AARP Magazine recently published a lengthy article on a contentious guardianship. If you would like to read the entire article, it can be found here: https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/info-2018/court-ordered-guardianship-separates-family.html. This newsletter will hit some highlights.
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We recently have been involved in a case which highlights the distinction between exploitation and guardianship. An elderly gentleman was being systematically robbed by a younger woman he was infatuated with. She obtained power of attorney and withdrew over $100,000 from his accounts in less than 4 months, before the banks froze those accounts, reported suspicious activity to DCF (Florida Department of Children and Families), and a third party intervened to file a guardianship. Had she continued at that pace, he would have been flat broke in a little over a year.
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In a case from our own backyard, Keul vs Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church, Mrs. Lampp and her late husband executed wills in 2009, several months before he died. Their estate plan provided that after Mrs. Lampp’s death, the entire estate would go to Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church. When she died, Mrs. Lampp had $333,000 in Navy Federal Credit Union accounts that she had jointly owned with her husband before he died. Her "friendly" neighbor provided a "payable on death" form from the credit union that gave her (the neighbor!) 75% of the credit union accounts, 10% each to her son and daughter and the remaining 5% to her former daughter-in-law. Nothing was left to the church.
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Unfortunately, older Americans as a group are prime victims for con artists due to their stable financial situation, trusting nature, and declining cognitive and/or sensory abilities. Although we have written about scams targeting seniors in a previous blog, this type of fraud is increasing, especially this time of year, so we wanted to address it again.
Continue Reading...In our last newsletter, we wrote about potential issues for a dutiful child caring for an elderly parent, but what about the risk that the caretaker child is neglectful or even abusive? This week we wanted to share a truly horrifying tale of an Australian woman’s failure to care for her elderly mother.
Continue Reading...With the Walk to End Alzheimer’s coming up this weekend and National Long-Term Care Awareness Month starting today, elder law is on our minds. So, this is the perfect time to share an elder law story that illustrates the value, and importance, of consistent planning.
Continue Reading...As estate planning and elder law attorneys, one of our primary goals is to educate our clients and community about how they can protect themselves and their assets. This newsletter will share and expand upon a recent article about con artists who target senior citizens. The Associated Press reports that “elder financial abuse” has become an “industry” that brings in billions of dollars each year. This form of elder abuse includes fraud perpetrated by relatives and acquaintances as well as scams run by complete strangers. The outsider-run cons can be particularly devastating, both financially and emotionally, because they are so effectively targeted at older individuals and very difficult to trace back to their often international origins.
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