I asked an elderlaw attorney I know about how often family members are the offenders versus strangers or scammers. In her experience…90% of financial elder abusers are family members who think they are entitled to money now instead of waiting for a possible inheritance in the future.

Families should agree and the elders should include in their trusts and powers of attorney clauses about how financial information will be shared and documented in the event they become incapacitated.

Often when I read about Elder Abuse the writers only point out the “monsters”, the extreme cases that make for compelling stories. More often the perpetrators are less extreme. An example I often think of is the Granddaughter who got into the habit of taking Grandmom to the bank to withdraw money for her teen addictions – fortunately in that case Mom was monitoring Grandmom’s bank account and put a stop to it!

With regards to APS, they have not been able to help. They could not force my mom to see a doctor. The laws really protect elders essentially FROM HELP. I have had them involved since Feb as well as detectives at the PD. It has been a CRAZY situation.

It is really tough when they state that there is an issue and there is nothing that they can do about it. I often question their ability to actually do something in this situation.

Thanks,
Dwight

Thank you so much for responding. It is a brutal situation. Unfortunately, nobody can determine if any laws were broken. In essence, none have which is the tough part even though we KNOW she is sick.

We have thought about the publicity route. I believe it would have it’s advantages and disadvantages. However, we are still considering it. It would be HUGE news I believe. I like your idea of appealing to the state senator or House. I will definitely take that into consideration.

I did contact the FBI a few weeks back. They finally did return my call yesterday. They admit that something is terribly wrong and that they would look into it. I cannot say too much about this. However, it appears that some effort will be taken here on their behalf. I will have to wait and see. In the meantime, I will consider the political options.

Sincerely,

Dwight

You’ve engaged legal advice which is the most important step here.

You might consider where you want to seek some publicity for your mother’s situation to help force the issue with officials here and in the Philippines. Have you appealed to state’s senator or House members for assistance?

We were in the first steps towards legally attempting to obtain a conservatorship. However, we could not work fast enough.

So my mom is there and there is NOTHING that I can do about it. Do not rely on law enforcement to help. That has been a total waste of time.

I have contacted the FBI and everyone else that I can think of. None of us can prove that it was against her will.

Dwight