Abuse

You recall that in our vignettes, Aunt Gertrude has appointed her niece Milly as her attorney-in-fact through the Power Of Attorney document. With just that as a background, think of your own family and acquaintances — Have any of you reading this ever been guilty of making any of these statements:

• – “Does Aunt Gertrude understand that she is the one in charge, not her ‘power of attorney’ [Editor’s note: the correct terminology is ‘her attorney in fact’] Milly?
• – “Why does Aunt Gertrude allow Milly to take advantage of her like that?”

Or how about these statements?

• – “I am going to explain […]
  

Aunt Gertrude’s power of attorney document grants her niece Milly (the attorney in fact) the power and authority to act for her as long as she (Aunt Gertrude) is still alive. Milly must use her best efforts to care for her Aunt Gertrude (the principal) and only take actions which benefit her. But the fact is the niece Millys of the world don’t always do what is best for their Aunt Gertrudes.

Could Milly, as the attorney in fact, write a will for Aunt Gertrude which leaves everything to herself? The standard wisdom is “no.” A resounding NO! The whole idea […]

When you hear the phrase “Senior Citizen Abuse” your mind conjures up an image. That’s the way our minds work. When I say “dog,” you don’t think of the letters D – O – G. You picture a dog. If I say “Big brown dog” your image changes. “Big brown muddy-pawed snarling dog” and it changes again, and so on.

I want to paint you a new picture of “Senior Citizen Abuse.” Or perhaps an alternative to the picture you now have. This Senior Citizen Abuse doesn’t include being yelled at by a mean step-sister. It doesn’t […]