estate assets under spousal elective share rules. Many states apply these rules to prevent a spouse from being fully disinherited.

Still, if Ziad was on track to receive his sister’s savings based on Maryam’s estate plan and he believes Amir acted wrongfully, he’d have a leg to stand on in pursuing legal action.