Seniors Strike Back With Class Action Targeting Living Trust Peddlers

In Miller County, Arkansas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:

• A number of Texarkana residents have filed suit against sellers of living trust documents in a class action accusing the salesmen of exploiting senior citizens. [...] The living trust sellers are facing allegations of "masquerading as qualified financial advisers, estate planners, lawyers, and paralegals" to "exploit and prey" upon senior citizens with the creation and selling of "unnecessary and often useless" living trusts. [...] Defendants are accused of fraud, unauthorized practice of law, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. The suit alleges that the defendants created and sold the living trusts as part of a scheme to gain access to senior citizens' financial information in order to sell annuities and other financial products.

• According to the original complaint, the scheme begins with advertisements that persuade senior citizens to attend a free lunch or dinner. At these meetings, the "unlicensed" living trust defendants conduct presentations and distribute materials that misrepresent the impact of probate fees and estate taxes in order to create fear that the senior citizens need to buy a trust to prevent heirs from losing their estate.

For more, see Seniors file class action against sellers of living trusts.

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