The last thing Bethany wanted was to lose her home. But after her son risked her house for a loan without telling her, the threatening calls from bank lenders wouldn’t stop. Our lawyers protected Bethany from this financial abuse, and made sure her house was secure.

Bethany is an older woman who almost lost her home. Her son asked her to become a co-director of his company in 2018. In 2019, he took out a loan, listed his mother as a director in the agreement, and included her home as security.  Putting everything Bethany had worked towards her whole life at risk.

When the company failed to service the loan and fell into bankruptcy in early 2020, Bethany started getting calls from the lender seeking a court order to take possession of her house. As the calls continued, Bethany came to Justice Connect asking for help. Her limited understanding of the laws and lack of computer access meant that we acted as a close conduit between Bethany and one of our specialised pro bono legal members.  

We know up to 14% of older Australian have faced similar experiences of elder abuse, which is why it is so important we have services responding. We are integrated across health services and hospitals in VIC and NSW through our Health Justice Partnerships and can tap into our network of over 10,000 pro bono lawyers who can provide the expert legal support urgently needed in cases of elder abuse. 

Please note, Bethany* is a pseudonym. All individuals in this story have been deidentified.