King & Wood, P.A.

What is San Diego Doing to Combat Elder Abuse?

“District Attorney Summer Stephan announced an outreach campaign designed to increase awareness of financial elder abuse and remind employees of San Diego-area financial institutions of their duties as legally mandated reporters of such crimes.”

Finance professionals who serve senior citizens “are some of our best eyes and ears for spotting and preventing the exploitation of older and dependent adults,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said during a news conference at the San Diego Hall of Justice.

Fox 5 San Diego’s recent article, “County battles financial elder abuse with new campaign,” says that under California law, employees of financial institutions, including all banks and credit unions, are required to report suspected elder and dependent adult financial abuse.

This applies whether they have direct contact with a potential victim or even just witness an incident they suspect may be financial abuse.

“Employees in financial institutions can make a real difference in the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our community to help protect them from losing their life savings,” Stephan commented.

The new program, launched in conjunction with Financial Elder Abuse Awareness Month, gives finance workers examples of warning signs to watch out for and details on how to report any suspected abuse of the elderly.

The training materials include a video featuring industry representatives from the Credit Union League and Western Bankers Association, as well as Marlene Ruiz, a longtime local bank employee who helped prevent a financial elder-abuse crime.

When Ruiz saw that one of her older clients was the victim of an obvious scam, she intervened. As a result, she was able to prevent the victim from having thousands of dollars stolen from his bank account. In honor of those actions, the District Attorney’s Office named Ruiz one of its “Citizen of Courage” in 2018.

An estimated $36.5 billion is lost every year in the U.S. from elder financial exploitation. Last year, U.S. banks reported nearly 25,000 suspected cases of elder financial abuse to the Treasury Department. That’s more than double the amount of five years earlier.

In fiscal 2017-18, San Diego County Adult Protective Services fielded 4,563 referrals about financial-abuse allegations. Nearly 15% of those reports came from financial institutions, according to Stephan’s office.

Reference: Fox 5 San Diego (June 18, 2019) “County battles financial elder abuse with new campaign”

Minnesota Finally Sets Up Licensing System For Assisted Living Centers

“Minnesota nursing homes have been licensed for years, but Minnesota was the only state that didn’t license assisted living facilities.”

A major set of reforms has passed in the Minnesota legislature that covers how assisted care facilities operate.

Although the state’s nursing homes have been licensed for many years, Minnesota was the sole remaining state that did not license its assisted living facilities.

WCCO’s recent article, “Minn. Legislature Approves Licensing System For Assisted Living Centers” reported that on the Senate floor, Senator Karin Housley made some personal comments, when discussing the piece of legislation that will help 40,000 Minnesotans currently in assisted living.

“Sen. Pappas lost her mother to Alzheimer’s. I lost my mother to Alzheimer’s,” Housley said.

The legislation will require assisted living facilities to be licensed by August 2021.

“I just got all choked up because I saw our parents smiling down on us,” Housley said. “It’s going to make a huge difference.”

The legislation has two levels of licensing, one is for assisted living facilities, and the other is for those facilities that provide dementia care.

Amanda Vickstrom, Executive Director of the Minnesota Elder Justice Center, commented that the bill is badly needed.

“Someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s—their needs are going to be higher,” Vickstrom said. “The assisted living licensing structure is really critical, and then some consumer protections, some retaliation protections that sort of level the playing field.”

In addition, the law permits families to put a hidden camera in an assisted living facility beginning in January 2020, if abuse or neglect is suspected (for a period of 14 days). After 14 days, a family will be required to reveal the camera to a state ombudsman. However, they can still leave the camera in the room.

The legislature has earmarked $30 million for the state government to create the licensing system.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has indicated that he will sign the law.

What is Congress Doing for Seniors?

“The Consumers First Act could also come up for a vote soon, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, informed the House Democratic Caucus in an April 25^th “Dear Colleague” letter that he intends to bring H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, to the House floor in May.

Think Advisor’s recent article, “SECURE Act to Get House Vote in May,” explains that the SECURE Act passed the House Ways and Means Committee on April 2. There’s been action on the companion bill—the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA) of 2019. That legislation has yet to be scheduled by the Senate Finance Committee.

In discussing the actions taken during the first 100 days of the 116th Congress, Representative Hoyer said that the House will soon take up H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, “to affirm the principles of the Paris Climate Agreement, in spite of President Trump’s pledge to withdraw the United States.”

Hoyer signaled that a vote on the SECURE Act would follow “over the coming work period,” and noted that with the flood insurance program set to expire at the end of May, “I expect the House to take action to address that as well.”

Hoyer said in the next few weeks, “as committees continue to markup legislation, the House will also take up legislation to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and to address rising prescription drug costs.”

Another possibility for consideration in May by the full House is Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters’ Consumers First Act, H.R. 1500. That bill passed out of that committee on March 28. Waters’ bill is aimed at reversing the damage done to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under former acting director Mick Mulvaney.

The Senior Security Act of 2019 would require the SEC to create a Senior Investor Taskforce. That bill could be up for a House vote very soon. The House docket also has a resolution on Supporting the Protection of Elders Through Financial Literacy.

The bill includes a provision requiring law enforcement and regulatory agencies to work together to understand and detect elder frauds and scams.

Reference: Think Advisor (April 29, 2019) “SECURE Act to Get House Vote in May”

Welcome Caroline Palmer!

We are pleased to announce that Caroline Palmer has joined our firm as Front Desk Coordinator.  Caroline will administer our client intake and scheduling processes. 

Caroline is a 2019 graduate of Florida State University, where she completed a B.A. in History with a minor in English.  A native of Live Oak, Florida, Caroline enjoys taking her dog, Jack, to the park, spending time with family and friends, and travelling when she can.  Caroline plans to continue her education by pursuing a master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences.

 

Welcome to the firm, Caroline!

Pennsylvania Falling Down in Care for the Elderly

“An internal Pennsylvania state government watchdog agency is criticizing how county-level agencies investigate thousands of complaints they receive about elder abuse and how the state ensures that complaints are investigated adequately.”

The Pennsylvania State Office of the Inspector General noted numerous failures by some county-level agencies to properly investigate complaints under timelines required by state law and inadequate staffing of the state office that monitors those agencies. The IG’s report also said investigative practices are not standardized across counties. It further criticized training requirements for caseworkers as far too weak, particularly compared to model states.

Pittsburgh CBS Local’s article, “Pa. Criticized for How it Handles Elder Abuse Cases,” also reports that complaints can involve physical abuse, self-neglect or financial exploitation. Pennsylvania, like other states, is experiencing a fast-growing number of complaints that has forced some counties to hire more caseworkers to keep up with the workload.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration said it has started to address the report’s findings. Just before the report was released, the governor fired the top two officials in the Department of Aging, which oversees what is called protective services for people who are 60 and older.

The Associated Press reviewed hundreds of pages of Department of Aging records in 2017 and discovered that the performance of the county-level agencies varied significantly. The department’s reviewers had told some counties that they’d failed, in some cases multiple times, to meet regulations and expectations over properly investigating complaints and logging casework. In addition, the AP also found wide discrepancies in the way in which a county deemed a complaint to be worthy of a full investigation and action. The details of complaints, investigations and the identity of the person whose situation is in question remain confidential.

Caseworkers handled almost 32,000 calls about potential elder abuse in the 2017-18 fiscal year, which is an increase from 18,500 five years earlier. Beginning in 2011, the Department of Aging has been led by people who came from a county-level agency. The department has no oversight from an outside, independent agency or reviewer.

Because of the frustration with the issues identified in elder-abuse investigations, department staff in 2017 started grading counties on a more aggressive compliance schedule. Since that time, more than 33% of the 52 county-level area agencies on aging have at one point received a substandard red or yellow rating, according to information from the department.

Reference: Pittsburgh CBS Local (January 9, 2019) “Pa. Criticized for How it Handles Elder Abuse Cases”

Professional Guardian Preys on Elderly in Nevada

“The choices she made were out of greed, not because she didn’t understand the ethical obligations of being a guardian.”

Several people described their personal grief, and they read letters from several others who lost thousands of dollars and expensive heirlooms that would never be replaced, because a guardian stole from elderly victims for whom she was supposed to care.

The Las Vegas Journal-Review reported in a recent article, “Ex-Nevada guardian to serve up to 40 years behind bars,” that as victims wept and told their stories of suffering during a court hearing, a shackled and seated April Parks kept her head turned and never looked their way.

Karen Kelly, Clark County’s public guardian, read through a long list of names of seniors who were victimized and lived under “intense anxiety and anguish” for the final years of their lives because of Parks and those who worked closely with her. Parks’ business partner, Mark Simmons, and her husband, Gary Neal Taylor, also were ordered to serve time in prison. In addition, the judge ordered the three defendants to pay more than $500,000 to their victims. Parks, 53, pleaded guilty last year to exploitation, theft and perjury charges.

One woman, Barbara Ann Neely, said Parks separated her from family and friends, saying, “She was not a guardian to me.”

Neely said. “She did not protect me. As each day passed, I felt like I was in a grave, buried alive.”

Another victim compared Parks to Hitler.

The 53-year-old Parks told the judge that she accepted responsibility “but never intended harm,” adding that “things could have been done better. … We were a group practice, and honestly I think some things got ahead of us.”

She claimed that she had a “great passion” for guardianship and took “great care and concern” in her work.

Parks was one of the most active private professional guardians in Nevada, and she frequently acted as the surrogate decision-maker for as many as 50 to 100 elderly and mentally incapacitated people at a given time. As guardian, she had total control of their finances, estates and medical decisions.

Las Vegas Journal-Review (January 4, 2019) “Ex-Nevada guardian to serve up to 40 years behind bars”

How Can I Protect an Elder Loved One From Abuse?

“The elderly are often seen as easy targets for criminals and unscrupulous scammers alike.”

The (Lorain OH) Morning Journal’s recent article, “How to protect elder loved ones from abuse,” reports that the National Center on Elder Abuse says the 2010 census showed the largest number and proportion of people are 65 years old and older in the U.S. population with 40.3 million people, or about 13% of the population. By 2050, that number is expected to more than double to 83.7 million.

A 2010 national study found that financial abuse is the most commonly reported form of abuse followed by potential neglect, emotional mistreatment, physical mistreatment and sexual mistreatment. With financial abuse and neglect, the courts often must get involved to limit the damage and try to get the elderly person the help they need.

When looking for elder abuse in family or friends, look for changes in their circumstances. A neighbor may become more isolated or is making decisions that are potentially harmful to themselves. There’s also self-neglect, where a senior isn’t taking good care of themselves. “New people” in their lives may also be a risk. They may want to assume control over the senior’s person’s life and exclude other people who have had longstanding relationships with the person.

Financial exploitation can take many different forms. Isolation is a critical component of financial exploitation. If a senior is isolated from the people who’ve helped them make financial decisions in the past, and then a new person comes along, that individual may try to make financial decisions for their own gain.

If you think a loved one or neighbor is suffering from elder abuse, start by just talking to them. Talk to them about some of the changes you’ve seen.

There are people who are required by law to report elder abuse, and that list has recently expanded to include chiropractors, dentists, ambulance drivers, coroners and member of the clergy, among many others.

A judge can freeze a bank account and suspend powers of attorney. She can also order evaluations and require that Medicaid and Medicare applications be made for the adult. A judge can continue her orders up to six months and appoint guardians.

The best way to keep loved ones safe from this kind of elder abuse, is to make certain that important legal documents like a will and powers of attorney are done while the person is still competent, and that people they trust are named to carry out those documents.

Reference: The (Lorain OH) Morning Journal (December 26, 2018) “How to protect elder loved ones from abuse”

Choose Power of Attorney Agents Wisely

“O’Hara used a steady stream of his mother’s income from Social Security and other investments ‘to pay for personal expenses, including cell phone plans, credit card payments, youth soccer fees and entertainment,’ the indictment said.”

For nearly four years, John Jerome O’Hara took charge of his mother’s care at a Kentucky nursing home. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

O’Hara gained power of attorney over her affairs in June 2014. He was expected to manage thousands of dollars in income a month. In addition, O’Hara was supposed to use that income for his mom’s living expenses at Wesley Manor in Louisville.

However, reports The Washington Post in the article “He had power of attorney over his Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother—and stole $332,000, grand jury says,” for nearly four years, O’Hara robbed his mother instead. The charges contained 18 counts—ten of bank fraud, four of wire fraud and four of “access device fraud.”

The charges carry a maximum of several lifetimes in prison, the indictment said.

Each bank fraud count carries a maximum of 30 years in prison. In addition, there’s the potential for hefty fines and restitution.

O’Hara took the funds, in part, by writing checks to himself, according to the indictment.

He also wrote checks out to cash or signed “POA” for power of attorney. He withdrew money from her bank accounts to use for his expenses, prosecutors allege.

O’Hara’s alleged theft left a trail of financial distress, which was clear to investigators. Most significantly, he failed to pay his mother’s living expenses, the indictment said. This forced other family members to pay more than $100,000 to keep her cared for at the nursing home.

In addition, O’Hara left other obligations unpaid. He missed mortgage payments at his mother’s home in Lexington, the indictment said, and the home was foreclosed in March, as a result.

Reference: The Washington Post (December 9, 2018) “He had power of attorney over his Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother—and stole $332,000, grand jury says”

What is Seattle Doing to Combat Elder Abuse?

“As Seattle’s senior population rises, elder abuse is increasingly becoming an issue on city officials and caretakers’ radars. Advocates throughout the nation are calling on states to increase public awareness of elder abuse and for courts to respond to the epidemic.”

Research from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting shows that adult protective services throughout the country conducted more than 713,000 elder-abuse investigations in fiscal year 2017. Almost a third of the cases identified the victims of abuse or self-neglect. In Washington State, reported elder-abuse cases increased from 19,000 in 2012 to 49,000 in 2017, according to Seattle Weekly’s recent article, “Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise.”

Mary Lynn Pannen, the founder and CEO of Washington-based geriatric care management firm Sound Options, remarks that the increased reporting is a result of better data collection. She has seen progress in the state’s response to elder abuse, since she worked as the head of a Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department counsel that focused on the issue 35 years ago. Over the past 30 years, she and her staffers have consulted with families throughout the region on caring for older adults. Employees help caretakers create and execute care plans, work with elder law attorneys and advocate on behalf of people in care facilities. Staffers are trained to be keenly aware of elder-abuse cases, which typically show up as financial exploitation. They’ll look for signals like bruises on the senior’s body or a refusal by family members or caretakers to allow the senior to respond to the staffers’ inquiries. Once they’ve gathered enough information to suspect abuse, staffers then report it to Adult Protective Services.

“One of the things to prevent abuse, is to make sure that we can help de-stress the whole family unit, because caregiving is really hard,” Pannen said. “This is a serious issue and we need to have the public understand that.”

Abuse often goes unreported because older adults feel shame or are unaware about the neglect or abuse they’ve received from their own family members or caregivers. Local agencies have strengthened protections for seniors in recent years.

The Seattle Human Services Department’s Aging and Disability Services Division (HSD/ADS) seeks to address the widespread issue, by working with the Office of the King County Prosecuting Attorney and Adult Protective Services to provide older adults with financial, health, legal services and safe housing in the face of abuse.

According to Adult Protective Services’ (APS) data, King County’s work is helping to increase elder-abuse reporting. They reported a nearly 50% increase over the previous five years in reported allegations of elder abuse in 2014. In 2017, more than 11,000 allegations were reported to APS in the region that includes King County, with nearly 30% of the cases concerning financial exploitation.

Reference: Seattle Weekly (December 12, 2018) “Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise”

“As Seattle’s senior population rises, elder abuse is increasingly becoming an issue on city officials and caretakers’ radars. Advocates throughout the nation are calling on states to increase public awareness of elder abuse and for courts to respond to the epidemic.”

Research from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting shows that adult protective services throughout the country conducted more than 713,000 elder-abuse investigations in fiscal year 2017. Almost a third of the cases identified the victims of abuse or self-neglect. In Washington State, reported elder-abuse cases increased from 19,000 in 2012 to 49,000 in 2017, according to Seattle Weekly’s recent article, “Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise.”

Mary Lynn Pannen, the founder and CEO of Washington-based geriatric care management firm Sound Options, remarks that the increased reporting is a result of better data collection. She has seen progress in the state’s response to elder abuse, since she worked as the head of a Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department counsel that focused on the issue 35 years ago. Over the past 30 years, she and her staffers have consulted with families throughout the region on caring for older adults. Employees help caretakers create and execute care plans, work with elder law attorneys and advocate on behalf of people in care facilities. Staffers are trained to be keenly aware of elder-abuse cases, which typically show up as financial exploitation. They’ll look for signals like bruises on the senior’s body or a refusal by family members or caretakers to allow the senior to respond to the staffers’ inquiries. Once they’ve gathered enough information to suspect abuse, staffers then report it to Adult Protective Services.

“One of the things to prevent abuse, is to make sure that we can help de-stress the whole family unit, because caregiving is really hard,” Pannen said. “This is a serious issue and we need to have the public understand that.”

Abuse often goes unreported because older adults feel shame or are unaware about the neglect or abuse they’ve received from their own family members or caregivers. Local agencies have strengthened protections for seniors in recent years.

The Seattle Human Services Department’s Aging and Disability Services Division (HSD/ADS) seeks to address the widespread issue, by working with the Office of the King County Prosecuting Attorney and Adult Protective Services to provide older adults with financial, health, legal services and safe housing in the face of abuse.

According to Adult Protective Services’ (APS) data, King County’s work is helping to increase elder-abuse reporting. They reported a nearly 50% increase over the previous five years in reported allegations of elder abuse in 2014. In 2017, more than 11,000 allegations were reported to APS in the region that includes King County, with nearly 30% of the cases concerning financial exploitation.

Reference: Seattle Weekly (December 12, 2018) “Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise”

TV Titan’s Grandson Says Guardian Needed

TV Titan’s Grandson Says Guardian Needed

“Sumner Redstone's grandson has asked the court to appoint a guardian ad litem in the legal battle over his estate planning documents, claiming the 95-year-old mogul struggles to communicate and the move will ensure the "integrity" of the proceedings is protected.”

Tyler Korff, grandson of the 95-year-old media titan Sumner Redstone, says that his grandfather has a "severe speech impairment." He claims that a court-appointed independent attorney would protect the integrity of the legal proceedings, according to a recent report in The Hollywood Reporter, “Grandson Requests Sumner Redstone Guardian.”

Redstone has been the subject of numerous legal skirmishes with former companions that have questioned the former Viacom chairman's ability to make decisions about his life and his business. A third party could make certain that those disputes are settled in his best interest.

After arguing in court for years that Redstone doesn’t possess the mental capacity needed to remove Manuela Herzer from his estate planning documents after he kicked her out of his mansion in 2015, Herzer changed her approach. Her attorneys are now claiming that because Redstone's legal team insists that he does, in fact, have capacity and is the impetus behind the elder abuse lawsuit against Herzer and his former fiancée Sydney Holland, it suggests he can't ask the court to confirm the validity of his trust before his death.

In a recent hearing, L.A. County probate judge David Cowan said it was time to appoint an independent attorney to watch after Redstone's interests. Redstone's grandson Tyler Korff made the formal request. In a separate filing, Redstone stated he consents to "the Court's appointment of an independent guardian ad litem to represent my interests in this proceeding."

"Mr. Redstone suffers from a number of health conditions, including most notably a severe speech impairment that limits his ability to communicate verbally," states Korff's petition. "The Court has raised appropriate concerns about ensuring that the interests of Mr. Redstone are protected and that the resolution of his petition is not reasonably susceptible to challenge, based on questions about his ability to have directed the litigation."

Korff also claims that a guardian will safeguard the integrity of the proceedings "in the face of Ms. Herzer's repeated and well-publicized assertions that this litigation is being controlled by and for the benefit of persons other than Mr. Redstone."

Korff's filing recommended that the guardian be chosen from two probate attorneys, Jackson Chen and Samuel Ingham, III. Ingham oversees the pop singer Britney Spears' conservatorship.

Reference: The Hollywood Reporter (December 6, 2018) “Grandson Requests Sumner Redstone Guardian”