Recovering Money Lost to Financial Elder Abuse

Beverly Hills, CAIf you suspect you or someone you love has been a victim of financial elder abuse it may be a good idea to contact a lawyer to determine what can be done; usually the sooner you contact a lawyer the better. That's because in some cases of financial elder abuse, the abuser takes the victim's money and spends it, leaving nothing for recovery, so acting promptly might catch some of the money before it is gone.

This does not happen in every case, but it is also not unheard of and the sad truth is that once the money is spent, it is often gone for good, leaving the victim with no way of recovering losses. However, according to Philip Brown, founder and partner at Egerman & Brown, LLP, there are cases where elders, or their beneficiaries, can fight to get their money and property back.

Brown is currently working on a case involving an elderly couple who had no children together, although the husband had children from a previous marriage. The couple lived 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles and the only person who watched over them was the man's granddaughter, who drove to their home to make sure they were eating, taking their medicines and keeping clean. The granddaughter essentially took the burden of caring for the senior couple on herself.

One day, the granddaughter arrived at their home with a notary public and had the couple sign over power of attorney to her and deed her the house. She was given the right to go into their bank account and take money out—of course, they believed the money would be used to take care them. The man eventually fell and broke his hip and a few months later, died. The wife moved in with one of her nieces, who began taking care of her. Meanwhile, the granddaughter refinanced the couple's house, took out $400,000 and used that money to buy herself a house. She also took between $45,000 and $50,000 from various bank accounts and spent the money on herself.

"If she had asked the couple for the money, the elderly couple might have said okay to this," Brown says. "But there is a presumption that she obtained the money through undue influence. The elderly couple may have agreed to it and then said, 'Wait a minute; this money is way more than what you are doing for us. We want our money to go to all of our relatives'."

Brown's law firm has filed a suit against the granddaughter. "We are now in the process of suing the granddaughter for the title of the house and the money she took. In this particular case, the elderly couple's house is still here, although given recent changes in the economy, it is worth less than it was. The other thing is that the granddaughter used that money to buy herself a house; we are tying up that place as well. That money is still in the house, so we are very interested in her house."
Because the money was used for property that the granddaughter owns, the elderly woman may be able to recover money that was taken from her. However, it is important to act quickly if you suspect financial elder abuse because the money could easily be spent on items that cannot be recovered.

Of course, every case of financial elder abuse is different. Each case is very fact-specific, involving subtleties that do not lend well to generalizations. That is why it is vital that, if you call a lawyer, you know what the facts of your specific case are.

"It doesn't hurt to call a lawyer, but you need to know what the facts are," Brown says. "Sometimes, moving quickly is the right thing to do and a lawyer can do that. But they need to know what the facts are and if this is an emerging situation that requires immediate attention."