Woman Accused of Coercing Mother To Sign Legal Documents

A Suwanee woman has been accused by her sister of coercing her elderly mother into signing over legal and medical authority that the mother did not understand, according to police documents.

Gayla Singleton of a Twickenham Trace address faces a charge of theft by deception, according to the Gwinnett Police incident report.

Singleton's sister said in the complaint, which is dated Oct. 7, that Singleton had "coerced and tricked" her mother into signing papers without making sure that her mother, who is 84 years old, knew what she was signing.

Documents included a will, which bequeathed everything to Singleton, and a quick deed that gave Singleton full ownership of her mother's house.

According to the complaint, Singleton told her mother that the documents she was signing were tax papers.

The complainant said that everything since has been corrected, except for the house deed, which would require going to court to correct.

Protective services is going to do a full report and turn it in to the Gwinnett special victims unit, the complainant said.

This information was obtained from Gwinnett Police. It does not indicate a conviction. Questions should be directed to suwanee@patch.com.