Scammers can come for anyone, but they are especially likely to go after older, vulnerable adults. You cannot be with your loved ones all day, every day, protecting them from various schemes. You can help them make an estate plan though, and that plan could help ward off anyone who would want to financially exploit them. An experienced Washtenaw County estate planning attorney from our firm can tell you more.
Is It Easy to Change the Wills of Vulnerable Adults?
It is quite hard to change a will that is was made legally. That’s why it can be a good idea to have your loved one make a will now, before they become more vulnerable later. If someone wants to scam them later and get them to pass on assets to them after death, having a will in place makes this harder.
This is because the person making a will or changing one has to be of sound mind. They have to have an understanding of what they are signing. There also need to be at least two adult witnesses there. These requirements can make it harder for someone to take advantage of vulnerable adults, whether they are scammers or family members with bad intentions.
What Other Protections Do Estate Plans Offer for Vulnerable Adults?
There are also other estate planning tools that can help people protect their assets from others. In some cases, it can be a good idea to put assets in a trust that won’t be directly controlled by your loved one. Instead, they choose a person that they can trust to manage their funds. They are in charge of dispersing them and ensuring that your loved ones can continue to live comfortably.
This can offer a layer of protection against scammers. If vulnerable adults are asked for money or exploited in some way, they would have to ask the trustee to release funds. The trustee would be more likely to understand what is happening, and they could put a stop to it and protect the assets in the trust. Vulnerable adults without a trust could end up emptying savings or retirement accounts before realizing that something is wrong.
What Else Can an Estate Planning Lawyer Do For My Family?
An estate planning lawyer can help you figure out which tools are the best ones for protecting any vulnerable adults in your life and their assets. With the right preparation and protections, their assets should be free to pass on to beneficiaries and loved ones, not scammers with ill intent.
Talk to Our Legal Team
If you want to make sure that your loved ones have extra protections from scammers, contact Collis, Griffor & Hendra. We can help you make a plan and protect the vulnerable adults in your life from people who would try to separate them from their money.
