Some unscrupulous individuals will prey on older individuals to try to get the elder person to add them into their estate plan. This is a form of financial exploitation that can impact what the beneficiaries and heirs receive when the person passes away.
The people who try to do this count on the fact that the person might not have their full mental capabilities about them. They use this to their advantage and often try to become best friends with the elderly person. There are many ways that they might try to have the person take care of them financially.
When it comes to the estate plan, the person might try to have things amended. This can include changes to the will and trusts. Some might go a bit beyond that and try to get the person to give them power of attorney over health care decisions or financial decisions if the aging individual ever becomes incapacitated.
Some people are able to recognize the signs of financial exploitation while their loved one is still alive; however, this isn’t always possible. Some are shocked to find this out when their family member passes away. Unfortunately, this means that they’ll have to go through probate litigation to get everything sorted out.
In order to challenge the estate plan, you’ll need to be a person who has a legal interest in the outcome. You also need to be able to show that you have a valid reason for the challenge. Financial exploitation does qualify for this, but you need to be able to show what happened and prove that your loved one was a victim.