Financial Elder Abuse

Financial exploitation and abuse of seniors is on the rise; 1 in 20 seniors report some form of financial exploitation or abuse such as monetary gifts to caregivers or friends, changing and/or amending trusts and/or wills to provide bequests to caregivers or friends through undue influence.

Seniors are vulnerable to these breaches of trust and fiduciary accountability for many reasons. They may not be capable of fully understanding their financial situation making them susceptible to undue influence and therefore easy to take assets from them. They may have misplaced trust in a person who has inserted themselves into the situation solely for the purpose of financial gain. They may be physically and/or emotionally dependent on others for their care.  Family members are often unaware of the exploitation or abuse because the perpetrator will go to great lengths to hide their manipulative, deceptive activity and isolate the family member from their family. This could include offering to help with doctor’s appointments, running errands, overseeing the elder’s finances, taking the elder to the bank, writing checks, and other seemingly innocuous activities that can, at first, be helpful to family members, but are ultimately disastrous to both victim and family.

Unfortunately, financial elder abuse may be committed by trusted family members and friends as well as strangers looking to take advantage of the person’s vulnerability. Robert Caietti is a sought-after voice in the fight against this kind of exploitative crime. He has worked with estate planning lawyers, family members, and even the victims to regain control of their finances, their property and ultimately their independence. If your situation also involves Attorney Malpractice or a Contested Probate matter, please know that Caietti Law Group is well situated to assist those types of cases. Mr. Caietti has worked with high net worth individuals in proving malfeasance and malpractice (where it exists) in order to restore assets to the estate and to ensure the bad actor does not benefit from their activities. 

Contact our office

For help with these and other legal issues, contact Caietti Law Group, APC, at 858.623.5644 to schedule an initial consultation or contact us online.

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Financial Elder Abuse - Marrying into Elder Abuse (May. 13, 2020)