Documentary on Financial Elder Abuse Starring Mickey Rooney

A new documentary entitled Last Will and Embezzlement that is slated for release tackles senior financial exploitation.  The film will touch on all aspects of the problem with the ultimate goal of raising awareness of the problem to ultimately lower the incidence of mistreatment.

The centerpiece of the film is an extended interview with perhaps the most well-known advocate against elder financial abuse: Mickey Rooney.  The 91-year old film star testified before Congress last year while detailing abuse that he suffered at the hands of a family member.  His purpose in appearing in the film is to dispel the myth that this sort of exploitation occurs only to those who live alone or have few close friends and family members.  In fact the documentary tagline is: "If it can happen to Mickey Rooney, it can happen to anybody."

The filmmaker was motivated to take on the project after watching her father fall victim to abuse. She explains how her father was in a nursing home, when mysteriously, a stranger entered the facility and claimed to be his son. The senior had just lost his wife and was suffering from severe Alzheimer's at the time. The filmmaker states that her father "would have signed the Magna Carta" if it was placed in front of him at that point in his life.

The scammer used his lie about being a relative to acquire sensitive financial information and exploit the ailing senior. The man also acquired a Power of Attorney over the senior, making it incredibly difficult for the family to unravel the problem down the road. It ultimately took two years before the woman finally learned of the depth of the exploitation.  Her advice: "Set it up so you don't become a victim...know the laws against elder abuse."

Since the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Car Act, The Elder Justice Act contained in it can be implemented.  It aims to combat financial, physical, and mental crimes and abuse committed against the elderly.  Some help may also be coming in the form of federal legislation. New York Senator Chuck Schumer, for example, is fighting for stepped up federal laws requiring more mandatory reporting of suspicions of elder mistreatment. While these new rules may help, by no means do they offer clear avenues to eliminate all mistreatment.

Planning and oversight by the family are crucial preventative steps. Obviously having elder law attorneys and other advocates in the mix is one way to ensure abusers aren't able to obtain legal documents and wreak havoc on the life of a vulnerable senior who may not fully understand the situation.  Overall, it's best to have comprehensive oversight and proper preparation before disability or cognitive vulnerability sets in.

Family Feuds Over Inheritance While Parents Are Alive

Family inheritance disputes are extremely common.  In most of the cases that make headlines, a famous individual passes away without conducting thorough estate planning and various family members publicly feud to get their fair share of the individual's wealth.  Family disagreements regarding an inheritance are quite common, particularly when no planning is done and the matters must be left up to the court-centered probate process.  Sometimes, though, feuding occurs even before the family matriarch or patriarch passes away.  For example, a recent Sacramento Bee letter explored a situation where two siblings seemingly isolated an aging mother from other siblings. Claims of undue influence and abuse were made. The three ostracized siblings were left wondering what options were available to ensure they received their share of the inheritance.

The case: The 80-year-old mother drafted a will specifying that she wanted all of her assets split evenly between her children.  However, after the will was created, two siblings convinced the mother to take out loans totaling more than $100,000 for their children's college education and to purchase a house.  One daughter obtained power of attorney over the mother and moved into the mother's home.

The three remaining siblings became concerned about the situation, questioning whether their mother was being taken advantage of, and reported their suspicions to local authorities.  The mother is now on Social Security and has no assets other than her home, which may even have been used as collateral on the loans. The siblings are left wondering if they will have any inheritance at all.

This situation presents a wide range of legal issues, and the case is a reminder of the dangers of relying only on a will.  Legally, the resolution of these issues will depend on a range of factors, including whether the siblings signed promissory notes on the loans and whether any changes to the will were made in the time that the daughter has lived with the mother.  No matter how it ends, it is likely to be a contentious, drawn-out process.

The lesson: Parents can ensure that their children never deal with this situation by locking down inheritance affairs early on with more comprehensive legal tools, like trusts. Children are well-served by encouraging their parents to deal with these issues as soon as possible since planning will not only settle inheritance issues, but also save on taxes and provide for potential disability.

Family Input Can Help Detect Dementia Earlier

Recently, USA Today reminded readers of the role that family members play in catching the onset of cognitive mental diseases in seniors, such as dementia and Alzheimer's.  These issues are of particular importance in the legal context because mental issues can affect one's legal capacity.  The ability to conduct estate planning, receive Medicaid, or otherwise make prudent decisions for the future will be made more difficult if begun after dementia or Alzheimer's has set in. By the very nature of the condition, the one who is suffering from these issues has difficultly identifying the problem themselves.  That is why a family plays a crucial role in identifying the cognition problem and addressing it.  As the article notes, "dementia can sneak up on families. Its sufferers are pretty adept at covering lapses early on."  Often it is not until there is some major accident or life-threatening complication that adult children, spouses, and others become fully aware of the problem. To combat the challenges of early detection, experts urge family members to be more involved.  As part of the first "National Alzheimer's Plan," advocates are trying to raise awareness about the need for relatives to be diligent about a senior's actions to ensure mental cognition issues are caught as soon as possible.  One advocate noted, "family input should be mandatory...it's the only way to know if the person really is eating enough and taking her medicines as she claims, and not forgetting to turn off the stove."  In addition, there is a growing call for primary-care doctors to take a more active role in detecting dementia early.  For example, in a regular visit the doctor might ask "How are you doing?"  Usually the senior patient replies, "Fine," and then the matter is dropped.  This minimal discussion of basic life circumstances is too brief for the physician to have any way to ensure that the senior's mental condition has not reached a dangerous level. On top of that, as part of the early detection programs, government officials working on dementia and Alzheimer's issues are trying to get families to conduct advanced planning.  Having a Power of Attorney and Health Care Proxy are crucial as soon as dementia is diagnosed.  No one is fully prepared for the challenges that aging can bring--particularly conditions that attack the mind. No amount of financial preparation or long-term care plans can make the process easy.   However, the overall stress of the situation is less taxing when steps have been taken ahead of time to ensure that sticky matters like estate preparation and proper long-term care planning are decided ahead of time.