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Does the Domestic Violence Act Apply to the Elderly?
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Elder Abuse Law Attorney The N.J. Prevention of Domestic Violence Act specifically states that the elderly are a protected class. In relevant part the law states; “The Legislature further finds and declares that the health and welfare of some of its most vulnerable citizens, the elderly and disabled, are at risk because of incidents of reported and unreported domestic violence, abuse and neglect which are known to include acts which victimize the elderly and disabled...
read moreElder Abuse of Mother May Be Occurring: So What Can Be Done?
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Elder Abuse Attorney A client suspects elder abuse in the case of her mother. She is 76, lives in New Jersey with her second husband (not the children’s father) and her health is declining. Each time the child(ren) call he says she is not well enough to speak to them. They (collectively) think he is isolating her and making it look like they don’t’ care about her so mom will cut them out of her estate. All her kids live out of state, in Seattle, Portland, and NYC....
read moreThe Case of R.G. v. R.G.: A Study in the Law of Elder Domestic Violence & Abuse Part Four: A Finding of a Predicate Act
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Elder Abuse Attorney In Parts 1, 2 & 3 I have discussed the case of R.G. v. R.G. as a case study in Domestic Violence. I introduced you to the basics of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act and its role in this case. In our last part of this series, I consider the findings made to determine if there was harassment and/or simple assault, either of which was sufficient to determine if a restraining order was warranted. Harassment requires one of the following...
read moreThe Case of R.G. v. R.G.: A Study in the Law of Elder Domestic Violence & Abuse Part Three: When Prior Acts of Domestic Violence are Admissible
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Elder Abuse Attorney In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series I introduced you to the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act as it applies to the elderly. Now after reviewing the facts of the case, I will discuss the process in greater detail. The court spent some time on the issue of the admission of the prior restraining order. When it comes to the admission of any type of evidence in a judicial proceeding, only relevant evidence is admissible. Subject to some exceptions,...
read moreThe Case of R.G. v. R.G.: A Study in the Law of Elder Domestic Violence & Abuse Part Two: The Facts
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Elder Abuse Attorney In my prior blog I explained by way of introduction, the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, as applied to the elderly. Now we turn to the facts of the R.G. v. R.G. Plaintiff and defendant are brothers. The plaintiff lives in Somerset County near where the parents live. He is the elderly parents’ power of attorney, and takes care of them, along with the parties’ sister. Defendant lives in Long Island and is/was not very involved in the...
read moreThe Case of R.G. v. R.G.: A Study in the Law of Elder Domestic Violence & Abuse Part One: A Legal Backdrop
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Elder Abuse Attorney Over the next couple of blogs, I am going to discuss with you the basics of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (“PDVA”) in the context of an elder domestic violence case where two brothers went after each other over how to take care of their aging parents. The case is R.G. v. R.G. As an overview the PDVA was amended in 2015. One of the biggest changes to the law was the definition of a victim of domestic violence. The Act now applies to any...
read moreLack of Knowledge of Ponzi Scheme Not Sufficient to Hold Financial Broker Liable for Fraud
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation Attorney The case of Cantillo v. Fraenkel details whether an elderly plaintiff is entitled to damages from a defendant financial planner, based on his bad recommendations to invest $200,000 in an investment company that was later discovered to be a Ponzi scheme. The investment company and the financial planner both assured plaintiff that his investments were safe and low-risk. Each denied knowing the company was running a...
read moreBank Held Not Liable for the Dastardly Deeds of Two Daughters (Part 3)
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Probate Estate Litigation Attorney In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series I introduced you to a probate case that included a claim of Undue Influence. Two sisters made changes to their mother’s accounts making them joint accounts just prior to her death. In this final part I will be discussing the outcome. In this case, there was no contractual relationship between plaintiff and the defendants who managed her mother’s investment accounts. Defendants had no written or...
read moreBank Held Not Liable for the Dastardly Deeds of Two Daughters (Part 2)
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Probate Estate Litigation Attorney In Part 1 of this series I introduced you to a case involving 2 siblings charging claims of Undue Influence on a financial advisory firm. With only a note from their mother they were able to have her bank accounts changed to joint accounts just prior to her death. In Part 2 I will be discussing the legal aspects of this case. As a general proposition, the case law of New Jersey does not impose upon a financial institution a legal...
read moreBank Held Not Liable for the Dastardly Deeds of Two Daughters (Part 1)
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright, a Freehold, NJ Probate Estate Litigation Attorney A recent published case involved a plaintiff’s claim that a financial advisory firm and their agent acted negligently and improperly in carrying out a written request to have the mother’s investments changed from accounts solely in her name to joint accounts with just one of plaintiff’s sisters. An appellate court dismissed the case because the plaintiffs failed to show that the defendants breached any legal duties to the mother, as...
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