As Financial Elder Abuse Goes, This Story Could be a Movie
November 12, 2008.
By Gordon Gibb
Cloverdale, CA: A remarkable financial elder abuse case in California has ended with a settlement before the case had the chance to go to trial, with no admission of wrongdoing on the parts of the various defendants in the case. Defendants in the financial abuse case all said that it would have been too expensive to take the case to trial, and all allegedly lacked the resources to do so. Regardless of the true facts in the case, it appears as if financial elder abuse law won the day—even if the facts and allegations remain somewhat confusing.But honestly, this one could be a movie.The case centers around a 98-year-old Cloverdale woman and her mentally disabled daughter, both of whom lived alone in a fine home located in a tony district of California.
The woman's sole heir, a doorman who worked at a high-end hotel in Seattle, allegedly wasn't around much, if at all. Thus, the two women were embraced by a kindly couple that lived next door. Michael McManus is a retired Sonoma County sheriff's deputy, who lived adjacent to the two women with his wife, Charlotte. They served as caretakers to Jeannette China and her daughter Mona, aged 67.
There is little doubt that the McManus' next door did a great deal for Jeannette and Mona over the course of many years—decades, in fact. It was alleged as Shafer's lawsuit went forward that Shafer was rarely present in the women's lives, and there was apparently no other family available. Thus, the couple next door served as ongoing caretakers to the women.
Abridged
SOURCE: Lawyer and Settlement
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All seniors must be made aware of cases like the above, or that of the Betty Dyke case in Melbourne, Austrlia.
Perhaps attorneys should be more skillful in their advice to clients, regarding possible charges of 'financial elder abuse'. All forseeable legal loopholes MUST be closed.
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