Trial Begins For Man Accused Of Stealing From Dying Woman's Estate

The trial for  Mentor man -- who is accused of altering a dying woman's will so he could take her $750,000 estate -- is set to begin today in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

, 66, is charged with theft, tampering with records and perjury.

Dilley was the financial adviser of Betty Montgomery, who lived in the Stratford Commons nursing home in Glenwillow and, before that, in Solon.

Montgomery had no family and planned to divide her considerable estate between three friends, Save-A-Pet and the Holy Cancer Family Home.

However, Dilley doctored her will in 2008, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office. Dilley made himself Montgomery's sole beneficiary and executor of her estate. Then he had Montgomery sign the new will.

When Montgomery died in 2009, Dilley filed the altered will in probate court and Montgomery's original beneficiaries challenged it, prosecutors said.

During a deposition, Dilley claimed that requisite witnesses saw Montgomery sign the new will. Prosecutors say that Dilley lied and nobody else was there. That is why he is charged with perjury.

Dilley received $75,000 from Montgomery's estate after the will was contested.