Brain Tumors, Strokes and Estate Cheats Lying in Wait

Prudent men and women make estate plans to be long-held and to embody family desires and goals.

Heirs and beneficiaries are selected. These selections are unpressured. They don’t reflect smothering demands. Estate heirs and trust beneficiaries experience little surprise from these estate plans.

There are other types of estate plans – plans born in secrecy and incited by foul wrongdoing and vulgar greed. Brain tumors and strokes suffered by elders sometimes play an unfortunate part in rousing ready moral trespassers to action against those made vulnerable by grave illness. Those lying in wait for a weakened prey know that time is short.

Every day that passes imperils the plans of the wrongdoer. Actions must be quick:

Wills and trusts are presented for a deathbed signing;

Blind or deaf seniors sign documents they can’t read or understand;

Document preparers draft dense and weighty legal documents that are presented with little or no explanation for a mortally ill elder to sign;

And, caregivers and even family members isolate a suffering elder and stoke the fires of paranoia against natural heirs and beneficiaries.

What’s my connection to all of this? First, I am a brain tumor survivor. I know what it feels like. I know what it is to have friends draw close and family members closer – to see the spiritual, family and financial protection come from those I love and those that love me. Now, I experienced this when I was 42 and surrounded by family.

It’s far different for those who are elderly, widowed, alone and vulnerable to all types of loss.

So, when family members sit across from me and tell me their story – a story of grief, of a loved one battling a brain tumor or crushed by a stroke, and the actions of an estate interloper, whether outsider or insider, I feel it.

I’m a lawyer and I get it. But it is more to me. It’s easy to share the feelings of outrage and moral betrayal from the rotten abuse.

But, I’m a lawyer. I think of the needs of our legal system – the system that defines the process of righting wrongs, returning property and fixing wrongful transfers. I speak to my clients about the art of the possible.

Securing legal remedies is neither quick nor inexpensive. What we might know in our hearts is not made true by a pleading. A process ensues – a process that we work toward the goal of ultimate justice. We want to hear your story. We want to help where we can.

Hackard Law takes substantial cases where we think that we can make a significant difference and there is a wrongdoer who can be made financially accountable for his wrongdoing.

We represent clients is most of California’s major urban areas including Los Angeles, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and Sacramento Counties.

If you’d like to speak with us about your case, call us at 916 313-3030.