Legal Question in Elder Law in New York

Can i sue my brother for elder financial abuse?

My brother promised to care for mom and dad and had convinced dad to give him the money to buy a house. He took all his cash and last minute my brother abused dad, and then tried to get him institutionalized. I came to dad's rescue, he is 81, dad sued dad and we have a stipulation now that my brother will sell my dad's house and give him the money when he sells.

But for a year, my brother kept even my father's TV, abused everyone and threatened and so far we have not seen a dime. We had to rent dad an apartment to live in and this is costing us plenty.

There were 4 people that saw my brother promise care for my dad, and we haev a lot of emails where he first promises care and then he says he wants him out and dumps him.

My brother did the same thing with his twin daughers, he dumped them. He threatened me and my husband and has taken more than $600,000 worth of property and we are taking care of dad.

Can we sue my brother now because we are the ones taking care of dad. We have POA.

The stipulation, he might just not comply with.


Asked on 2/05/08, 10:29 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Bryan Richard Bryan Attorney PC

Re: Can i sue my brother for elder financial abuse?

I don't understand how your brother is doing all this financial abuse to dad when you're the one with the Power of Attorney. If you sued your brother and there was a stipulation, why don't you go back to the lawyer who represented you?

One thing I've learned as a lawyer (and in life) is that there are often many more than two sides to a story. A lawyer has to sit down with you and get your side of the facts, and then do her own investigation to determine whether there is a cause of action, and what defenses are available to your brother, and what damages might be available.

Long and short of it is that yes; more or less you can sue anyone in the world for anything. Whether that lawsuit stands up in court is an entirely different matter, and a lawyer is only going to be able to give you an answer after looking carefully at your facts and evidence. So I'm afraid I can't give you a more responsive answer to your question.

Good luck and god bless you and dad.

Rick Bryan

New York, NY

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Answered on 2/05/08, 11:23 pm


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