Florida Elder Law & Estate Planning Blog


MV Realty Scam Update
October 28, 2024

Longtime followers of this blog will recall that Attorney Joseph Karp alerted the Florida Attorney General that it needed to act when he learned that MV Realty swindled his elderly client. There are new developments in this case. But first,…

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Florida Residents Get More Protection From Financial Fraud
June 11, 2024

Elder Abuse Awareness Month is June, so it is an appropriate time to share this good news: Beginning next year, elderly and vulnerable Floridians get more protection from financial exploitation, thanks to Florida’s recent passage of the Protection of Specified…

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Caution: Vulnerable Homeowners Targeted By MV Realty
January 3, 2023

*Update: This story and Attorney Karp’s commentary was published in the Palm Beach Post 1/15/23. Read it here. Homeowners, Watch Out For This Scam By Attorney Joseph Karp Nationally Certified Elder Law Attorney Florida Bar Certified Elder Law Specialist  …

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Who Do You Trust? Your Bank & Brokerage Want To Know
September 5, 2022

Who do you trust? Your brokerage, bank and other financial institutions want to know. When you open a new account, or update an account that was established before Feb. 5, 2018, they will ask you to provide the name of…

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elder financial abuse
Florida Seniors Get More Protection From Financial Exploitation Under New Law
August 27, 2020

Vulnerable seniors are getting more protection from financial exploitation, thanks to a new Florida law that went into effect on July 1, 2020. The new law increases the ability of financial advisors to take action when they suspect their elderly…

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Florida home
Financial Fraud: Don’t Let Someone Steal Your Home
August 25, 2020

Property fraud is a growing crime in Florida and elsewhere, the FBI reports. The crime is, essentially, “house stealing.” Here’s how it works:  A fraudster, using information about you gleaned from the internet or elsewhere, files a fraudulent deed or…

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How To Divide Your Assets Among Children- What's Really Fair?
How To Divide Your Assets Among Children: What’s Really “Fair”?
April 13, 2019

“That’s not fair!” What parent of youngsters hasn’t heard that countless times? It’s a complaint that doesn’t necessarily vanish when children are adults. In fact, depending on how they feel they’ve been treated in your estate plan, your kids may…

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Buz Adlrin
Houston, We Have A Problem
July 3, 2018

Houston, we have a problem! Nearly 50 years after becoming the second man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin is undertaking a more earthly mission: fighting guardianship proceedings  to stay in control of his own affairs. In May, two of…

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Senior Abuse
New federal law addresses increasing incidence of elder abuse by court-appointed guardians
January 28, 2018

The Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act became law in October, 2017. The result of rarely-seen bipartisan cooperation in Washington, the law seeks to stem the growing tide of elder abuse and fraud by court-appointed guardians, as well as curb…

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Financial Abuse
Rule to curb senior financial exploitation coming in 2018
May 9, 2017

Older Americans are losing $2.9 billion to financial exploitation each year, according to a 2011 Met Life survey. That may be too conservative a figure, given the reluctance of victims to report the crime for reasons that include embarrassment over…

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