Abuse of the Wealthy Elderly Individuals
(Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law) recently published his article entitled Regrettably Unfair: Brooke Astor and the Other Elderly in New York, 30 Pace L. Rev. 1004 (2010). An excerpt from the introduction is below:
Through the prism of Brooke Astor’s story, this article examines developments in New York law that relate to the impact of incapacity and exploitation on truly vulnerable elders. Unfortunately, most elders who have compelling and noteworthy stories of injustice lack the glamour of wealth and celebrity that draw us in, like bystanders stealing a glimpse of the wreckage of an automobile accident. Part I of this article discusses Meryl Gordon’s book, a story about wealth, class, and privilege, and the Astor family’s epic dysfunction, the phenomenon of elder abuse, and the failures of the cadre of lawyers hired by Brooke Astor. Notably, Astor’s lawyers failed to adequately serve her, but always presented her with excessive bills for their services. Part II explores the nature and extent of elder abuse, particularly financial exploitation, both nationally and in New York. This section will focus on the abuse of powers of attorney and the exploitation of elders with diminished capacity to secure benefits under a will and estate plan. This section also covers the new power of attorney statute and the provisions designed to reduce the incidence of abuse by agents. Part III examines the remedies for elder abuse that were utilized in the Astor case–guardianship, criminal charges, and a will contest–and examines how the Astor case implicates recent developments in these areas. Part IV analyzes the conduct of the attorneys who represented Mrs. Astor–the “men in suits” who failed Mrs. Astor and Susan I. Robbins, who was appointed by the court to represent Mrs. Astor in the guardianship case and provided her with high quality representation–within professional norms, best practices, and the provisions of the recently enacted New York Rules of Professional Conduct. This article concludes by reflecting on the relationship among economic class, the availability and quality of support services, guardianship, and elder abuse.