ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Caregivers and Financial Elder Abuse Keep Valuables and Important Papers in a Safe Place Never Give Out Your Social Security Number Whenever a stranger is in an elderly person’s home, the senior’s identity, valuables, credit cards, bank accounts and important papers are all at risk. Unscrupulous caregivers strike […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA Probes Compliance With Elder Abuse Rules The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has announced it will soon start investigating broker compliance with new rules meant to protect elderly clients from financial elder abuse.[1]  The rules allow broker-dealers to place a hold on elderly clients’ account disbursements if they have […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER California Care Home Owner Convicted of Death of Elderly Dementia Patient A California care home owner will spend time in jail for the death of a 65-year-old dementia patient struck and killed by a car when he wandered out of the care home where he lived.[1] During investigation […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Court-Appointed Fiduciaries Wield Great Power Potential for Abuse of Power Court-appointed conservators and other fiduciaries (such as guardians or trustees) wield enormous power over the dependent individuals and properties they are appointed to manage and protect. Court appointments supersede earlier Powers of Attorney, trustee nominations and the like […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Annuity Salesmen Target Seniors Avoid the “Free Lunch” Commission-driven insurance agents target seniors and retirement savers with all kinds of complicated annuities especially in volatile markets. There’s an inherent conflict in their sales pitch because what’s best for the agent isn’t necessarily what’s best for the consumer. One […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Internal Revenue Service Rewards Whistleblowers Whistleblower Award Base Increases Foreign Bank Account Reporting Requirements Tax season is here, the government has re-opened, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is back to business. IRS business includes catching tax fraud and whistleblowers play a major role in enforcement and receive […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Preventing Financial Exploitation of Seniors Tips on What to Watch For Some $2.9 billion is taken from older Americans every year, with victims numbering in the millions. Older persons with Alzheimer’s or other cognitive impairment are especially at risk.  The Marin County and California financial elder abuse attorneys […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER What are Riders? Riders are attachments to deferred annuities sold by agents as enhanced benefits. They come with an additional fee added to your base premium. Available riders include income riders, long-term care riders, death benefit riders and other policy “enhancements.”  All of these add-ons are expensive and […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Creating and Amending Trusts Many Californians, especially seniors, create trusts to hold their assets in part to avoid a lengthy probate process following death. The trusts may be fully revocable by the individual creating the trust (known as the “settlor”) or irrevocable during the settlor’s lifetime.  If revocable, […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Annuity Scams Targeted At Seniors Annuity Fraud On average, a senior victimized by financial elder abuse loses over $140,000. That level of monetary loss is devastating.  Unscrupulous insurance agents are among the financial predators on seniors, selling them unsuitable annuities and life insurance that line agents’ pockets with […]