Avoid Impartial Outsiders
Perpetrators of estate fraud do not want to be exposed. They want complete control of the estate, how it is managed and disbursed. They vigorously oppose any involvement of independent outsiders.
They operate in secret. They do not want any independent, impartial outsiders to see the true nature of their relationship with their elderly target, their manipulations, excessive influence, their ruthless cruelty.
Perpetrators position themselves as Executors, Administrators and Trustees of estate assets in addition to becoming beneficiaries.
This is another key identifying characteristic of undue influence and estate fraud in addition to the Three Tests described below.
The perpetrators will rigorously oppose the involvement of bank trust departments that might provide protection for the rightful heirs.
Bank trust departments document client meetings and provide credible continuity exceeding the life span of any single family ally. Bank trust departments are generally conservative and expert at estate administration. They can detect fraud and undue influence.
The wisest, best course is to keep estate discussions open and public, to involve the heirs continually in any changes that might occur.
Secrecy allows covert manipulation, undue influence and fraud to flourish.
August 23, 2008 at 11:29 am
Private bank trust departments can also appear secretive and manipulate elders’ daily lives. How can a concerned person get documentation of client meetings for the frail elder? The private bank officer perpetrates undue influence, even to the point of selecting vendors and service providers, because the elder is frail. While not indicative of all areas, in this city, experience with private banks has shown me that private bankers do not subject themselves to full disclosure. It’s a problem when the frail elder is the trustee and relatives are not in the geographic area to be involved. I agree: keeping everything open and transparent is the best course. It follows my social work training. Wish I could say that my experience with private bank trust officers concurred, but it does not.