- Jurisdiction
- Illinois
An elder care lawyer took 100k from my aunt for 5 months of service that we have no documentation for.
Background, my uncle died 3 yrs ago, and left his sister in charge of his trust.
The money for this trust was supposed to be used to care for his elderly wife Teres. (90 yr.old) ONLY if she ran out of her own assests totaling 100k. (She lives alone, with volunteers helping her with daily activities)
My aunt hired an Elder Care atty in January of 2021, to help with providing care for Teresa , because the volunteers felt she needed more help.. her health has deteriorated and there is dog and cat feces all over the home.
This law firm agreed to help. They told her they'd hire people to clean her home, and provide 24hr care giving, plus pay her bills.
The atty then told my aunt that his Secretary is Theresa's Power of Attorney for both medical and finances. (So they had access to her bank account)
Teresa, has dementia, and serious mental illness. I do not believe this was done legally
My aunt asked that a statement be sent to her every month totaling the cost for Teresa's care. (They were not upfront about these cost, they only asked her for a 5k retainer fee)
After numerous attempts of getting them to send statements, they finally sent a statement for 5 months of charges totaling 72,000. (None of the statements have any backup or ltemized documents, receipts from caregivers etc) They sent another statement in July totaling another 20k. The volunteers that still visit, say most of the time there are no caregivers there, or sometimes they are sitting in their car, nobody is there 24/7. (side note, Teresa is estranged from my aunt, so my aunt counts on volunteers to check on caregivers and Tersa) When my aunt questioned the lawyer's charges they told her she is NOT their client, Teresa is.
Needless to say, because they are power of attorney, they were able to withdraw all of Teresa's money to pay themselves. They have drained her bank account and are now seeking the trust money.
Does my aunt have any legal rights to fight these charges?
Is this fraudulent and unethical?
Background, my uncle died 3 yrs ago, and left his sister in charge of his trust.
The money for this trust was supposed to be used to care for his elderly wife Teres. (90 yr.old) ONLY if she ran out of her own assests totaling 100k. (She lives alone, with volunteers helping her with daily activities)
My aunt hired an Elder Care atty in January of 2021, to help with providing care for Teresa , because the volunteers felt she needed more help.. her health has deteriorated and there is dog and cat feces all over the home.
This law firm agreed to help. They told her they'd hire people to clean her home, and provide 24hr care giving, plus pay her bills.
The atty then told my aunt that his Secretary is Theresa's Power of Attorney for both medical and finances. (So they had access to her bank account)
Teresa, has dementia, and serious mental illness. I do not believe this was done legally
My aunt asked that a statement be sent to her every month totaling the cost for Teresa's care. (They were not upfront about these cost, they only asked her for a 5k retainer fee)
After numerous attempts of getting them to send statements, they finally sent a statement for 5 months of charges totaling 72,000. (None of the statements have any backup or ltemized documents, receipts from caregivers etc) They sent another statement in July totaling another 20k. The volunteers that still visit, say most of the time there are no caregivers there, or sometimes they are sitting in their car, nobody is there 24/7. (side note, Teresa is estranged from my aunt, so my aunt counts on volunteers to check on caregivers and Tersa) When my aunt questioned the lawyer's charges they told her she is NOT their client, Teresa is.
Needless to say, because they are power of attorney, they were able to withdraw all of Teresa's money to pay themselves. They have drained her bank account and are now seeking the trust money.
Does my aunt have any legal rights to fight these charges?
Is this fraudulent and unethical?
Last edited:
