Elder law attorney and gerontologist Susan B. Geffen is using a new educational video series to help older adults and their families recognize warning signs of financial exploitation, scams and isolation before a crisis develops.
REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Los Angeles elder law attorney and gerontologist Susan B. Geffen has launched a new educational video series focused on financial elder abuse, scams targeting older adults and the role isolation can play in leaving vulnerable seniors more susceptible to exploitation.
The videos are being released across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn as part of Geffen’s continuing effort to educate older adults and their families about situations she has encountered during almost four decades working in elder law.
Rather than focusing solely on what families can do after financial exploitation has occurred, Geffen wants the series to help people recognize potential warning signs earlier.
“By the time many families realize an older parent or loved one is being financially exploited, significant damage may already have been done,” said Susan B. Geffen. “Education can be one of our most important forms of prevention. I want families to understand what these situations can look like, what should concern them and why staying connected to the older adults in their lives is so important.”
Financial Elder Abuse and the Importance of Staying Connected
One of the central themes of Geffen’s educational campaign is the relationship between isolation and financial vulnerability.
When an older adult becomes increasingly separated from trusted family members, friends or longtime advisors, there may be fewer people in a position to notice unusual behavior, questionable relationships or changes in financial activity.
Isolation can take many forms. Family members may suddenly find that telephone calls are not being returned, visits are discouraged or prevented, or another person has assumed increasing control over an older adult’s communications and daily life.
California law recognizes certain forms of isolation as elder abuse and provides legal remedies in qualifying circumstances, including anti-isolation restraining orders designed to protect an elder or dependent adult’s ability to maintain relationships with people they wish to see or communicate with.
Geffen believes understanding the potential connection between isolation and financial exploitation is particularly important.
“If someone who wants to take advantage of an older person can separate that person from the people who know and care about them, there may be fewer people around to question what is happening,” Geffen said. “Maintaining family and social connections isn’t simply about companionship. Those relationships can also provide another layer of awareness and protection.”
Helping Families Recognize Potential Warning Signs
Throughout the video series, Geffen discusses circumstances families may encounter involving financial elder abuse, scams and the isolation of older adults.
Drawing upon her experience in elder law, she explains how manipulation and increasingly sophisticated scams can result in older adults losing significant amounts of money before their families understand what is occurring.
The goal is not to make families suspicious of every new relationship or financial decision made by an older adult. Instead, Geffen hopes to encourage families to remain involved, communicate regularly and recognize significant changes that may warrant closer attention.
Potential warning signs may include sudden secrecy surrounding finances, unexplained withdrawals or transfers, unusual new relationships involving requests for money, abrupt changes in communication with family members, or an older adult becoming increasingly inaccessible to people with whom they previously had regular contact.
Geffen also emphasizes the importance of respecting the independence and dignity of older adults while recognizing circumstances in which undue influence, isolation or financial exploitation may be occurring.
Education Before a Family Reaches the Courtroom
The video initiative continues Geffen’s broader emphasis on public education surrounding elder law and the challenges facing aging adults and their families.
In August 2026, Geffen presented “Understanding Conservatorships: Protecting Your Loved Ones,” an online seminar hosted by the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles. The program addressed conservatorships, alternatives and the decisions families may face when a loved one can no longer safely manage certain personal or financial matters.
Her new video series expands that educational effort by helping families understand circumstances that can sometimes contribute to a future legal crisis.
“A conservatorship or restraining order may sometimes become necessary, but ideally families recognize a problem before the situation reaches that point,” Geffen said. “If these videos cause someone to call their mother, visit their father, ask an additional question about an unusual financial transaction or simply pay closer attention, then they have accomplished something important.”
The educational videos are available through Susan B. Geffen’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn channels.
More About Susan B. Geffen
Susan B. Geffen is an elder law attorney based in Hermosa Beach, California, serving clients throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. Her practice areas include conservatorships and limited conservatorships, estate planning, living trusts and wills, trust litigation, probate, elder abuse restraining orders, anti-isolation restraining orders and financial elder abuse.
A former elder law professor with a Master’s degree in gerontology, Geffen has spent almost four decades helping adult children and their aging parents plan for the future and protect vulnerable family members. She is also the author of Take That Nursing Home and Shove It!
For additional information about Susan B. Geffen and her elder law practice, visit SusanBGeffenLaw.com.
Media Contact
Susan B. Geffen
Law Offices of Susan B. Geffen
2447 Pacific Coast Hwy #234
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
(800) 285-2659
SusanBGeffenLaw.com
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SOURCE Law Office of Susan B. Geffen
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