Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Senior Citizen Protection Act

Bill Mitchell, a pension lawyer, unveiled his proposal for a new federal statute, the Senior Citizen Protection Act. One aspect of the law would help seniors protect their investments from predatory financial advisors.

Mitchell: “We want to have a provision that puts a fiduciary standard on those advisors. A fiduciary standard that is similar to that that is imposed on trustees for federally protected pension plans. And that standard requires that folks provide for diversification and provide for liquidity. And that guards against the danger of seniors being put into highly risky and highly dangerous investments.”

A second component of Mitchell’s proposal seeks to protect the liberty of elders from predatory guardians and stems from lessons he learned from the case of Adele Fletcher.

Mitchell is proposing a federal standard that a person who is not a family member must get court approval for a pre-need guardianship. In the case of Adele Fletcher, such a guardianship was set up by Fran Lang, who did what Mitchell called “a second shocking thing.”

In his proposed legislation, Mitchell would require that transcripts be made of guardian hearings. It would also give federal attorneys the authority to go after guardians and attorneys who violate the trust of their wards.

Full Article and Source:
Bill Mitchell proposes plan for seniors while criticizing Bilirakis


Mitchell proposes plan for seniors - Listen Here

See also:
Adele's Nightmare

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bill Mitchell is headed in the right direction this is original and brilliant. I can hardly contain myself federal protections with consequences? This is a great plan and I hope all of those crooks and bad people who are ripping off old people are the ones who will be needing and stocking up on Depends.

Anonymous said...

Oh someone go after those crooked financial advisors and put them in jail who lie to the people when they give you a free lunch and pressure you and tell you not to tell your kids about the papers and plans that you are entering in with these crooks. Sure they don't want anyone reading all the confusing legal words just sign on the line and hand over your money. This is wrong and they know it.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Bill Mitchell for taking a firm stand and shining a bright light on the serious crisis of financial exploitation and elder abuse, exposing the predators laying in wait preying on our elderly citizens in our nation.

This is a national disgrace, a disaster begging for federal intervention for legislation with swift, harsh consequences for those who engage in criminal activities and for those in positions of trust, including guardians who violate the trust of their wards.

Shame on Gus Bilirakis for his role in this shameful scheme.

How did Gus avoid being punished, disbarred by the Bar Association?

How did Gus avoid being prosecuted for his crimes against Adele?

And, how many other victims are there besides Adele?

Somebody has to pin Gus
Bilirakis to the wall and demand truthful answers.

Anonymous said...

It's a shame Bill Mitchell didn't win. Seniors have lost so much - this plan offered them some real protection.

Hopefully, Bill Mitchell will come back in two years and try again.

Anonymous said...

This is a very important issue that must be heard!

Regardless of the outcome of this race, I hope that Bill Mitchell will continue in his efforts to expose guardian abuse.

Anonymous said...

I am very disappointed that Gus the bad guy won the election. It makes me sick to my soul to know that someone like Gus with a proven criminal mind with greed on his mind is in a position of trust making decisions laws for you and me. How sick and unjust is that? I bet you Bill Mitchell makes Gus very nervous. I hope Bill tries again to get rid of this evil man.

Anonymous said...

I agree, it's painful to see someone like Gus Bilirakis win the election after knowing his involvement in Adele Fletcher's nightmare and probablhy countless of other innocent seniors in FL.

FL just made themselves more vunerable.

It's too bad.