Mr. & Mrs. Z were 90- and 95-year-old vulnerable adults with no family. They met with their estate planning attorney to place a Senior Advocacy Group representative as Healthcare Surrogate and Durable Power of Attorney to handle their medical and financial affairs when they no longer had the capacity to do so. Both individuals lived on a fixed income, with moderate savings.
When Senior Advocacy Group began working with the couple, they ashamedly admitted that they had been “taken.” The elderly couple explained they had befriended a woman who, over time, they regarded as family. When the woman began asking for furniture and household items, they complied since they were fond of her. However, on one occasion, the woman asked to borrow $25,000 for a two-week period.
Trusting their relationship with the woman, the couple did not have her sign a Promissory Note acknowledging the loan. They did, however, make a copy of the check they gave her and retained correspondence they had with her over time. Two weeks turned into four weeks; one year stretched into two years. The woman sent them a few payments, explaining she had been waiting on a legal settlement and would pay them back when the suit was settled. Then, she disappeared with no efforts to contact our clients. They were very distressed knowing they had lost their money, with no real hopes of recovering it.
Senior Advocacy Group took action to help recover the funds and give the couple peace of mind for the future.
Senior Advocacy Group Outcome:
- Tracked down the lawsuit in court records and determined the friend had indeed won a large settlement
- Researched and contacted the attorney representing the friend to ensure they were aware our clients had a Durable Power of Attorney in place for future needs and that the elderly couple currently had entrusted Senior Advocacy Group to ensure their money would be returned
- Maintained pressure on the borrower’s attorney and independently located the friend
- Memorialized the $25,000 loan into their estate planning documents to ensure their estate’s right to collect on the outstanding loan
- Continued pursuit to recover and return $25,000 in assets to our clients, who were confident that if Senior Advocacy Group had not taken action, they would not have received their money back
- Served as the incapacitated wife’s Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Surrogate when the husband passed, since estate planning documents were proactively in place