Florida Guardianship Litigation: Elderly Abuse is Booming

Is your family member stealing money from your mom who has Alzheimer’s disease? Are you worried that your elderly dad’s caretaker is taking advantage of him? Do your elderly grandparents suffer from dementia, making them incapable of keeping their money safe? Could a Palm Beach guardianship help to protect them?  taking advantage of your elderly parents? In Florida, are there laws to protect elderly people from financial exploitation? How can a guardianship lawyer help me? What do I do if I suspect that my elderly neighbors or loved ones are being financially exploited ? What is financial exploitation and how does it relate to Florida law? Any guardianship or trust lawyer will tell you that financial abuse of the elderly in Palm Beach, and throughout the United States, is a serious, and growing, concern.

Abuse of the Elderly, Financial Exploitation, and Florida Litigators

• If you are concerned that a relative or friend is being financially exploited, you should know that there are criminal laws in Florida that punish a person for financially exploiting the elderly.
• Financial exploitation is frowned upon to a great degree.
• In fact, the State Attorney’s Office and law enforcement have special economic crime units that can help discover and combat these crimes.
• But the problem for some Florida lawyers is that, sometimes, a family member is the financial predator.
• There are also civil laws in Florida that punish a person for financial exploitation.
• Florida Statute §415.1111 says that a “vulnerable adult who has been abused, neglected, or exploited as specified in this chapter has a cause of action against any perpetrator and may recover actual and punitive damages for such abuse, neglect, or exploitation.”
• Under this statute, who can bring this civil action?
• What if the “vulnerable adult” has a Florida court-appointed guardian?
• According to the statute, what exactly can a person recover?
• To read the entire statute, click here.

5 Million Cases of Elderly Abuse

• On June 17,2016, an article reveals that five million cases of elderly abuse are documented each year.
• What does this mean for guardianship litigators?
• How can we protect the elderly?
• To read the entire article, click here.