COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Elder abuse remains a growing problem and it might surprise you where evidence of the increased number of cases can be found. Branch County Register of Deeds Nancy Hutchins says there is a lot of fraud happening with deeds being filed after an unsuspecting mother or father, for example, turns over a piece of property to a relative under false pretenses.
According to Hutchins, there is nothing her office can do to prevent, in her words, “some shyster” from coercing a relative to deed over, say, a family farm. She also said it can get interesting when someone passes away and the children all show up to record questionable documents.
Hutchins, who is a member of the Coldwater Sunrise Rotary Club, told the group last week that she and her staff are always on the lookout for customers that try to pass off a tale or two that clearly raise doubts about their authenticity. She quipped they can always tell when there is a full moon just by the people that come in to their office at the Courthouse Annex on Pearl Street, the questions they ask and the stories they want to share.
Hutchins this year started her fourth 4-year term in office.
