Be on the Lookout: Con Artists Stealing Guardianship of Senior Parents
By Matthew Paulson, (first published September, 26 2007)
Senior adults have been targeted as easy victims in a number of different scams for the last two decades now, and it's only getting worse. Instead of just stealing money from them or ripping them off, con artists are now actually stealing guardianship of many senior adults. Some criminals have figured out that they can assume guardianship of elderly individuals just by telling a judge they are no longer mentally stable.
When approaching a judge, these crooks don't have to do anything to prove that they are related to the individual they are trying to assume guardianship of. Courts are so busy and over-packed with cases that they just don't have the time or resources to make sure that the person making the claim is on the up and up. There's no easy way to find out when this occurs, so family members often have no idea that someone is stealing guardianship of their parents and simply have no recourse in the event that it happens. Usually the ruling happens quickly and the victims have no idea when it happens.
If you have any aging parents, you have to look out for them and make sure they are not victimized. It's extremely easily to steal the money from your ageing parents and almost impossible to get it back after it's stolen. If you have senior parents, there are several legal things you can do to protect your senior parents. You can get a durable power of attorney for health care which will enable you to make decisions for your senior parents if they cannot speak of make competent decisions upon their own behalf. If you already have a durable power of attorney for health care, their guardianship can't be taken away because you already have it, and in the event that they are no longer competent, you are the one that will be able to make their health care decisions.
You can also get a regular durable power of attorney, which requires the assistant of an attorney and is a bit more difficult to get. A durable power of attorney enables you to take care of your senior parent's finances, which would make it impossible for these types of criminals to steal your parents assets by claiming guardianship over them.
This scam was very prevalent in California and finally came to light after a series of stories by the Los Angeles Times, unfortunately it's still occurring all over the country. The only real way to protect the seniors in your life is a durable power of attorney, and having one in place is definitely a good idea if your parents are slowing down a bit and need a little bit of help here and there taking care of things.
SOURCE: Associated Content
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Unfortunately, this kind of elder abuse is now frequently reported. It is NOT even listed in any of the Elder Abuse Prevention Agencies as a type of elder abuse. There are more and more stories put out by bewildered and suffering family members who are experiencing or had experienced the outrages extent of Guardianship Abuse.
The abuser can be another family member, who wants control of the parent assets. He/she may work to Isolate the other sibling, by disallowing visits to the parent.
Worst still, if the courts are involved, the parent, in many instances would be made a "ward" of the state. A guardian will be appointed by the court. This event will then turn into a greater nightmare of a "legal circus". The only winners are the attorneys and some unethical guardians. The parent (by this time, the "ward" and victim), will have his/her assets depleted by legal fees, guardian fees, etc. )
Just imagine if that is happening to you. Often innocent children of these unfortunate seniors, have to endure years of fighting these cases through the courts. These "nightmares" do not seem to end. Lives are distroyed and the frail and vulnerable "victims" often die sooner, through the stress of the "tug-of-wars" between the courts, guardians and their own children/family members.
In the coming weeks, I will attempt to post articles, information, cases, editorials on Guardianship Abuse.
More of such issues are covered In:
Truth Justice and the American Way ( Information and Case Studies )
Paradise Costs (Interactive site. A victim's daughter's story)
Elder Abuse Help.Org (Elder Abuse Resources, Clara Fernandez Case)
Stop Guardian Abuuse.Org
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