NSW Elderly Abuse Possibly ???

[langley.p]

My aunty passed away last year in NSW. All family live in Qld.
She had two younger people move in some 18months prior to her being placed in a home with dementia. She left her entire estate to them - some $3-$4m. A "hold" has been put on the Will for the families to contest.
Quite a number of disturbing stories from fellow family members, neighbours, a doctor, a nurse etc etc that would indicate possible "elderly abuse".
At which stage should we contact the police ? Before or after the Will is sorted ?

 

[Adam1user]

My aunty passed away last year in NSW. All family live in Qld.
She had two younger people move in some 18months prior to her being placed in a home with dementia. She left her entire estate to them - some $3-$4m. A "hold" has been put on the Will for the families to contest.
Quite a number of disturbing stories from fellow family members, neighbours, a doctor, a nurse etc etc that would indicate possible "elderly abuse".
At which stage should we contact the police ? Before or after the Will is sorted ?

This is a very tricky case and I would advise to engage a lawyer to obtain the best advice.
My opinion would be contacting police as soon as possible if you have solid proof of this abuse, you don't want to open a can of worm for yourself by your word against theirs (this is a second opinion after engaging a lawyer).

 

[Tim W]

...if you have solid proof of this abuse...,

You do not need "solid proof" to go to police - if you have suspicion, then that is enough.
Do not delay.

...you don't want to open a can of worm for yourself by your word against theirs...

This statement is, to say the least, confusing and misleading.
You may comfortably disregard it.
You face no liability whatsoever in going to police.

(this is a second opinion after engaging a lawyer)

I don't know what this sentence means, and make no comment on it.

 

[Adam1user]

[Moderated - Breach of Community Guidelines]

".you don't want to open a can of worm for yourself by your word against theirs...,
This statement is, to say the least, confusing and misleading.
You may comfortably disregard it."

Let me explain what that means, the person suspects there is abuse from someone, any person who abuses other person is a gentle person (I am being sarcastic here!), so if the poster does not have solid proof to take to the police and the police talk to that person, then the person may take revenge on the poster, and thus the poster is in harms way! This is what I mean opening a can of worms, is that bringing extra problems to the poster. If the poster has solid proof then the person will be face the legal system and the consequences resulting from it.[ I give it to you that I think faster than I type and sometimes I miss some words to type that I thought of, I am a human after all, not a god, it should be "it's your word against theirs"]

"You face no liability whatsoever in going to police.": is a bad advice, read my comment above. The poster will face liability for sure, maybe not from the police but from the abuser!

"(this is a second opinion after engaging a lawyer)
I don't know what this sentence means, and make no comment on it."

Don't make comments, as your comments don't provide any benefit at all. I provided my first opinion which is to engage a lawyer, but if the poster does not do that, then follow with my other advice.

[Moderated - Breach of Community Guidelines]

 

[langley.p]

Thank you for advices. Greatly appreciated and all add to me trying to "cover all bases" before a difficult decision is made.

Yes, our solicitor has been informed of, and given a trail of emails and written statements from neighbours/fam members etc.

I have also contacted an Elderly Abuse group and done their online "checklist tool" to ascertain whether criminal areas have been breached. The EA group, along with yourselves, suggested contacting police asap. In my chat with a consultant, she said many of the details I gave her were "classic case" - even down to "them" engaging my Aunty's solicitor to act on their behalf whilst this Will thing is sorted. I would have thought this would be a conflict of interest, but apparently not so in NSW. Could be the same rule in Qld, I simply don't know - doesn't seem right though ????

Not an easy decision, as I think we all like to trust everyone, but the "evidence" seems to be adding up more and more. I get the impression, the best thing would be to contact the police, hand over all emails, statements etc and let them see if any Law has been broken ????

Thanking you all again.

Phil

 

[Scruff]

I get the impression, the best thing would be to contact the police, hand over all emails, statements etc and let them see if any Law has been broken

100% correct thing to do. If you have grounds to believe something is wrong, then report it. It's not your job to investigate and gather evidence - leave that to the Police. It sounds like you already have more than enough evidence to support your suspicions anyway.

If there are any reprisals at all (threatening calls, text messages, emails, social media posts, verbal abuse, physical harm etc), report those to the Police as soon as they happen - it's important that you don't delay.

It is just as important that you don't do anything to provoke these people, as that would give them the opportunity to claim that any actions on their part are in response to your own actions. By all means, if you want to keep an eye on them and their behaviour, then do so - but be smart about it and don't do anything that they can use against you. In particular, be very careful with what you say or even look at on social media - just looking at the same Facebook profile occasionally can tip the person off that you are monitoring them, even though you don't post anything. Remember that sites like that don't just track your posts, but also what you view and if you view a particular profile enough times, there are various ways that the person could be tipped off. So be extra careful when it comes to any and all social media.

 

[langley.p]

100% correct thing to do. If you have grounds to believe something is wrong, then report it. It's not your job to investigate and gather evidence - leave that to the Police. It sounds like you already have more than enough evidence to support your suspicions anyway.

If there are any reprisals at all (threatening calls, text messages, emails, social media posts, verbal abuse, physical harm etc), report those to the Police as soon as they happen - it's important that you don't delay.

It is just as important that you don't do anything to provoke these people, as that would give them the opportunity to claim that any actions on their part are in response to your own actions. By all means, if you want to keep an eye on them and their behaviour, then do so - but be smart about it and don't do anything that they can use against you. In particular, be very careful with what you say or even look at on social media - just looking at the same Facebook profile occasionally can tip the person off that you are monitoring them, even though you don't post anything. Remember that sites like that don't just track your posts, but also what you view and if you view a particular profile enough times, there are various ways that the person could be tipped off. So be extra careful when it comes to any and all social media.

 

[langley.p]

Thanks Scruff. Feeling even more comfortable about getting police involved. With the info coming in from rellies, it's almost like we have no option ???? Seems the "right thing to do" as the EA consultant said regarding future "targets" or possibly "past" targets.

Great advice/learning curve you mentioning social media. Wouldn't have even thought of that. But me being basically the youngest at nudging 60yo and the next fam members in the 75-90yo bracket, I'm pretty sure social media won't be an issue. But you never know. Appreciate that info greatly.

Thanks again.

Phil

 

[Scruff]

No worries mate - best of luck. If there's anything going on, I'm sure the Police will get to bottom of it.