In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson, Southern Illinois Elder Law attorney discusses how well legal documents are drafted can actually make a significant difference in terms of preventing elder financial abuse.
How Carefully-Drafted Legal Documents Can Help Prevent Elder Financial Abuse
Transcript:
Hi, I’m Wes Coulson from Dent-Coulson Elder Law servicing clients throughout the St. Louis Metropolitan area in both Missouri and Illinois and this is your Elder Law Minute. I want to talk to you today about something that I think a lot of people don’t appreciate and that is how well legal documents are drafted can actually make a significant difference in terms of preventing related person elder financial abuse.
People think, for instance with powers of attorney, that it’s just a matter of, “Well, do I have one or not?” But, particularly on power of attorney for property that affects financial matters, a good elder law attorney can write safeguards into the documents (write in accountability, write in transparency) that will make it so that there are ways of holding that agent accountable, making sure that someone else can be there to help protect the interests of the person, often an elder, who is having the power of attorney prepared.
So, I guess the lesson here is, please don’t think that you can just print power of attorney forms, other documents, off the internet or just that it’s good to get the cheapest, most basic one’s possible. It’s really not. The contents of those documents and how well they’re drafted can make a huge difference. Thanks.
For more information on helping elders, visit these articles:
- Victim Risk Factors For Elder Financial Abuse – Part 1
- Victim Risk Factors For Elder Financial Abuse – Part 2
- Financial Exploitation of Elders: The Two Basic Types
“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (877)995-6876 or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
