NEW HAMPSHIRE ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

Bryan J. Townsend, II, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, Elder Abuse and Exploitation Unit and Sunny MulliganShea, Victim Witness Advocate, NH Department of Justice

Elder financial exploitation is a growing problem in New Hampshire. Most financial exploitation is committed by someone the victim knows and trusts. Often, the perpetrator is a fiduciary who uses his or her fiduciary powers to exploit the older adult victim. Perpetrators use those working in the Estate Planning field to initially access an older adult’s assets. By understanding the signs of elder financial exploitation and the laws available to protect would-be victims, those in the Estate Planning field will be better prepared to assist in protecting older adults throughout the State.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Bryan Townsend, JD is a lifelong resident of New Hampshire. He earned his BA from the University of New Hampshire in Durham and his JD from University of New Hampshire School of Law in Concord. He is the Prosecutor with the Elder Abuse and Exploitation Unit at the Attorney General’s Office. In this role
he works closely with law enforcement and the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (BEAS) to investigate and prosecute cases of elder abuse and exploitation across the State. Bryan also presents on Elder Abuse and Exploitation throughout the State and teaches at the Police Standards and Training. Prior to taking the position as head of
the Elder Abuse and Exploitation Unit, Attorney Townsend was a prosecutor for the Medicaid Fraud Unit at the Attorney General’s Office. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office he was a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Carol Ann Conboy and spent three years in private practice.

Sunny Mulligan Shea, JD is the Victim Witness Advocate for the Elder Abuse and Exploitation Unit at the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. Her prior experience includes fourteen years in a small law firm predominantly representing children as a Guardian ad Litem for victims of sexual assault. She taught at the UNH School of Law for 9 years and was a Victim Witness Advocate for Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office for two years prior to coming to the Attorney General’s Office in the summer of 2016. In her current position she is a prosecution based advocate for elder abuse and exploitation cases, homicides cases, and Medicaid fraud cases. She does presentations throughout the State on Elder Abuse and Exploitation and teaches at Police Standards and Training. She is a on the State Commission on Aging and is a member of New Hampshire Financial Abuse Specialty Team and the New Hampshire Incapacitated and Vulnerable Adult Fatality Review Committee. In 2019 the Alzheimer’s Association’s recognized Sunny as and a New Hampshire Woman Leader in Public Policy.