Financial abuse of the elderly is a serious problem. While most estate planning and elder law attorneys can be trusted not to abuse clients unfortunately not all can be trusted.
William Edy was a respected elder law attorney in Florida. He was known for writing columns about elder law issues and estate planning. He even wrote about the financial abuse of the elderly.
However, he is no longer respected or an attorney.
On Dec. 10, 2015, the Supreme Court of Florida permanently disbarred Edy. The list of things Edy did improperly is long.
He was charged with skimming money from a client's settlement checks, charging for unnecessary work that was never completed, charging a deceased person's credit card and not maintaining a trust account to hold client funds. These are all serious ethical problems that resulted in charges that Edy financially abused his elderly clients.
The News-Press reported on this story in an article entitled "Elder law attorney rips off seniors."
As horrendous as these charges may be it is important to note that he does not represent the overwhelming majority of estate planning and elder law attorneys who do not financially abuse their clients.
When hiring an attorney make certain you can trust the attorney. If something does not seem right, then it is often a good idea to ask a friend or family member if it seems right to them. You can also ask another attorney in the field for a second opinion.
Most likely the attorney you hire will not financially abuse you, but just in case be careful.
Reference: News-Press (Dec. 21, 2015) "Elder law attorney rips off seniors."
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