ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE ATTORNEYS
Elder financial abuse is one of the fastest-growing areas of law, affecting one of the most vulnerable sectors of our society. We have successfully prosecuted and defended hundreds of financial elder abuse cases. We can help you address any wrongdoing or clear the air of misconceptions.
What Is Elder Financial Abuse
Financial elder abuse is the process of taking advantage of an elderly individual to benefit from their monetary resources. It can involve everything from simple forgery to psychological coercion. Amongst family members, financial elder abuse is a common element of trust disputes, conservatorship disputes, and will disputes.
Examples of financial elder abuse can include:
- Using a Power of Attorney, given by the victim to allow another person to handle his/her finances, as a license to steal the victim’s monies for the perpetrator’s own use.
- Taking advantage of joint bank accounts in the same way.
- Using ATM cards and stealing checks to withdraw money from the victim’s accounts.
- Threatening to abandon, injure, or otherwise harm the victim unless he or she gives the perpetrator what he/she wants.
- Refusing to obtain needed care and medical services for the victim in order to keep the person’s assets available for the abuser.
- In-home care providers charging for services; keeping change from errands, paying bills that don’t belong to the vulnerable adult, asking the vulnerable adult to sign falsified time sheets, taking advantage of an elderly individual by charging for services despite not working while on the clock.
We often work with clients who have seen a parent or other elderly loved one suddenly make an unusual and drastic change to their financial situation or estate plan (i.e. will or trust beneficiaries), giving preferential treatment to one suspicious individual and adversely affecting their own well-being and their other lifelong loved ones. If you suspect a loved one is being victimized, we can help.
Why Do You Need a Financial Elder Abuse Attorney?
Unfortunately, people can exploit elderly individuals for the sake of their own personal financial gain, and often, these individuals do not have the support to defend themselves. Our lawyers can support you in bringing a financial abuse claim, defending against financial abuse claims, and defending financial abuse victims. Our financial elder abuse attorneys offer guidance in all of the following areas and more.
Protecting Vulnerable Individuals
Vulnerable individuals can be at risk of exploitation due to age, mental incapacity, or health concerns. In these cases, it’s important that they have appropriate support to prevent them and their assets from being taken advantage of. At RMO Lawyers, we’ll take steps to protect elderly individuals by coordinating legal needs and providing fair legal representation.
Financial Exploitation
Financial exploitation can occur through avenues like using an elderly individual’s credit cards or benefits, tricking them into providing financial information or pressuring them into investment schemes. Our financial elder attorneys can help hold perpetrators accountable and bring restitution to victims of exploitation by navigating the appropriate legal processes.
Power of Attorney or Guardianship Disputes
Both guardianship and the power of attorney give a representative the ability to make legal decisions in the best interests of an elderly or incapacitated individual. However, situations arise where a representative may abuse this position by using an elder’s funds without consent. An elder abuse attorney can provide guidance in proving and rectifying these concerns.
Fraud and Deceptive Practices
Fraud and deceptive practices can include tricking an elderly person into providing money for personal gain under the guise of a legitimate financial concern. A financial elder abuse lawyer can help prove fraud and instances of deception to protect the assets and well-being of an elderly individual.
Negligence or Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Trustees and executors have the responsibility of allocating an individual’s assets to the appropriate beneficiaries, called fiduciary duty. If these assets are mismanaged or these parties neglect the needs of an elderly individual, they may be breaching their fiduciary duty. An elder abuse lawyer can assist victims in seeking restitution from a trustee or executor.
Asset Protection and Recovery
In cases of financial elder abuse, a victim may lose important assets due to the actions of the perpetrator. However, recovering these assets requires extensive evidence to identify and convict the perpetrator at fault. An experienced lawyer can assist in building a case to return assets to the rightful party and restore a sense of financial security.
Legal Advocacy
Navigating the legal process is challenging for anyone, and doing so alone can lead to misunderstandings, further exploitation, and unfulfilling outcomes. Financial elder abuse lawyers from RMO will advocate on an elderly individual’s behalf while championing their rights, providing invaluable support in navigating legal processes and promoting their best interests.
Common Financial Elder Abuse Disputes
With so many instances where elder abuse can occur, there are several disputes that can arise and require the support of an experienced attorney. At RMO Lawyers, we use our extensive expertise surrounding elder abuse law to provide guidance through all the following disputes and more.
Power of Attorney Abuse
In cases where a person with power of attorney abuses their power or uses their position to exploit an elderly individual for financial gain, it’s important to have experienced legal representation to hold them accountable and seek financial restitution. We’ll provide support by conducting thorough investigations, gathering evidence of abuse, and pursuing legal remedies that support the victim.
Fraudulent Schemes
Fraudulent activity can vastly harm an elder and their assets, but exposing schemes requires a complex legal framework. Our attorneys will help navigate complex legal frameworks to uncover fraudulent schemes, pursue legal action against perpetrators, and help victims recover financially.
Unauthorized Transfers or Withdrawals
Unauthorized financial transactions are a common sign of financial elder abuse. We’ll use careful legal strategies to identify and prove unauthorized transactions, present evidence, and advocate for the victim’s rights in court.
Predatory Lending
Predatory lending is a common method for financial elder abuse, involving loaning money at excessive rates or deceptive terms. Our financial elder abuse attorneys will support you in identifying predatory lending practices, challenging unfair terms through legal avenues, and seeking remedies for the elderly person.
Estate Planning and Inheritance Disputes
The estate planning and inheritance process can lead to disputes amongst heirs and beneficiaries over the distribution of assets. RMO lawyers will protect the interests and wishes of the elderly individual by ensuring a legal process that aligns with their intended outcome and allocates a fair distribution of the estate and inheritance.
Financial Exploitation by Caregivers
Caregivers are responsible for promoting the well-being of elderly individuals in need, but they can take advantage of this position to steal money, gain financial information, or exploit an elder into providing financial support. Our elder abuse attorneys can assist you in building a case against exploitative caregivers, navigate relevant laws, and seek legal restitution for financial exploitation.
Identity Theft
Identity theft involves gathering important identifying information from an elderly individual and using it to access their finances while exploiting them for financial gain. We’ll provide support in proving identity theft, collaborating with law enforcement, and representing elderly individuals to secure the appropriate restitution.
Real Estate Scams
Real estate scams can occur when someone illegally transfers or sells the property of an elderly individual without their knowledge or consent or through deceptive practices. Our attorneys can investigate real estate transactions, leverage legal tools to challenge fraudulent practices, and seek any potential legal remedies for the victim.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Trustees, executors, and administrators have a responsibility to manage assets and trusts in the best interests of the specified party. A breach of this fiduciary duty can involve financial exploitation or mismanagement through unauthorized transactions or fraud of an elderly individual. It often includes undue influence or coercion.
At RMO, we’ll provide support in proving a breach of fiduciary duty resulting in elder abuse and rectifying the situation by pursuing compensation or restitution for financial harm.
Coercion and Duress
Cases of coercion and duress occur when a perpetrator forcibly influences or pressures an elderly individual to act or make financial decisions that are not in their best interest, like investments or schemes that lead to financial losses.
RMO Lawyers can represent an elderly person in legal proceedings and provide support in the process of proving coercion or duress so that the victim can receive appropriate restitution. This process can also include nullifying coerced financial decisions.
Guardianship and Conservatorship Disputes
In cases where a guardian or conservator takes responsibility for supporting an individual, they are expected to act in their best interest. However, disputes can arise over whether a guardian or conservator is truly doing so. An elder abuse lawyer can assist in navigating the terms of guardianship to represent the elderly person’s interests and resolve potential disputes through legal channels.
Insurance Fraud
Insurance fraud can take place in the context of elder abuse if a perpetrator files false claims on behalf of an elderly individual, forges documentation, or overbills to take advantage of their insurance benefits. We’ll collaborate to gather evidence, establish a legitimate case, and seek fair and justified compensation to recover losses.
What Is The Process Of Financial Elder Abuse Litigation?
A financial elder abuse attorney plays an important role in supporting elders in litigation to pursue justice for the wrongdoing they experience. The litigation process includes the following steps.
Capacity Assessment
The first step in financial elder abuse litigation is pursuing a capacity assessment. This assessment helps determine whether an individual was of sound mind at the time of the alleged exploitation. An attorney helps to facilitate this assessment and advocate for the rights of individuals undergoing this process.
Civil Litigation
During the civil litigation process, the victim or a legal representative seeks damages or restitution for the wrongdoing they experienced at the hands of the perpetrator. This process involves presenting evidence to highlight the instances and damages of the case of elder abuse. An attorney will provide support in building a case by exchanging relevant documents, records, and information to support these claims.
Restitution and Recovery
In cases where an elderly victim of financial abuse has lost money, the final step is seeking restitution and recovery of their lost money or assets. Asset recovery comes with several challenges, as it requires proving the record of abuse by the perpetrator as well as documentation and evidence of the losses. Attorneys will pursue a legal route to restitution for victims while offering support in tracing and recovering misappropriated assets through legal means.
How Do I Choose An Elder Financial Abuse Lawyer?
There are few probate and trust situations as emotional as Financial Elder Abuse. Adding money, inheritance, and other assets to an abuse situation can become overwhelming for victims and families. At RMO Lawyers, we protect clients faced with difficult elder financial abuse situations every day.
Your relationship with your elder financial abuse lawyer is the most important thing to consider when choosing an elder financial abuse lawyer. You must choose a lawyer who understands you, your family, its dynamics, the psychological issues that often come into play, and communicates clearly, sets firm boundaries, has proven experience, and is strategically able to prosecute your claims in your loved one’s county of residence.
It is imperative that your elder financial abuse attorney has the experience to stop the abuse, protect your family, and help ensure those responsible are held accountable. We are those lawyers. Let us help you.
Our Case Results
RMO has a proven track record of protecting people and defending legacies.
Who Can Hire a Financial Elder Abuse Attorney?
TRUSTEES
Trustees oversee assets held within a trust and are legally bound to act in the beneficiary’s best interest. A trustee can pursue legal action in cases where they suspect financial exploitation of an elderly individual and their trust. That said, there are also occasions where concerned parties may suspect trustees of engaging in financial misconduct themselves.
At RMO Lawyers, we represent individual trustees, professional private fiduciaries, and trust companies to help them understand and execute their duties and responsibilities as trustees, including those that pertain to financial elder abuse.
EXECUTORS
An executor or administrator is an individual designated by the court to handle the financial matters of someone who has passed away. If you’ve been assigned as an administrator or executor, you have the right to pursue legal action for financial exploitation on behalf of the deceased’s estate.
However, there are also instances where concerned parties may suspect administrators of engaging in financial misconduct. An experienced elder abuse lawyer can support executors in both navigating legal proceedings for financial exploitation and developing a defense against claims of elder abuse.
BENEFICIARIES AND HEIRS
In many cases, the victims of financial abuse are not only the elders or dependent adults themselves. The victim’s family members, heirs, and beneficiaries can all suffer from having a rightful inheritance stolen by an abuser.
Perhaps your loved one has been swindled or coerced out of money or property by an abuser before death, leaving your inheritance impaired. RMO represents beneficiaries and heirs in prosecuting cases and seeking restitution for fraudulent activities so they can obtain their rightful inheritance.
CONSERVATORS/GUARDIANS
Conservators and guardians are responsible individuals chosen by the court to make choices on behalf of incapacitated adults. Being a “conservator of the estate” grants the authority to manage the financial matters of the incapacitated adult, known as the conservatee.
Sometimes, the designated conservator can face legal challenges regarding financial exploitation if this is suspected by other parties, requiring the support of a lawyer.
SPOUSES
In financial elder abuse claims, a spouse can play a role in either defending against allegations or pursuing claims against others. If the spouse believes another individual has exploited the elder financially, they can file a claim on behalf of the estate—this could include alleging fraud, undue influence, or breach of fiduciary duty by another party.
When pursuing claims or defending against allegations, the spouse plays a pivotal role in safeguarding their loved one’s wishes and ensuring their own rights. An elder abuse lawyer can support spouses in navigating litigation on both sides of the coin.
SCHEDULE A FREE CONSULTATION
Be advised that the RMO Client Relations Team will reach out prior to your scheduled time, as our policy requires that we gather additional information concerning the parties to your case before we can confirm your consultation. In the event that we are unable to reach you, regrettably, we will need to cancel your requested consultation.
Communication Disclaimer
Please note that communications by you to RMO LLP or any of its lawyers through this website do not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the firm. Do not send any privileged or confidential information to the firm through this website or otherwise until instructed in writing from us to do so.
Learn More
The #1 Difference Between Undue Influence and Duress
Undue influence and duress are frequently cited in probate and trust litigation. Both are used by abusers as a means to gain the favor of wealthy spouses and family members, with the goal of getting more estate assets.
How to Choose an Elder Financial Abuse Attorney
There are few probate and trust situations as emotional as Financial Elder Abuse. Adding money, inheritance, and other assets to an abuse situation can become overwhelming for victims and families. At RMO Lawyers, we protect clients faced with difficult elder financial abuse situations everyday. Here’s a guide.
Elder financial abuse amongst family members is a common element of trust disputes, conservatorship disputes, and will disputes. It can involve everything from simple forgery to psychological coercion.
HELPFUL LINKS
FROM THE BLOG
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