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Jewish World Review July 30, 2007 / 15 Meanachem-Av, 5767 Be wary of ‘trust’ scams By Jan L. Warner & Jan Collins http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Q: My parents have been secretive about their finances ever since I can remember. As they aged (they are now in their late 70s), I would ask about powers of attorney, because of my concern about handling matters for them if they became unable to do so. They would tell my husband and me (I am an only child) that everything was under control and, could they not handle their affairs, I would find everything in order. My father has suffered a debilitating stroke from which he will not recover, and my mother broke her hip. I finally got a key to their home from her purse, and after hours of searching, my husband and I found their "everything is under control" package: a notebook containing a couple hundred pages of trust documents and instructions, some signature pages having not been signed or witnessed; and a number of deferred annuity statements and bank statements. No powers of attorney or wills. I called the banks and annuity companies, all of which refused to talk to me. I called the "trust network" responsible for this mess, and they hung up on me. I have now been to a lawyer who tells me that I will basically have to sue my parents to gain court-appointed conservatorship and guardianship over both of them. In this way, he says, we can get to the bottom of this awful mess. I blame myself for not being more aggressive with my folks. They trusted the word of strangers who took advantage of them as opposed to trusting their only child. I hope you will print this so your readers will understand that seniors are indeed targets for abuse. A: We think you should make another call: to the attorney general of your parents' state of residence to report this obvious exploitation by con artists. Using the ploy of "helping" seniors with estate-planning documents that will allegedly save taxes and avoid expensive probate (despite the fact that more than 98 percent of those who die each year will not have taxable estates), these con artists first create trust relationships, learn about the seniors' assets and income, and then take advantage of the trust relationship by using the financial information they gain to sell annuities that most seniors don't need. Some of these purveyors of deception invite seniors to their free seminars by direct mail, newspaper ads or telephone solicitation. Others even come to the senior's home to give free consults about creating or changing current living trusts. Even though they are not lawyers, these folks provide legal advice on estate planning but do not make disclosures to the intended victims that their goal is to sell an insurance or annuity product. If they did, your folks would have never let them through the door. After creating the documents, they go back and convince the victims to move a large portion of their liquid assets into deferred annuities, generally with the sales pitch that they will make more interest and can't lose any money. The sales pitch does not inform the victims about the disadvantages of annuities, especially for seniors, including maturity issues, limitations on withdrawals and substantial penalties for early liquidation. To cause even more harm, the trusts are never funded — that is, the real estate and bank accounts are not transferred from the seniors to themselves as trustees, meaning that there is no vehicle to allow management of the financial assets. On death, there will definitely be a probate, the precise process your folks were told they would avoid. And since the seniors think they have it all covered, it is difficult to convince them that they need powers of attorney and wills. Taking the NextStep: Trust mills are not the only culprits. Banks that switch seniors into deferred annuities when their certificates of deposit are coming due are close behind. The cost of the proceeding that is now necessary because of bad planning and fraud, plus what it will probably cost to get this mess resolved, will be significant. Why your folks, like many others, choose to trust strangers rather than family members is beyond us, but with good planning in advance by qualified lawyers, these issues can be avoided. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. JAN L. WARNER received his A.B. and J.D. degrees from the University of South Carolina and earned a Master of Legal Letters (L.L.M.) in Taxation from the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a frequent lecturer at legal education and public information programs throughout the United States. His articles have been published in national and state legal publications. Jan Collins began co-authoring Flying SoloŽ in 1989. She has more than 27 years of experience as a journalist, writer, and editor. To comment or ask a question, please click here. Archives © 2007, Jan Warner

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