When elder abuse occurs, you have to act fast to protect the person being targeted. Predatory people can drain an elderly target of all of their assets with alarming speed and finesse, and if the elder abuse is not called out and challenged through the means of the court before the elderly person passes away, not only will the abuse be that much harder to prove, it may come with increased difficulty in proving remedies for damages.
The proving of abuse must be done with clear and convincing evidence of recklessness, fraud, oppression or malice, something that can be a lot harder if the person who had been abused has passed on. That doesn't mean it isn't possible after the fact, but if all you have is hearsay that someone caused pain and suffering to an elderly relative who isn't there to testify to it, you're going to be fighting an uphill battle trying to prove that abuse actually occurred. Worse, there is a four year statute of limitation for financial abuse claims, meaning that if you know about it and you still wait four (or more) years to kick off a lawsuit against the perpetrator, your lawsuit may not even be a viable one.
If you, or someone you know, is an elder suffering ongoing abuse, the time to act is now. Gather evidence, keep records, make lists with dates and times when abuse occured, and what happened. Take action to put a stop to the abuse, but also pull together all of the evidence you can before it can be hidden or destroyed by a bad acting party. You may be the only line of defense between the vulnerable person and the predators that seek to harm them, and experience shows that victimizers will continue to prey on the elderly until someone stops them.
Don't wait until it's too late. Take action now. Rayo Law Offices Can Help:
Call (925) 825-1955 or contact Zachary Rayo online to set up an appointment for an initial “meet and greet” consultation.
