ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Though long overdue, the field of Elder Justice just got a new playbook. Prepared from a survey of hundreds of stakeholders, funded by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, and compiled by top experts in the field, the Elder Justice Roadmap lays out the path for improving the lives of the elderly in California and elsewhere. Five primary priorities stand out: increasing public awareness, new research on cognitive function, improving training and support for caregivers, investigating the economics that drive elder abuse, and bringing more resources in fixing this problem.
While acknowledging that much work has already been done on this issue, the Roadmap’s goal is to provide a basis for coordination between people focused on the different facets of Elder abuse. Legal action, medical development, caregiving, retirement planning, and much else, all constitute a small piece of a large puzzle. That puzzle can be a tricky one to grasp, especially for those at the center of it: senior citizens. It can be next to impossible to advocate for oneself when beset by the wide-ranging troubles that can confront elders, and the goal of the Roadmap is to streamline the process and help those who aren’t currently able to help themselves.
Elder abuse affects millions of people in the United States, and can include both physical and financial abuse. It can be carried out by close relatives, “financial planners,” hired caretakers, and others who see opportunity in those in need of help. Elder abuse occurs at home, in nursing care, and hits particularly hard among elders who are poor and isolated. It can upset the stability of families and often leads to spiraling debt, worsening illness, and premature death.
The Roadmap helps reinforce the way forward that is already being followed by Evans Law Firm and many others. Change needs to happen, and by joining with colleagues in the medical and financial fields, we can solve the problem of elder abuse once and for all. If you suspect elder abuse is occurring near you, call the Evans Law Firm. The Evans Law Firm handles elder abuse (physical and financial), annuity and long term care fraud cases committed against senior citizens, elder law and estate planning (including living trust and will packages, powers of attorney, probate matters, Medi-Cal planning, estate administration, trust administration, will and trust contests, specialized trusts including special needs trusts, and conservatorships), consumer fraud class actions involving insurance and banking fraud claims, as well as Qui Tam (whistleblower/false claims), IRS tax fraud lawsuits, securities fraud whistleblower reward lawsuits and FINRA arbitrations, retaliation and employment litigation.
