Seniors in Los Angeles, like anywhere else, get old and lose their ability to distinguish between things. So they are unable to detect trustworthy and bad friends who may threaten them with financial elder abuse. And they even lose the natural human tendency to distrust strangers, becoming more gullible and aloof over time. Below, our Los Angeles elder and nursing abuse lawyers will discuss things victims must know about financial elder abuse cases, including mental suffering and associated physical harm. We can also help victims and their families understand the criminal consequences under California law when there are allegations of financial exploitation or unjustifiable physical pain inflicted on elderly parents, for example.

Elders in Los Angeles often rely on others, including lawyers and financial advisors, for their care and well-being. Sometimes a trustee, a lawyer, or a friend will help the elderly person with financial responsibilities or some other legal process. And this will place the nursing home resident in a vulnerable position if they lose their ability to discern good people from fraudsters. Gullibility is one of the major risk factors faced by dependent adults.

Elders are dependent and trusting and can easily be and are taken advantage of by people they entrust their decisions, with the person overseeing financial help going rogue with all the money in the worst cases. Nursing homes may fail to report your elderly loved one as a fall victim, for example, to avoid scrutiny by the police or health law regulators. So it’s not just financial elder abuse legal situation that families face with a dependent adult in Southern California.

These advisors and friends refused to treat the elder respectfully and carefully. Instead, they ripped the seniors off, subjecting them to financial elder abuse and bankruptcy. And the financial abuser can be a family member, caregiver, or nursing home staff member. This article discusses some of the scenarios leading to defrauding elders and kin. A Los Angeles elderly abuse attorney writes it. Let’s call it elder financial abuse prevention 101.

What Are the Warning Signs of Elder Financial Abuse in Los Angeles, CA?

Although financial abuse is not immediately apparent, it can take a long time to recover from its effects of it. Property like private homes and smaller items like Rolex watches can be stolen. Forging checks with the elder individual’s signature is also a common scam. This is why it’s important for family members to be aware of the warning signs of financial abuse.

Some of these signs can be helpful in identifying potential abuse victims in Los Angeles, for example. However, they don’t necessarily mean that financial abuse is occurring. Instead, it can be an innocent reason for an unexpected financial transaction. But you will need evidence to prove what happened, and many clients don’t have money to cover a lawyer.

Protecting Victims by Hiring a Financial Elder Abuse Attorney

In California, there are numerous laws that regulate the abuse of the elderly. These include the Welfare and Institution Code and the Penal Code. Generally, states prohibit neglect and financial and psychological abuse of seniors.

Where Do I Report Financial Elder Abuse?

Numerous government entities and private organizations claim to have the right to investigate and prosecute financial elder abuse. It can be hard to tell which sector is which when reporting such crimes. In California, citizens can file a report with a local agency.

Federal Financial Elder Abuse Laws

The Elder Justice Act was part of the PPACA passed on April 23, 2010. It was the first federal legislation to address the issue of elder abuse and neglect. In 1965, Congress enacted the American Age-related Statute to address the issue of inadequate social services for older individuals. In 2017, the act was updated to include new provisions that protect vulnerable adults, including financial elder abuse and physical abuse. Reporting financial elder abuse is also covered under the purview of mandatory reporters. Financial elder abuse attorneys must understand federal and state laws covering these matters.

What are Some of the Many Forms of Deception and Theft Used to Steal From Seniors?

Financial elder abuse can take several forms, including:

• Deception:

A lawyer, old or even new “friend,” or family member can do this easily.

• The financial elder abuse can be a family member or even a shifty lawyer convincing the parent or relative to place their assets into their name.
• But when the elder dies, siblings or family members have no property rights, leaving the abusive family member, corrupt attorney, or other scofflaw owning all decedents’ properties and other financial assets, including their bank accounts.

Also, the abuser will often be a mere caregiver, not a family member, but this person financially gains by convincing the elder to sign over their property to them.

• Fraud:

Another type of elderly financial fraud elders suffers is labeled as outright theft by courts. Thieves will persuade victims to take money from their wallets or purse or dupe elders into buying useless items or memberships they will never use.

Perpetrators will often do these things without seeking the older person’s consent.

• Sometimes victims feel defenseless, so they will agree to let this perpetrator take their cash or charge items to their credit cards.

• Phone Scams or Even Medical Fraud:

Financial elder abuse can be in the form of:

• Telephone marketing or identity fraud.
• But it can also include medical fraud.

When someone steals funds from a trusting older adult, they use tactics pressuring the older person, making them feel obligated to give out their financial information.

Spotting Financial Elder Abuse Is Very Difficult:

The elderly victim frequently will not accuse their financial abuser, so it will fall on families to expose it by hiring a financial abuse attorney to stop the abuser and make them pay back what they stole in court. And when a family believes a caretaker took advantage of their loved one, they must receive professional legal help by contacting a nearby financial elder abuse attorney. Your lawyer should be a State Bar licensed counselor available 24 hours per day to discuss the legal options available for you and your kin.

And he or she can advise the steps to take to recover the property too. Even if a friend trusted the wrong person, they deserve help. We hope you have enjoyed our discussion on identifying the financial exploration of elders. As you can see, this type of fraud can ruin relations with legal heirs and cause a disaster in end-of-life planning. So when your elderly family member or friend might be a victim of financial elder abuse, you should contact us for a free case analysis.

Our financial elder abuse attorney can discuss your situation. Suppose we do reach an accord and decide to defend your civil action. In that case, we will refuse to receive an attorney’s fee unless we secure a financial recovery of maximum compensation on your behalf. Your call today may help provide you with legal options to remedy your future situation. Our highly experienced, aggressive personal injury attorneys in LA are here to protect the graying and vulnerable victim’s rights.

Call Ehline Law Firm’s Los Angeles, California personal injury attorneys now at (213) 596-9642. Or you can learn if you have a case sooner by filling out our convenient online website contact form and answering a few initial case questions.