Most of us are familiar with the concept of "parental alienation" in the context of divorce, when there is a situation where one parent incites the children against the other parent and causes them to become estranged and detached from him, so the estranged parent becomes the sole parent for him.
Recently, however, a new concept has been coined called "alienation in old age."
This phenomenon occurs when usually one of the children takes over an elderly parent and brings him into a state of remoteness from the rest of his children, in order for the parent to bequeath to that child all his property.
"Because this is a relatively new issue, there are not many rulings on the issue, but there are rulings that deal with 'unfair influence,'" says attorney Inbal Caspi Gaon, who specializes in family law, guardianship and inheritance. On financial matters.
"One party takes the parent under his care and incites him from the other children, does not allow him to contact them, differentiates him from them and from any interaction with them, out of interest in the time that the elderly will inherit all his money to the alienating factor."
How can parental alienation be detected in old age?
"It has three basic characteristics," explains Adv. Caspi Gaon.
Second, the formation of a special relationship of trust between the alienating factor and the elderly, which gives complete trust in the person who alienates him and there is a relationship of dependence between them - physical, financial, emotional and cognitive.
These seniors are actually helpless, and the alienating figure becomes the parental figure for them.
"A third characteristic refers to the period prior to alienation. Prior to the formation of the special trust relationship, the relationship between the old parent and the alienated offspring was normal, but after the dependency was formed, the parent 'infected' from the alienating side and the relationship between him and the offspring was damaged. He wants to see them and is unaware of the many manipulations that have been made to bring him to this situation. "
The elderly woman refused to meet her daughter and granddaughters
Adv. Caspi Gaon tells of a case she handled: two sisters, one religious and the other secular, the daughters of an elderly woman in her 80s, a Holocaust survivor, who have always been in good contact with each other and with the mother. In the past year, the religious nurse decided to take Under the auspices of the mother, the elderly woman left her home and moved in with her religious daughter so that she could take care of her.
In her few encounters with her secular daughter, the elderly woman said that she knew she (her secular daughter) wished for her death and all she wanted from her was just her money.
The secular daughter turned to the court's assistance unit to bridge the rift created between her and her mother, involuntarily, but her elderly mother was unwilling to meet her on the grounds that she wanted to kill her.
"When the secular daughter approached me, about a year had passed since she last saw her mother," says Advocate Caspi Gaon. "We tried in every way to bridge and talk to the other side but all our efforts were in vain.
We applied for the appointment of a guardian for body and property, because the elderly woman is unaware of what is happening around her, she is actually imprisoned.
During this time her inciting daughter took her to make a will and asked her to order her house for only one grandson, the son of the inciting sister.
"The present case is a classic case of pre-estate cases. The alienation is often discovered in old age in retrospect, only after an objection is filed and the parent who has died has died. Advocate Caspi Gaon emphasizes and adds: "It is important to note that not every law firm knows how to deal with this sensitive and complex issue and those who are required to engage in the field must understand all its ramifications."
What can be done when there is alienation in old age?
"When this phenomenon is identified, it is important to contact the court immediately in order to appoint a guardian for the estranged elderly person.
It is important that the court grant the request to examine in depth and check that the elderly person has not been exploited in order to be able to end his life with due respect.
There is something to be done, "concludes Adv. Caspi Gaon," we just need to know who to contact. "
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