Elder Law

Withdrawals from bank accounts which your loved one cannot explain: A new “friend” who is spending a lot of time with your loved one; Your loved one making purchases or spending money on their new “friend”; Missing financial statements; or Bills being left unpaid. If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of financial exploitation, please contact one of our attorneys for a free one hour consultation. We also encourage you to contact Illinois Adult Protective Services. Our attorneys can attempt to intervene, recover stolen property or funds, and prevent financial abuse. Please let us know how we can help.

Power of attorney documents allow you to name an agent that can make decisions for you in the event that you are no longer able to do so. For example, in a “Power of Attorney for Property”, you name an agent who can make decisions regarding your finances. Likewise, in a “Power of Attorney for Healthcare”, you name an agent who can make decisions for your health care and for your end of life care. In the event you become incapacitated, your agent will be able to step in. Andrew Hays and his legal team at Hays Firm LLC in Chicago are knowledgeable attorneys who have a great deal of experience advising on and securing power of attorney for clients who wish to protect the rights of their loved ones. Please contact us to talk about how we can help.

The Illinois statute entitled “Presumptively Void Transfers” protects all individuals from coercion by their caregivers. Under the statute, any transfer of property valued at over $20,000 to a “caregiver” is deemed void unless the caregiver can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the transfer was not the product of coercion and undue influence by the caregiver. This is a very high burden of proof which makes it very difficult for caregivers to prey on the sick and elderly. If you are in a situation where there is a dispute regarding a transfer to one of your loved one’s caregivers, please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss how we can help.

Illinois statute protects elderly individuals from those who seek to financially exploit them by coercing the elderly into amending their estate plans. Illinois also has a specific agency, Adult Protective Services, that is designed to prevent abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of the elderly and people with disabilities between the ages of 18-59. Exploitation can take many forms. However, a common form is one in which the exploiter establishes the trust of the elderly individual and then coerces them to amend their estate plan to provide a financial benefit to the exploiter. If you believe that you or a loved one were excluded from a will or trust as a result of someone’s financial exploitation of an elderly individual and would like to discuss your rights and options for seeking damages, please contact us.