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Fellow netters,
An article forwarded to me which I thought made good reading. Jessica
Dimitrov is my sister Tereza's youngest daughter (Tereza worked at the
Standard Bookshop, Acacia Avenue in Dar many years ago, and now lives in
Vancouver, Washington).
warm regards
Ciril de Quadros
Manora, Raia & Slough, England
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'no one is so poor that he cannot give, and no one is so rich that he
cannot receive'
Fr Tony Lopes
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TASK FORCE AIMS TO PROTECT VULNERABLE
Elderly often targets of greed (in this week's edition of The Reflector
newspaper, Vancouver, Washington)
Bill Myers, staff reporter
Members of a recently-formed task force in Clark County want to prevent
vulnerable adults from getting ripped off by greedy friends or
relatives.
Vancouver attorney Jessica Dimitrov, who helped form the Clark County
Vulnerable Adult Task Force, said Washington law RCW 74.34.005
specifically protects vulnerable adults from abuse, neglect, financial
exploitation or abandonment.
The law authorizes the state Department of Social & Health Services and
law enforcement agencies to investigate such complaints.
Formation of the task force, with a representative from the state
Attorney General's Office and members of state and local social welfare
and law enforcement agencies (including major crimes detectives), brings
focus on financial abuses, said Dimitrov.
Clark County prosecutor Art Curtis, a member of the task force, said
elder abuse is increasing with the aging of baby boomers. Cases of
financial abuse need to be prosecuted where appropriate, he said.
A recent example of abuse now in the hands of Clark County prosecutors
involves a father charged with 18 felony counts of theft for allegedly
taking more than $200,000 from a developmentally-delayed son.
In another case, Battle Ground police allege that Terri Tweedell,
president of the Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce, took assets from a
now-deceased man she had befriended.
In her Vancouver practice, Dimitrov specializes in cases involving
financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. She has worked on such
cases for 11 years, and teaches other attorneys on the subject in
Washington State Bar Association continuing education classes.
Dimitrov said that all too often, children or grandchildren will,
without knowledge of other close family members, use powers of attorney,
wills, quit-claim deeds or purchase and sale agreements to take assets
from an elderly person who lacks the capacity to give consent.
A goal is often to remove assets so a parent or grandparent will qualify
for medicaid, said Dimitrov. This is done to shift costs of rest home
care to taxpayers who pay the medicaid bills, she said.
Dimitrov described how a daughter, without notifying two siblings,
depleted the assets of her elderly mother.
The daughter began helping her mother when Mom began suffering memory
lapses. The daughter convinced Mom to add the daughter's name to the
mother's bank account.
As the mother's condition worsened, the daughter wrote to her mother's
physician, telling him that her mother had Alzheimer's Disease and was
frequently getting lost. The daughter urged the doctor to examine her
mother and provide a written report.
The doctor examined the mother and diagnosed, "Alzheimer's type
dementia."
Three months later, the daughter, with help from a friend in the real
estate business, prepared a power of attorney and a quit claim deed.
They took the mother to Mom's bank, and the mother signed her home over
to the daughter, "for love and affection."
The daughter and her husband then moved into Mom's home. They had a
$60,000 addition added for living space, but within two months placed
the mother in a care centre.
The daughter and her husband then began spending the balance of the
mother's savings.
Two siblings, concerned about their mother, began inquiring about their
mother's condition and her funds that would be needed for her care.
When the daughter with power of attorney refused to provide information,
the siblings contacted Dimitrov.
Dimitrov said she filed a petition for guardianship on behalf of the
siblings, and filed a complaint against the real estate agent for the
unauthorized practice of law.
A civil court ordered the errant daughter to return assets to Mom's
estate.
Dimitrov described another case involving two sons who were co-trustees
of an aging parent's estate.
A "springing" power of attorney activated when one of the sons was able
to get a physician to diagnose dementia, said Dimitrov. The son, without
the knowledge of his sibling, took $500,000 from the estate in six
months.
A reluctance by parents or grandparents to file criminal charges against
relatives who have taken their assets makes prosecutions difficult, said
Dimitrov. Victims of family members are more inclined to resort to civil
actions.
Friends and acquaintances can also let greed show in such situations,
said Dimitrov.
Dimitrov described a situation in which an elderly woman gave a hair
dresser power of attorney.
In another horror tale, an man in his 90s, after a female caregiver
provided him with nude pictures of herself in provocative poses, gave
her power of attorney over his estate and named her beneficiary of
$50,000 in his will. She allegedly told him, "I'm the only one who loves
you."
Civil actions in the above cases brought partial remedies.
Tips to avoid problems
Dimitrov said senior citizens, while still in possession of all mental
faculties, should hire a competent attorney. The attorney should be a
will, trust or estate specialist, and the senior should visit the
attorney alone, outside of influence of family members, she said.
Next, seniors should choose a person or persons they trust completely to
handle their affairs.
This is usually, but not always, a close family member, said Dimitrov. A
power of attorney or appropriate trust document should be executed by
the attorney.
"No one should pick an offspring just because he/she is a son or
daughter," said Dimitrov.
Dimitrov said that whoever is selected needs to have the ability to
handle finances. They should not have a history of bankruptcy or
convictions for felonies, she said. The person or persons designated
should have stable work and personal histories.
Dimitrov said both competency and a willingness to take on the
responsibility of managing someone's financial affairs are important.
"An untrustworthy person in charge of an estate can be devastating and
the legal system might not be able to recover all losses," she said.
Getting power of attorney, will or other legal forms from the Internet
may seem like an easy way to save a legal fee, but such self-help could
ultimately be very costly, said Dimitrov. Get such work done by a
professional even if it costs $200, she said.
In such documents, "It is important for a person to give only the
authority that he or she wants to give," said Dimitrov.
For example, a senior may intend to sign a power of attorney to
authorize an agent only to pay bills and keep accounts balanced. If the
power of attorney is not properly constructed by an attorney, the sky
could be the limit.
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