Older adults are often the targets of scammers. Our office has noticed an increase in estate-planning-related scams. Here’s how you can avoid being scammed by an estate planning scam.
Use Personal Identifiers When Communicating
A scammer will often pretend to be an attorney and use vague language without personal identifiers, such as your name. They will typically use your name, mailing address, and sometimes a file number.
Confirm That the Contact You Have Made Is Employed.
Double-check the website of the law firm and/or California State Bar website. You are likely to have been a scam victim if the person listed as working at the law firm or state bar website isn’t correct.
Beware of Claims That You Are a Long-Lost Relative in Another Country.
You should be suspicious of anyone who contacts you, claiming they have found a long-lost relative and asking for probate fees to get your inheritance. This is likely an estate planning scheme.
Don’t Bother With “Title Insurance”
Title Lock is a company that scares older people by telling them that a fraudster could file a new county deed, forge their names, and then transfer the home’s title to himself. These companies charge a monthly fee to protect your home from title fraud.
Do Not Use Living Trust Mills
The trust mill scam is something that the California Attorney General has been warning about for years. The trust mill often offers a seminar for free and then sends a sales representative to the home of the elderly to sell them generic trusts or other products such as annuities.
This article was written by Alla Tenina. Alla is a top Orange County personal injury lawyer, and the founder of Tenina Law. She has experience in bankruptcies, real estate planning, and complex tax matters. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; the ABA and its members do not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.
