Coercive Caregiver Tactics for Financial Gain

In a perfect world, everyone involved in an elderly relative or friend’s life would respect their wishes and understand that their estate planning documents are how they want their assets distributed. Unfortunately, this is not always the reality. It is not unheard of for someone in the elder’s life to attempt to take advantage of the person, especially if their memory is compromised. The elderly relative may begin to believe they made the wrong decisions in their will and want to change it to benefit the manipulator. This is a form of coercion, and it amounts to elder abuse. When it is discovered, you must contact an elder law attorney immediately for help.

Memory Problems Are Not the Only Concern

Many elders do not lack the capacity to understand their affairs. However, due to frailty, medical conditions or other aging processes, they may need partial or full-time caregivers. Frequently these caregivers are family members, and many members may share the tasks of keeping the loved one’s affairs in order. But often it is a single person who is a caregiver, and they may have a significant amount of influence over the elderly person’s daily activities, conversations and actions.

Over time, this caregiver can become one of the most trusted people in the elder’s life. With such influence and daily conversation, they may sow doubt in your loved one’s mind as to whether or not their original estate plans made the best use of their assets after death. The proposed changes your loved one may act upon could provide the caregiver with substantial financial gain at the expense of those originally named in the will.

Stopping Changes and Contesting a Will

It is important to remember that the majority of caregivers do not attempt such coercion and manipulation, but it is something you must be aware of and watch out for. If you are made aware of any sudden changes to estate documents, you should seek legal advice as quickly as possible.

Contesting a will is a difficult and complicated endeavor. You will require a strong legal representative with the experience to guide you through the process of protecting your loved one and contesting a will.

If you have any concerns about the treatment of your elderly relative, contact the office of Turner Law today.

Posted on the behalf of Turner Law, LLC