ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregivers and Financial Elder Abuse
Keep Valuables and Important Papers in a Safe Place
Whenever a stranger is in an elderly person’s home or nursing home room, the senior’s valuables are at risk of theft. Unscrupulous caregivers strike quickly and it may be some time before the senior or family members realize things are missing. Cash, jewelry, and important papers can disappear in an instant. The Marin County and California elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. know how devastating financial elder abuse and theft from seniors can be and represent seniors and their loved ones victimized by caregiver theft and abuse. If you or someone you know is a victim of financial elder abuse in Marin or elsewhere in California, call us today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
In one recent case[1], a caregiver allegedly stole more than $240,000 worth of jewelry from an elderly man living in a retirement community. Police broke the case when three pieces of the elderly man’s jewelry, including his wedding ring, were pawned by the caregiver. The days the caregiver pawned the jewelry matched days she was in the elderly man’s room. As one official connected to the case said, “anytime you’re bringing help into your home, you need to secure valuables, have them locked away, have a safe,” adding that the same should be done for important documents.
Protecting Your Senior Loved One From Abuse and Fraud
Protection of a senior can never be absolute but there are steps that will significantly reduce the chances of financial elder abuse. Keep valuables and important papers like a Will or Power of Attorney in a secure place, off limits to caregivers and other strangers. Make an inventory of property in the home. Always run a background check and contact references for any in-home caregiver before hiring them. Visit regularly, often unannounced, and review statements, records and the mail. Report suspicions to the police and Adult Protective Services immediately and call qualified elder abuse counsel. While official reporting is important, you should pursue all civil remedies available to senior victims under California elder abuse law. Our lawyers handle elder abuse cases of all varieties and know the remedies, extra damages, and awards of attorneys’ fees and costs to which you or your victimized loved one is entitled. We fight for seniors every day.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one been the victim of elder abuse in Marin or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other Evans Law Firm elder abuse attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. We can help guide your case through investigation, discovery, through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
