Elder Exploitation Lawyer St. Petersburg
Worried someone is taking advantage of your aging parent in Florida?
Speak Directly With Matt Weidner Today for a free same-day evaluation and a plan to protect what remains
- Talk it through with Matt Weidner, a Florida lawyer for 25+ years
- We'll look at the accounts, deeds and documents that worry you
- We'll explain what Florida law says about a misused power of attorney
- You'll learn which civil steps could help stop further losses
- Get clear on how a civil case differs from a hotline report
- The guidance is 100% free, with no pressure or commitment
Free reviews are offered at our discretion and are not guaranteed, and a personal review by Matt Weidner, including same-day timing, is subject to case type and availability.
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Highly Rated
Why Choose Us?
You may be noticing things before you can prove anything: a bank statement that does not add up, a new name on a deed, or a caregiver who suddenly controls both the checkbook and the conversation. Matt Weidner has practiced law in Florida for over 25 years, and his work spans probate, will and trust disputes, real estate and civil litigation, the areas these cases tend to run through. He often works with families directly, so you get a real, experienced lawyer looking at the documents with you, not a junior staffer.
In elder exploitation cases, timing matters. Money that has left an account can keep moving, and records get harder to pull together the longer things wait. We help you act in a sensible order: protecting what is left, preserving the paper trail, and weighing a claim against a caregiver, relative or agent under a power of attorney, whether your loved one is still living or the problem came to light during probate.
Bring the statements and papers that worry you to Matt for a free case evaluation and action plan.
How It Works
1
get your free same-day evaluation and action plan
Submit the form above or give us a call to get started. People find our free evaluations and action plans extremely valuable.
2
discuss your options With Matt so you know exactly how to proceed
Matt will go over all of your options with you so that you know exactly what to do. No more confusion!
3
Get More Elder Exploitation Help If Needed
If your family needs more than a plan, Matt and our team have the litigation experience to take the case further. That conversation comes after your evaluation.
Free evaluations and action plans are offered at our discretion, depend on case type and availability, and are not guaranteed, including a personal review by Matt Weidner. Submitting a form or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship or guarantee any outcome.
Meet Matt Weidner and the Weidner Law Team
Matt Weidner has been licensed in Florida since 1999 and is admitted to all Florida state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. His practice covers probate, estate planning and general litigation, and he is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Litigation – Real Estate, St. Petersburg. That range matters in exploitation cases, where one family’s problem can involve a drained account, a transferred home and a rewritten will all at once.
Matt works alongside associate attorney Jason M. Kral, whose practice includes real estate litigation, complex civil litigation and estate planning. From the Weidner Law office at 856 2nd Ave N in St. Petersburg, the team helps families piece together what happened to a loved one’s money and property and decide what to do about it.
Our Services for Elder Exploitation Cases
An exploitation case often touches more than one area of law. Depending on what was taken, and whether your loved one is still living, the path forward may run through civil court, probate court or a property dispute, and Weidner Law handles all three from St. Petersburg.
- Civil suits to recover assets
- Power of attorney disputes
- Will and trust contests
- Challenging transferred deeds
- Probate estate disputes
- Protective estate planning
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Who we Help
If something feels off about an older relative’s money, property or paperwork, this page is for you. We work with families in St. Petersburg and around Pinellas County, whether the warning signs are showing up now or only surfaced after a loved one passed away.
- Adult children of aging parents
- Families wary of a caregiver
- Relatives questioning a POA agent's spending
- Heirs after a late-life will change
- Families facing a signed-away home
- Older adults protecting their own savings
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally, it is what many people call elder financial abuse: someone in a position of trust using an elderly or disabled adult’s money or property for their own benefit or someone else’s, including an agent under a power of attorney who breaches a fiduciary duty. Whether your situation fits is a fact question, and Matt can review it with you.
You can do both. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911 first, and suspected exploitation can be reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE. A lawyer handles the civil side, such as recovering property, challenging documents or asking a court to step in.
Often, yes. Florida law lets the personal representative of an estate bring a civil exploitation claim after death, and a will procured by undue influence can be challenged in probate. Deadlines may apply, so it helps to talk with Matt early.
Yes. Your case evaluation and action plan are free, and there is no obligation to hire the firm. Give us a call or fill out the form on this page, and we can talk through what you have found and what may come next.
Reviews
Matt Weidner, Elder Exploitation Lawyer for St. Petersburg Families
Weidner Law handles elder exploitation matters for St. Petersburg families on the civil and probate side: guarding what remains, pursuing what was taken, and challenging transfers or documents that should not stand. Matt Weidner treats those pieces as one problem, because a misused power of attorney can surface later as a probate fight. The free case evaluation and action plan give your family a clear starting point before anything is filed.
Florida gives families real tools in these cases, and Weidner Law helps you understand which ones fit. Section 415.1111 of the Florida Statutes lets a vulnerable adult who has been exploited sue for actual and punitive damages, and the suit can also be brought by a guardian or, with consent, by someone acting on the adult’s behalf. A prevailing party may be entitled to attorney fees. Section 825.1035 creates an injunction for protection against exploitation of a vulnerable adult, which can include freezing accounts when the court finds an immediate and present danger.
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How Weidner Law Handles Elder Exploitation by a Caregiver, Relative or Agent
When the person you are worried about is a caregiver, a relative or an agent under a power of attorney, Weidner Law starts by reading that person’s transactions against the documents that gave them access. Florida law gives families a direct route against an agent who oversteps: under section 709.2116 of the Florida Statutes, a court can review an agent’s conduct and remove the agent. Florida’s criminal exploitation statute, section 825.103, also reaches anyone in a position of trust and confidence, including guardians, trustees and agents under a power of attorney who breach a fiduciary duty.
A home deeded to a caregiver or a joint account opened late in life can be challenged under the right facts. Section 825.103 specifically reaches misuse of money from an account the older person owned and funded alone, and it also addresses unauthorized changes to a will or trust. Matt’s real estate litigation and probate background lets Weidner Law look at the deed, the accounts and the estate plan side by side, so your family is not stitching together advice from three different offices.
Serving Pinellas County Elder Exploitation Cases From Our St. Petersburg Office
Weidner Law’s office is at 856 2nd Ave N in St. Petersburg, open Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Families here get a local lawyer for elder exploitation cases who is admitted to every Florida state court, including the Pinellas County circuit court where a St. Petersburg case is likely to be heard. That court, part of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, has a Probate, Guardianship & Mental Health Division, and the Pinellas County Clerk accepts probate and guardianship filings at its St. Petersburg branch at 545 First Avenue North and at the Clearwater Courthouse.
Location shapes the legal steps. An injunction for protection against exploitation of a vulnerable adult may only be filed in the circuit where the vulnerable adult lives, so for a parent who lives in St. Petersburg, the petition goes to the Sixth Judicial Circuit. If a guardianship case is already open, the statute sends the petition into that case. In Pinellas, a guardianship monitor investigates exploitation allegations in guardianship cases. Weidner Law practices from inside that same circuit, so local procedure is part of your action plan from the start.
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