ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Financial Exploitation of Seniors
Financial Elder Abuse from Caregivers, Insurance Agents, Advisors and More
Financial exploitation of aging adults, particularly those with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia, is a rampant form of elder abuse on seniors. These crimes are so widespread today that elder financial abuse is sometimes called “the crime of the twenty-first century.” According to published reports, one in nine seniors has reported being abused, neglected or exploited within the last year, and one in twenty seniors has indicated some form of financial mistreatment. Since financial elder abuse often goes unreported, the real numbers are likely much worse.
The San Francisco and California financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent victims of financial elder abuse whether at the hands of a caregiver, trustee, conservator, financial advisor, or an insurance agent or broker selling inappropriate annuities, life insurance, making unauthorized trades, misrepresenting an investment opportunity, or perpetrating any other type of securities fraud here in California. If you or a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse in San Francisco or elsewhere in California, call our elder abuse and securities fraud lawyers today at (415)441-8669. If you’ve been wronged, we will pursue all remedies available to seniors in California including restitution (getting your money back), rescission (undoing an invalid contract), extra damages, and recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in bringing a financial elder abuse action.
Preventing Financial Elder Abuse
If you have a senior loved one, stay involved in his or her life and visit regularly, reviewing bank accounts, checkbooks, statements, and important papers. Accompany them on trips to the bank or any business meeting. Do a background check on anyone you hire to assist your loved one. If your loved one has an in-home caregiver or other new acquaintance who seems overly interested in the elderly person’s life, be on guard. Look for signs of financial exploitation:
- Unexpected changes in account balances or banking practices
- New bank accounts
- Allowing a new friend or trusted acquaintance to make decisions on the elderly person’s behalf
- Unauthorized or unexplained withdrawals
- Disappearance of cash or valuable possessions
- Unanticipated transfers of assets to others
- Unpaid bills
- Sudden changes to a will, trust, or other important financial documents
- Someone screening the elder’s phone calls or going through their mail
Contact Us
If you or someone you love is the victim of financial elder abuse by a caregiver, trustee, broker or advisor, call Ingrid M. Evans and the other San Francisco and California financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with securities, annuity, and other investment fraud, financial elder abuse cases and complex qui tam or whistleblower cases including offshore tax avoidance cases, complex financial contract cases and cases against large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
