Financial Exploitation

Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults is epidemic. But that’s not news.

CT has been on the front lines of developing the tools of civil litigation that victims and their families have used to defend themselves and recover their losses. While most law firms wouldn’t know where to begin with these cases, at CT we are working on these matters every single day. This is our bag.

The Fall of the High Achiever

Nov 13, 2017 | Doug Chalgian

I litigate cases involving exploitation of older adults. Early in my career, I was in court on a particularly difficult case. A highly respected schol ...

Patterns in Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults Case...

Aug 01, 2014 | Doug Chalgian

Clients who meet with me about elderly family members who are being, or have been, financially exploited are often surprised when, shortly into tellin ...

Elder Law Litigation and the Lessons I’ve Learned

Elder Law Litigation and the Lessons I've Learned

Jan 01, 2010 | Doug Chalgian

Elder law litigation is on the rise. But little has been written about it, and from what I see in probate courts around the state, little is...

The Court of Appeals recently issued an unpublished opinion in three combined appeals all relating to the Estate of Robert Winfield Cederquist (click here to read the opinion). The case provides a good launching spot from which to review the rules...

Nice analysis in this recent unpublished COA opinion. Click here to read In Re Conservatorship of Stephen Michalak. Congrats to my colleague Valerie Kutz-Otway for her successful advocacy on behalf of her client, Mr. Michalak. The case suggests an...

The Court of Appeals recently released its opinion in the Estate of Stanley Morris. Click on the name to read the case. There’s a lot here, and a lot of what, in my opinion, is new law or at least clarifications. Someone put some time into...

In the woods of Keewenaw County, Lyle married Arbutus and they operated a little shop together. Lyle took a job with the park service which took him away from home for periods. In time, Lyle began having an affair with Susan. Lyle and Susan...

The topic of this post is: How to gather information at an initial meeting with clients seeking representation in an undue influence case, from a lawyer’s perspective. Start with the proposition that nearly all will and trust contests, and many...

With the holiday season coming – and thinking about my elder law practice and clients – I came up with this idea. Please don’t take offense – it is meant to be a joke – more or less. Dear ______ As we gather together during this holiday...

The first time I met my client was early one morning at the Starbucks on Main St. in Ann Arbor. He had flown in the night before, and I had driven down that morning from East Lansing. The Starbucks is a couple blocks from the Courthouse where we had...

Saw this article yesterday about persons with dementia. click here. Lord I feel jaded. I see an article about 90+ year olds finding love, and I automatically think “gold-digger.” What’s wrong with me? The reality though is that while...

Here’s an interesting published Court of Appeals decision that many probate practitioners may have missed, because it came out of a circuit court, but which has significant implications in the arena of financial exploitation of vulnerable adults....

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 and cognitively impaired. Her trusted financial advisor of many years...

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 of many years dies. New woman becomes involved. Alienates family. ...

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 a trust amendment was invalid due to lack of capacity and undue...

When you reach a certain age you begin receiving invitations to “educational seminars.” Often bright colored postcards in the mail, sometimes formalistic letters, even advertisements in the local paper. Usually they offer a “free meal.” In...

My legal practice has become consumed with litigation. Litigation involving the resources of one (older) generation and the expectations and overreaching of the next (younger, but not young) generation. I have come to think of the work I do as being...