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What should you know about financial abuse?

On Behalf of | Dec 15, 2017 | Inheritance Disputes |

As you dive into matters of inheritance, you might find yourself dealing with more than you bargained for. For example, you could be dealing with the aftermath of a situation in which financial abuse has occurred. In Seattle, there are laws against the acts that could fall under this category. But what exactly financial abuse?

Financial abuse occurs when someone’s property, money, pension, or other valuables are used illegally by another. The end game of most financial abusers is to completely gain control over the assets of the person in question, and that person may even be kicked out of their own home in the end. In some cases, no one outside of the relationship is aware that financial abuse is taking place.

HuffPost shows six signs of financial abuse to keep an eye out for. If someone seems dependent on another, that’s a big warning sign. For example, if the victim doesn’t have any bank accounts, or if you notice that they’ve been giving the potential abuser access to their accounts recently. Sudden decisions are another sign. This can include career changes, or other changes that impact financial areas of the victim’s life. Changing insurance policies or making addendums to a will are some examples.

Generally speaking, financial abuse is not a type of abuse that has many obvious outward signs. It instead is usually discovered in the aftermath of a person’s passing, in which there have been surprising changes made to a will or an inheritance. Though this is not intended as legal advice, you may wish to consider taking legal action if you’ve noticed any of these signs.

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