Tag Archives: Potential misconduct

Recognizing Signs of Elder Abuse (and Traits of Elder Abusers)

My goal in this blog post is to discuss character traits of elder abusers so that you can recognize them and hopefully protect yourself, your family, and your friends. I’ve handled over 100 estate disputes, and in a sizeable number of those cases, elder abusers committed an array of unethical actions including isolating, threatening, and pressuring elderly people to change their estate plans. I previously wrote a lengthy blog post that discussed the signs of undue influence of elders. That blog post can be found by clicking here. By contrast, this blog post focuses on the character traits of elder abusers. …

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Misconduct Remedies Against an Agent Under a Power of Attorney

In a prior blog post, I discussed the duties of an agent under a power of attorney. In this blog post, I discuss the remedies that people have against an agent under a power of attorney when the agent commits misconduct. The first issue is who has standing to pursue legal action against an agent under a power of attorney? Virginia has adopted a modified version of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act that spells out the categories of people who can seek judicial relief against an agent. Under Virginia Code Section 64.2-1614, the following are some of the parties …

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Confronting Caretaker Abuse & Misconduct

While most caretakers for sick and elderly people are honest, occasionally families and friends are forced to deal with a dishonest caretaker who steals a person’s money; pressures him to change a will, trust, or power of attorney; pressures him to sign a deed; isolates him from family members, etc. A recent article highlights this unfortunate fact: A Newport News [Virginia] woman will serve a fraction of a 30-year prison sentence for stealing $30,000 from a woman she cared for. Michele Lee Conley, 43, received three-year prison sentences for 10 counts of forgery and uttering after she tricked a 92-year-old …

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Recognizing Signs of Undue Influence

Undue influence over elderly persons, disabled persons, and others is a large problem, which will only get worse as American society increasingly ages and the baby boomer generation prepares to transition large sums of wealth via their estate plans. It’s important for every family member, friend, neighbor, business colleague, etc., to be aware of the signs of undue influence so that they can protect their family members, friends, and associates. The law in Virginia (like the law in most states) defines undue influence as influence “sufficient to destroy [the] free agency” of a person. Jarvis v. Tonkin, 238 Va. 115, …

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How To Snoop On An Agent’s Actions Under a Power of Attorney

Virginia law provides for a relatively quick and inexpensive method of obtaining information about actions taken by an agent under a power of attorney. This provision can be utilized by family members who have suspicions as to whether other family members or friends, who were appointed as agents under a power of attorney, acted properly. Virginia Code Section 64.2-1612 (which is similar to the law in other states that have also adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, as Virginia has), provides in general that unless a power of attorney states otherwise, an agent under a power of attorney must, …

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