San Diego Financial Elder Abuse Attorney

Such characteristics or tendencies include:

• May look through obituaries or search neighborhoods to find elders who have recently lost a loved one
• May say that they love the elder to gain their confidence and manipulate them
• May isolate the elder from other family members
• May turn the elder against other family members by falsely telling the elder that other family members want to put the elder in a nursing home or take the elder’s money
• May move around from community to community or from job to job to remain undetected
• May use a position of trust to take advantage of the elder, such as selling the elder an improper insurance product or investment
• May use unfair business practices to trick the elder
• May charge much more than the reasonable value of a certain good or service

Types of Financial Elder Abuse

Financial elder abuse is a very serious societal problem. Some forms of financial elder abuse that Joel R. Bryant can successfully deal with include:

• Loss of real estate:​ ​Usually, the deed is put in the name of the abuser, or the abuser is added to the deed
• Loss of stocks/investments/bank accounts: ​By adding the abuser to the accounts, or as beneficiary of the accounts
• Intentionally bad investment advice from a financial professional: ​Persuading the elder to buy an improper annuity, high-risk stock, improper insurance product, or unsuitable investment so the insurance or financial professional can get a large commission
• Mortgage loan fraud: ​Convincing the elder to take out a home loan with overly high fees, interest, payments, or penalties. Similarly, convincing the elder to obtain an unnecessary or inappropriate reverse mortgage.
• Medical care/service fraud​: Charging exorbitant prices for medical care or services that an elder needs or charging for care they never received
• Scams: ​Many kinds of scams target the elderly, especially with the level of connectivity that comes with the Internet and smartphones. Such scams may include fake lotteries or sweepstakes, fake messages to bail a family member out of jail, fake charitable organizations, telemarketing scams, utility scams, and repairman scams.

Where Do You Report Financial Abuse of the Elderly?

If you know, or even suspect, an elderly person is suffering from financial abuse, report it to the Adult Protective Services (APS). The state APS is a social service program that serves older adults and/or adults with disabilities who need help. However, if there is an urgent risk of harm to an elderly person, you should call 911 as soon as possible. 

What Is a Conservatorship in California?

A conservatorship is a court case where a judge appoints a responsible person (“conservator”) to care for another adult (“conservatee”) who cannot care for themselves or manage their own finances. ​A conservator is someone who has obtained the right to take control of the conservatee’s finances and/or medical and personal care.

If your loved one shows signs of being unable to handle their finances or resist fraud or undue influence, then a conservator of the estate may be appointed. If the elder is unable to properly provide for their own needs for physical health, food, clothing , or shelter, then a conservator of the person may be obtained. Priority for being appointed conservator is first given to a spouse, then to siblings and children.

A trusted lawyer or family member can also keep an eye on the elder’s assets without fully taking control or assuming the position of conservator. Still, an elder who is competent enough to handle their money can be taken advantage of if they are lied to and tricked by a skilled perpetrator. In these cases, the trail leading to the perpetrator is difficult but not always impossible to notice.