When an elderly man’s daughter began draining his assets while acting under a power of attorney, the Stokes Lawrence team stepped in to halt the financial exploitation, protect his property, secure guardianship and conservatorship, and ultimately ensure his abuser could not inherit from him.
A Father in Decline, a Family Seeking Help
Our client was a concerned relative of an aging man whose cognitive health had begun to deteriorate. The man had spent his life building a modest but meaningful real estate portfolio—his home plus several small rental properties that formed the core of his retirement security. Years earlier, he had named his daughter as his power of attorney for both healthcare and finances.
As his cognition declined, the family expected that she would help stabilize his affairs. Instead, they discovered troubling signs that she was using the authority he had given her for her own benefit. When his relative learned she was preparing to sell another piece of property—his second in a short period—they reached out for urgent help.
When Caregiving Turns Into Exploitation
By the time we became involved, the man’s daughter had already sold one property for less than fair market value and deposited the proceeds into an account she controlled. Those funds—nearly $175,000—were spent rapidly, leaving little trace and offering no benefit to him.
Her spending habits raised immediate concerns. Purchases bore no connection to his needs or care; instead, much of the spending seemed to be for the daughter’s own benefit and expenses. Meanwhile, she continued to position herself to liquidate additional property, accelerating the risk that the man’s entire estate would be depleted before anyone realized what had happened.
The situation required swift legal action to preserve what remained and prevent further harm.
Taking Back Control, One Order at a Time
We acted quickly, filing a Vulnerable Adult Protection Order and securing an emergency restraining order that prevented the daughter from listing or selling any additional property. The order also required her to account for every dollar she had accessed.
At the same time, we petitioned for both guardianship and conservatorship to ensure the man’s affairs would be managed under court supervision rather than through powers of attorney that were being abused. Once appointed, the new guardian and conservator brought transparency and stability to his finances and care.
Through the vulnerable adult proceedings, we established that the man was a vulnerable adult and that his daughter had financially exploited him. These findings triggered significant protections, not only stopping the exploitation in the moment, but also preventing her, by statute, from inheriting from the father she had taken advantage of.
An Adult Protective Services investigation reached the same conclusion. Their findings placed her on a state registry restricting her ability to work with vulnerable populations. The matter was then referred to the King County Prosecutor’s Office, which pursued criminal charges. She ultimately faced criminal accountability.
Restoring Safety and Dignity
With the protection orders, guardianship, and conservatorship in place, the man’s assets were preserved, and the pattern of exploitation was fully documented. The court’s findings ensured his daughter could not receive a future inheritance from the estate she had worked so hard to deplete.
Most importantly, the man was able to spend the remainder of his life safely, with his financial security intact and no further interference from those who had harmed him. Today, he lives comfortably in Idaho, supported by the estate he intended to rely on and protected from the person who threatened that security.
This case reflects a pattern we see far too often in our vulnerable adult practice: financial exploitation by someone who was entrusted to help. It also demonstrates how decisive action, layered protection, and collaboration with investigative and criminal authorities can restore safety, accountability, and dignity when all three are at risk.
