abuse or exploitation of the elderly

[maril]

my 74 year old mother sold some property and financed it. she has not received a payment for 5 months. about the time the payments stopped the purchaser sold part of the property to a 3rd party.this person did not recieve a deed but told my mother she would have to give up her property. her own banker tried to intimidate her on behalf of the third party(his personal friend). i took her to an attorney and he is advising her to agree so the 3rd party will not loose his investment(he is a friend of the banker). what i want to know is does this qualify as abuse or exploitation of an elderly person? she is in pitiful shape from this and and inconsolable. she is in the same small town she grew up in and lived all her life so she is very hurt. this is all taking place in a small oklahoma town on the border of arkansas.what would you do about this if it were your mom?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by maril
my 74 year old mother sold some property and financed it. she has not received a payment for 5 months. about the time the payments stopped the purchaser sold part of the property to a 3rd party.this person did not recieve a deed but told my mother she would have to give up her property. her own banker tried to intimidate her on behalf of the third party(his personal friend). i took her to an attorney and he is advising her to agree so the 3rd party will not loose his investment(he is a friend of the banker). what i want to know is does this qualify as abuse or exploitation of an elderly person? she is in pitiful shape from this and and inconsolable. she is in the same small town she grew up in and lived all her life so she is very hurt. this is all taking place in a small oklahoma town on the border of arkansas.what would you do about this if it were your mom?

My response:

Elder abuse is, unfortunately, becoming more and more prevalent in our society. There are more seniors in this country today than ever before, and protection of their interests and wellbeing is becoming a main topic in most State legislatures.

California, for example, has some of the toughest Elder Abuse laws in the nation. It would appear, at least in California, that if you breathe sideways in front of an Elderly person, you've probably violated the law. It's that tough !

Elder abuse takes many forms and variations, from physical assault, to mental and emotional infliction of pain, and yes, even "financial abuse" can garner someone with stiff penalties and fines.

I realize you're in Oklahoma, and you need to know about Oklahoma law. Unfortunately, OK does not have specific Elder Abuse laws.

However, so that you can know how better to handle this type of situation with your mother, you should read the following links :

[url]http://www.abanet.org/media/factbooks/eldtoc.html[/url]

[url]http://www.texseniorlaw.com/links/abuse/[/url]

It might be a good idea to have Mom see an attorney who is at least 3 towns away from where she lives.

Good luck to you,

IAAL

[maril]

thanks so much for all the info. i did not know where to start. maybe doing somthing to fight back will make her feel better. many blessings, marilyn

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally posted by maril
thanks so much for all the info. i did not know where to start. maybe doing somthing to fight back will make her feel better. many blessings, marilyn

My response:

You're entirely welcome. It's nice to be able to assist good people like yourself and your Mom.

(Take a hint "MarianneV")

IAAL