When Older Adults Make Bad Decisions

By Doug Chalgian on May 9, 2023

  Article by Attorney Doug Chalgian of Chalgian and Tripp Law Offices, PLLC When new clients come in and tell me that an older adult in their family is allowing a...

The Cat & Mouse of Exploitation Litigation

By Doug Chalgian on March 13, 2020

The Cat & Mouse of Exploitation Litigation

In litigation involving the financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, timing is often everything.  Let’s say, for instance, that Dad really likes his new caregiver.  So much that his is “helping her out” financially.  You smell trouble, and you’re probably right.  The question is what to do, and more to the point:  when to do it.  The same question comes up when the concern about exploitation involves a sibling or a new spouse.

Good Guys Win Financial Exploitation Case

By Chalgian & Tripp on February 8, 2015

Frances and Elizabeth Stafford were sisters in the Bay City area. When Elizabeth died, her trust continued for the benefit of Frances. Frances was a vulnerable adult, physically...

Clients who meet with me about elderly family members who are being, or have been, financially exploited are often surprised when, shortly into telling me their story, I can take over and fill in the details. It happens a lot these days. The clients say: “I guess you’ve been doing this a while,” or, “I guess our…

Advocacy in the Era of Vulnerable Adults

By Doug Chalgian on January 4, 2014

The concept of “vulnerable adults” became popular among the general public only a few years ago.  Prior to that it was an expression one might hear used among that small...

Two Stories About Aging

By Doug Chalgian on January 1, 2014

two stories about aging

As an elder law and estate planning attorney, helping clients understand options and make informed decisions is rewarding. But the decisions they have to make are often difficult, regardless of any advice I can provide.

Rebutting Presumption of Undue Influence

By Doug Chalgian on December 21, 2013

It’s over – at least for now.  The Mortimore case. This is a case I have spoken and written about quite a bit for the past year. Common facts: Older gentleman.  His wife...
Overcoming the urge to do something about long term care

Getting old is scary. Friends and loved ones are dead and dying. Your body has declined. Your mind may be failing. What seemed like a nice nest egg now seems inadequate. As we age, we worry and wonder…

New Power of Attorney Law Challenges Planners

By Doug Chalgian on July 31, 2013

As our clients age, and as the population of persons with cognitive impairments expands, the importance of the financial power of attorney is elevated. This reality is reflected by…

I realized the other day there are a handful of things I never tire of watching.  One of those is probate court proceedings.  Admittedly I watch probate court proceedings in...
Here’s another balance that’s hard to strike – and hard to help clients understand and decide. Typical example: Husband and wife have been married 50 years.  They are both...

Why the Lucid Moment Needs to End

By Doug Chalgian on May 19, 2013

There’s a case I read a couple years ago that bothers me and that I’ve been wanting to comment on it since.  It is an unpublished decision in which the trial court held that...
You’ve got to love William Shakespeare, the ultimate Renaissance man offered insight into pretty much every aspect of the human condition.  Estate Planning is no different. ...
It is a curious reality of probate litigation that the qualities common to people who create wealth are also qualities of people who create family dysfunction. What I see is that...

General Perry’s Terror Clause: Final Chapter (I think)

By Doug Chalgian on February 21, 2013

Within a couple weeks of oral arguments, we received a published opinion in the General Perry terror clause case that has been discussed in this blog before (really fast...