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 News & Announcements
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Brad's email is bfrigon@bjflaw.com (and has permanently replaced frigonlaw@qwest.net). Please make a note of it!
Bradley Frigon and Bryan Benbow are contributing authors to the 4th Edition of the Elder Law in Colorado (formerly Colorado Handbook of Elder Law) published by the Colorado Bar Association. It is now complete and is available to order at www.cobar.org or call (303)860-0608.
To order Brad's book Fundamentals of Special Needs Trusts with Stuart D. Zimring and Rebecca C. Morgan, click here or call 1-800-223-1940.
The Law Offices of Bradley J. Frigon has earned an A+ rating and is considered an accredited business with the BBB. The rating was awarded based on the BBB's information gathered on our practice and the length of time we have been operating with no complaints. We are proud to announce that we have been nominated for the BBB's Torch Award for 2011.
Connect with Brad on LinkedIn here.
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Are you looking for a speaker for your next group luncheon or networking event? Call us at 720-200-4025 and schedule a speaking event with one of our attorneys.
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Legal Link
Your Personal Newsletter for Estate, Probate and Long-Term Care Planning
July 2011
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Visit our New Website!
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We are pleased to announce the launching of our new website! Simply go to www.bjflaw.com and our new site will be at your fingertips. We have used a walk-on video of Brad Frigon welcoming visitors to the site so please take a look and see what you think of this new addition.
We developed our new website to help guide you and your family through the legal aspects of estate planning, including wills and trusts, probate, preparing and protecting assets for long term care, tax matters and special needs planning. Our hope is that we have made our site easier to navigate, provided our clients with helpful information to answer some preliminary questions, and included client forms for you to complete to prepare for your initial meeting at our office.
Additionally, we have expanded on Brad's background to give you a better picture of his experience and expertise. In addition to practicing law, Brad is a national speaker/presentor, law school professor, author, expert witness and principal in Practical Planning Systems, a HotDocs estate planning system.
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 The annual financial loss by victims of elder financial abuse is estimated to be at least $2.9 billion dollars, a 12% increase from the $2.6 billion estimated in 2008.
Instances of fraud perpetrated by strangers comprised 51% of the articles. Reports of elder financial abuse by family, friends, and neighbors came in second, with 34% of the news articles followed by reports of exploitation within the business sector (12%) and Medicare and Medicaid fraud (4%).
Medicare and Medicaid fraud resulted in the highest average loss to victims ($38,263,136), followed by fraud by business and industry ($6,219,496), family, friends and neighbors ($145,768), and fraud by strangers ($95,156).
Women were nearly twice as likely to be victims of elder financial abuse as men. Most victims were between the ages of 80 and 89, lived alone, and required some level of help with either health care or home maintenance. In almost all of the cases, there existed a combination of tenuous, valued independence and observable vulnerability that merged in the lives of victims to optimize opportunities for abuse by every type of perpetrator-from the closest family members to professional criminals. Nearly 60% of perpetrators were males. Most male perpetrators were between the ages of 30 and 59, while most of the female perpetrators were between the ages of 30 and 49. Perpetrators who were strangers often targeted victims with visible vulnerabilities (e.g., limited mobility, displays of confusion, or living alone). The number of news articles increased and the character of elder financial abuse changed during the holidays. From November 2010 through January 2011, of the 1,128 articles on elder abuse identified through the newsfeeds, 354 (31%) concerned elder financial abuse. At least one-quarter (27%) of the cases reported were random, predominately single-event crimes accounting for relatively small monetary rewards and characterized by a high level of brutality and disregard for human life. Reports of elder financial abuse perpetrated by strangers and by friends and family were very similar (47% vs. 45%, respectively). |
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Speaking Engagements
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July 15, 2011: 2011 National Academy of Elder Law Board of Directors' Retreat, Seattle, Washington, "NAELA Financial Report," and "Serving on the NAELA Board of Director; Responsibilities and Insights."
July 20, 2011: "IRA and Trust Beneficiary Rules." Webinar developed and presented for the Practical Planning System. To view, click here.
August 11, 2011: "IRA and Trust Beneficiary Rules--Part 2." Webinar developed and presented for the Practical Planning System. To sign up for the Webinar, click here.
September 7, 2011: "Is Using an A/B Trust Still A Good Idea," Webinar developed and presented for the Practical Planning System. To sign up for the Webinar, click here.
September 14, 2011, 7:00 p.m.: National Alliance on Mental Illness, 155 Inverness Drive West, 2nd floor of the ADMHN Building, Denver, Colorado, "How to Select or Replace a Trustee and Important Instructions for the Trustee." Please contact vmckay@bjflaw.com if you wish to attend this seminar.
October 20 and 21, 2011: 2011 Special Needs Trusts, The National Conference, The DonCeSar Beach Resort, St. Petersburg, Florida. "Taxation of SNT's," and "Drafting a Medicare Set Aside Sub Trust into a SNT."
November 8, 2011: National Aging and Law Institute, NAELA Advanced Elder Law Bootcamp, Boston Seaport Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts. "Employment and Retirement."
For a complete list of Brad's speaking engagements, please visit our website.
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Referrals--The Greatest Compliment
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 We always appreciate referrals from our satisfied clients, friends, business partners, and their family members. We welcome the opportunity to serve the people you care about. Please use the "Contact Us" link near the top of this Newsletter to contact our staff. Click on the "Forward Email" at the bottom of the page to send this newsletter to someone who will benefit from our advice.
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