ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Financial Elder Abuse Can Strike Any Senior
Isolated Seniors Are Most At Risk
What To Watch Out For
Statistics show that all seniors are vulnerable to financial exploitation but isolated seniors are at particular risk of. These risks are intensified as we shelter in place. Caregivers, spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends, insurance agents, financial advisors, trustees, conservators, persons acting pursuant to Powers of Attorney and complete strangers can all be financial predators of isolated seniors. Below, we suggest some important steps you can take to safeguard your loved ones even during shelter in place. If you discover your senior loved one is a victim of financial elder abuse, call the California and Marin financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. (415)441-8669, and we can help.
Our litigators will pursue all persons responsible for your economic injury and those who may employ or supervise them and sue for all the relief available to injured seniors under California law including rescission (undoing an unsuitable contract), restitution (getting your money back), damages and extra or punitive damages, and awards of attorneys’ fees and costs for bringing your action. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.5.
Indicators of Financial Elder Abuse
During shelter in place, check in with senior loved ones by phone frequently and speak to them alone to find out how they are doing. Always review bank and credit card statements and other important papers through the mail. Look for telltale indicators of financial exploitation:
• Inappropriate banking activity such as unusually large checks or ATM withdrawals
• Signatures on checks that do not resemble the elder’s signature
• Legal documents signed when the elder is physically incapable of writing
• Checks written out to “cash”
• Checks signed by the senior but filled out by someone else
• A surge of activity in accounts which have been static for years
• Expensive gifts
• Checks or credit card transactions made out to direct mail or telemarketing promotions
• Contributions going to newly formed religious or non-profit causes
Also be mindful of these safeguards: Never ever give a Power of Attorney to a caregiver. Keep valuables and bank information and checkbooks in a secure place. Respond quickly if you suspect any financial elder abuse. Notify the authorities and seek qualified financial elder abuse lawyers, such as the elder abuse lawyers at Evans Law Firm.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse by a caregiver, insurance agent, stock broker, investment advisor, financial planner, promoter or other person here in Marin County or elsewhere in California contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other California financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys also have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through filing a complaint, investigation and discovery through trial or an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
