Protecting Seniors from Financial Abuse in Connecticut

Jul 04 2026

By: John Drapp

Posted in: Probate, Estate Planning, Elder Law, Conservatorship

Older adults lose about $28.3 billion a year to financial exploitation, according to a 2023 AARP report. Roughly 72 percent of that comes from people the victim knows: relatives, friends, and caregivers.

Age raises the risk. Many seniors rely on others for daily help, and dementia can make it even harder to notice or challenge a wrongdoer. Planning ahead reduces the chances of abuse happening. If abuse does happen, Connecticut law gives families real options.

Common Forms of Elder Financial Abuse

Pressuring or tricking an older person into signing a will, trust, power of attorney, or financial document
Taking or using money or property without permission, or through deception
Blocking a senior from seeing or controlling their own accounts, property, or financial information
Charging for caregiving or other services the senior does not want or need

This list is not complete, but these patterns come up most often.

Plan Ahead

An estate plan built by an attorney is the best early defense. Trusts, powers of attorney, and related documents protect your assets, provide for your care, and put your wishes in writing.

Meet with your attorney privately. Even if someone drives you to the appointment, expect to spend time with the attorney alone. A private conversation lets the attorney confirm that the plan reflects your wishes and that no one is pressuring you to create a certain plan.

Choose your fiduciaries with care. The people you name as agent under a power of attorney, as trustee, or as your preferred conservator will have real control over your money. A family member is the usual choice, but not always the right one. An adult child under financial strain, for example, may be tempted to pay personal bills from a parent's checking account.

We help clients weigh family dynamics and each candidate's personal and financial circumstances. We also help clients decide whether an independent professional fiduciary makes more sense, and whether added safeguards would help, such as:

Regular accountings to a trusted third party
Co-agents or co-trustees who must act together
A trust protector with power to remove and replace a trustee

If Financial Abuse Has Already Happened

Acting quickly limits the damage. These are the steps we recommend.

Report it. In Connecticut, the Department of Social Services investigates abuse, neglect, exploitation, and abandonment of people age 60 and older through its Protective Services for the Elderly program. Call 1-888-385-4225, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nights, weekends, and holidays, call 2-1-1. In immediate danger, call 911. Anyone can make a report, and you can also contact local police.
Contact the bank. Ask the financial institution to flag or freeze affected accounts and to preserve records of the transactions.
Build a support network. A victim of exploitation often feels shame or fear. Surround your loved one with trusted family, friends, and professionals, such as a financial advisor, therapist, or social worker.
Call an elder law attorney. An attorney can help cut off the abuser's access to the person and to the accounts. If the older person still has capacity, that may mean revoking a power of attorney and notifying every institution that relied on it. Together with Protective Services and law enforcement, the attorney can also help identify the affected assets and measure the loss.

Court Protection: Conservatorship

When the older person can no longer manage their own finances, or an agent has abused their authority, the Connecticut Probate Court can appoint a conservator of the estate. Family members or others concerned about the person can file the petition.

A conservator manages the person's finances under court supervision. The conservator must account for transactions and, for certain decisions, obtain the court's approval. This protection can also be necessary when relatives have removed property from the person's home without permission.

Recovering What Was Taken

An elder law attorney can pursue misappropriated assets by:

Working with banks and other financial institutions
Making demand on the wrongdoer and, when needed, filing a civil lawsuit
Supporting a criminal complaint, with the documents needed to file it correctly and promptly
Negotiating a settlement or mediated resolution when that serves the client

Recovery is not always possible, and some wrongdoers have little to collect. But because most exploiters are known to the victim, the facts and the paper trail are often easier to establish than in a stranger-fraud case.

When the abuser still has access to the older person, a court may issue protective or restraining orders that bar contact and protect the person's resources. Whether such an order is available depends on the facts, and we will tell you plainly where a case stands.

How Drapp Law Can Help

Drapp Law helps seniors and their families in two ways: planning now to prevent exploitation, and responding when it has already occurred. If you want to protect yourself or suspect that someone you love is being taken advantage of, call us at (203) 871-0356.

This information is subject to the terms of our disclaimer.

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