In the spring of 2013, a 75-year-old Korean War veteran living in a house with no heat, no kitchen and a faulty roof contacted us at the SeniorLAW Center for help. The home of “Mr. Jay” of 29 years had been severely damaged due to fire, and the two contractors he had hired to perform the repairs took his $22,000, performed little work and disappeared. Jay had been injured in the fire and suffered from memory loss as a result of his injuries. To make matters worse, he had been defrauded by a friend who stole his ATM card and illegally withdrew over $1,500 from his account—his remaining life savings. What legal avenues exist for a senior citizen with no funds to be made whole again?
“Mrs. Green” is 86 years old with limited mobility and homebound. She sought help to file a petition to extend her Protection From Abuse order against her son, who had been incarcerated for stalking and threatening her life, and was due to be released imminently. Due to several delays in transporting her son to criminal court, the case was dismissed with no extension of her order granted. Green was left scared and alone with no ability to get to the courthouse. What options exist to protect Green?
