Horror Stories Of Financial Abuse Of Elderly Often Revolve Around Abuse Of Powers Of Attorneys

In Central Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune writes:

• The "power of attorney" is supposed to provide a safety net to seniors, by allowing relatives or professionals to oversee finances or medical care. But because the authority is unregulated and not monitored by either courts or law enforcement, it has huge potential for abuse, experts say.

• In cases throughout Florida, so-called "attorneys-in-fact" have taken advantage of their power by illicitly siphoning off fortunes or exploiting those they are charged with aiding. Formal statistics are lacking, but experts believe millions of dollars are stolen from seniors every year.

• "Our experience is it's a significant problem with the way power of attorney can be abused," said Elizabeth Boyle, managing attorney for Gulfcoast Legal Services Inc., a non-profit legal aid group in southwest Florida.

For more, see Struggle over legal powers can add insult to infirmity.

For a a recent story illustrating the problem, see Mother sues sons for emptying her $800k account (A Jefferson County, Texas woman claims her sons used a power of attorney to get their hands on $800,000 from her retirement account without her permission and is asking a judge to stop them and return her money.).

Go here, here, here, here, and here for other posts on elder financial abuse. valedictorian