A regular column discussing elder fraud, elder law and estate planning. By Leonard Baer, Esq., an elder law and estate attorney specializing in elder fraud prevention and abuse.
I had a strange request, recently. One of my clients asked if I would go with her when she was going to the doctor. I asked her why she would want me to go along. She explained that when she goes, she becomes tongue tied and can’t seem to focus. She leaves the doctor’s office not knowing what was said and her questions go unanswered. So, she …
Power Of Attorney: A Warning Before You Sign
A warning about signing a Power of Attorney document. How many times are we asked to sign things, and then just go ahead and sign? We go to restaurants and sign credit card receipts, but do we really review the bill? Do we read the fine print in a sales contract? We sign things all day, and most of the time we are thinking about something …
Scams. Don’t Be A Sucker!
I didn’t intend to write another post on fraud, but something “got my goat.” I must receive at least six e-mail scams a day about my winnings in the lottery. I read them and laugh at the spelling errors, the ridiculous pictures placed across the page, and the message coming from someone by the name, ‘Dr. Kinglsley Moghalu.’ I think the best …
More Laws For Elder Fraud? No, I Don’t Think So!
A client posed this thought-provoking question: "Do I think the laws are strong enough to control elder fraud? Do we need more laws?" My typical reply would be, of course! We need much stronger laws and legislation to stop this epidemic. As I thought more about this, though, I changed my mind. We have strong legislation on the books. There …