Probate / Elder Fraud

Estate of Jean A. Gerlach

Reference http://jeanagerlach.blogspot.com

The mission of The Elder Justice Initiative, The United States Department of Justice: "Together our mission is to combat elder abuse and financial exploitation, encourage reporting abuse, and educate the public to make America safer for all."

My Recommendations, based on my experience:

1.  Maintain a timeline 

2.  Keep copies of everything.  (I took photos of all evidence and uploaded the information to a Google workbook.  Link to the workbook on jeanagerlach.blogspot.com)

3.  Keep phone calls to a minimum.  Use email or registered letters.  When phone calls are a must, make sure that all parties know that you are recording the conversation.

4.  Hire an attorney with sufficient resources; such as a private detective, to discover evidence and expedite the court hearings.

Recommended resources, based on my experience:

While local and volunteer agencies do provide help in these matters, they are limited in what they can do. 

At the first nuance of possible fraud, contact Federal level agencies, such as:

   Http://www.justice.gov/elderjustice

   Http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/elder-fraud-charges-announced