Jury Finds POA Guilty of Attempted Theft of 88 Year Old’s Property: Dallas appeal of financial exploitation & elder abuse

When is a second power of attorney invalid and an act of over-reaching or even financial exploitation? This is a question which family members in Florida often ask when there are facts which suggest financial exploitation or elder financial abuse Palm Beach County.   What if a neighbor or non family member has your mom or dad sign a power of attorney in Florida? What if an aunt or uncle is recovering in a rehab facility Delray Beach and then someone has them sign a second power of attorney?  Is that proper?  If someone in Florida uses or mis-uses the Florida POA, they can be charged with crimes, and there are also civil remedies, as well, which family members may be able to file.  If a person has a guardian Florida or a trustee of a revocable trust, the guardian or trustee may have legal standing to try to get back any money which was improperly taken or stolen if someone mis-used or abused the power of attorney.  In Florida, for example, a trustee of a Florida living trust or a guardian Boynton Beach can sue someone who took money for civil theft or conversion.  A recent, July 31, 2015, case out of Texas looks at an appeal involving a power of attorney and an 88 year old woman. Oh yes, someone had this 88 year old woman sign a new will in the hospital after a massive stroke.  See, Palm Beach County, sadly, does not have a monopoly on financial abuse and crimes against the elderly.

Should Family Members Be Scared If A Stranger Takes Over?

1. A jury found a friend of an 88 year old woman GUILTY of attempted theft of property valued at more than $200,000
2. 10 years in prison was the punishment
3. This elder abuse or financial exploitaiton case was affirmed on appeal
4. If you want to read about what can happen to your aunt or mother or father if they get sick or ill or are hospitalized, consider reading the case of McCay v. The State of Texas, No. 05-12-01199 CR.
5. The Westlaw cite is 2015WL 4600241. A S.W. 3d citation is not available yet

88 Year Old Woman Lived Alone

1. Isolation.  The woman, Mary Ellen Bendtsen, lived alone
2. She was a widow and had a daughter and also a sister and nephew
3. New friends, frequent visits? Mr. McCay was an antiques dealer and over a period of 10 years or so became a frequent companion of Ms. Bendtsen
4. Susceptible to exploitation:  January 12, 2005: she fell and hit her head and wasadmitted to a hospital

The Two Powers of Attorney: one from family and one from the thief

1. 2 days later, she signed a power of attorney allowing her daughter to make medical decisions for her
2. She was treated for a head injury
3. Access: The thief was a frequent visitor to see her
4. January18, 2005:  while her daughter power of attorney and her nephew were visiting rehabilitation facilities….
5. Access….. the thief got his friend, an attorney, to write a new power of attorney
6. She signed in while in the hospital
7. The thief was named as POA
8. The thief later prevented her family from visiting her in the hospital
9. When she was admitted to a skilled nursing facility, the thief with the second POA instructed the staff not to allow the daughter to visit her

Daughter Files Guardianship Action

1. There was a guardianship action filed by the daughter
2. A temporary guardianship was requested
3. A permanent guardianship was requested
4. She, the 88 year old mom, suffered a massive stroke

They Get Her to Sign a New Will After Stroke & In Hospital

1. February 22: the thief and another stood at the foot of her bed in the hospital
2. And someone read to her the will that had been written, and helped her make a mark on the will to sign it
3. The thief’s friends were named the executor and were the witnesses

For more about this criminal case involving theft of property of an 88 year old person, you can google it or go to Westlaw.