The Unanticipated Results of Senior Victimization

Aug 03, 2016

By LEL founder and managing partner Rick Law.  Law Elder Law is a multi-generation law firm serving seniors and their families in Kane, DuPage,  Kendall, Will, Cook and other counties in Illinois.

There is empirical evidence that when a senior has been a victim of a crime, it hastens their death.

Just being a victim in and of itself is so disrupting at this vulnerable time in their life when trust is so important. The older person can’t handle the stress, and on top of that, how are you going to get them to handle the guilt of putting a person who is close to them in jail? A huge amount of guilt is put on the abused senior, especially if it’s a family member. The same is true when it’s not a family member but, rather, a caregiver who has been a person of trust for any length of time.

The fact that this person is now no longer trustworthy and has turned on them and taken advantage of them in one way or another, this is a tremendous stressor.

Often, we find caregivers who are stealing some of the medication and then there’s that break in trust. It’s a very difficult thing for someone to get over, and sometimes they don’t get over it. And then they begin to question everyone, and now they say, “I don’t know who I can trust, now I don’t know if I can trust any caregiver or if I can begin to trust someone in a long-term-care facility.”

So it makes it extremely difficult to get people to testify against the ones who have betrayed their trust and financially abused them.

And that’s one of the reasons that so few elderly abuse cases are reported – and even the ones that are reported can be difficult to prove.

If you’re ready to start getting your estate in order and secure your assets for the “worst-case” scenario, please give our office a call at 800-310-3100. Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now.

Sincerely,

Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees.

Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.  Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!