Last year Carolyn Hartle got a call from a senior citizen who had an inkling that a company he hired botched a job.

This wasn't a situation where a shoddy contractor overcharged him for roofing repairs. It was a case where the suited salesman carried a brief case and sold living trusts. His pitch: For a mere $1,800 fee, plus undefined additional costs, he would create a living trust for the gentleman which would save $20,000 over probate costs.

A living trust turns over a person's assets while they are alive to another person. For those with large assets it can save on probate and legal fees.

Probate is a court process whereby the estate of someone who died is administered. Usually the process involves gathering assets of the deceased, paying off any debt or taxes and distributing property to heirs.

But it turns out this senior's estate was under $100,000 and a living trust therefore probably wasn't needed. Probate costs would probably have been under $1,000.

This isn't an anecdotal tale.

In another incident Ms. Hartle discovered an older man with a $75,000 house. He wound up paying $2,000 for a trust but thought he was buying a mutual fund. In another situation rather than placing an elderly couple's assets in the care of a relative a company unloaded it on a neighbor.

An attorney with at Ekker Kuster, McConnell & Epstein LLP's Sharon office, she regular delves into law regarding seniors and is on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Elder Law Section.

When finding people who get bum legal advice in creating a trust she sends letters to that business trying to recoup legal fees. In virtually all the cases the firms are out-of-towners.

"Surprise, Surprise, many of the letters come back 'address unknown,' " she remarked. "The only way to stop abuses of living trusts are to inform people.''

Anxiety among seniors that somehow all they worked for will be lost are frequently used by unscrupulous salesmen in selling living trusts.

"They know what the elderly's concerns are and hone in on those,'' Mrs. Hartle said.

Local attorneys and social service organizations report salespeople fronting for lawyers or business outside the area prey on seniors' worst fears in selling trusts. Claims such as living trust stops all taxes and automatically protects assets and property from creditors after their death are common.

"You hear all these lies that you don't have to pay any taxes and it protects against creditors,'' said Charles Hersh, a Hermitage attorney who practices elder law. "That just not true. You still have to pay your bills.''

Tom Woerz, a planner for the non-profit Mercer County Area Agency on Aging Inc., still keeps a flyer on file from First American Marketing Corp., which operates under the name Senior Informational Services. The flier from the Quakertown, Pa., marketing company hosted a seminar last August in Grove City. The flier touts: "Find Out Why Experts Say Destroy Your Will. Don't Lose Your Estate To A Nursing Home, Probate, Estate Taxes.''

"When you present something like 'Destroy Your Will,' that raises a lot of flags to us,'' Woerz said.

In contacting the firm the local agency expressed its concern and immediately canceled another seminar scheduled by the same company at an Area Agency on Aging center. Woerz also contacted the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

He wasn't alone.

More than 20 complaints were lodged throughout the state against the company alleging it used deceptive, high-pressure and illegal sales tactics to promote and sell its services to mostly older Pennsylvanian's on estate planning, according to the Attorney General's Office.

"My office heard from consumers who claimed that they were misled and pressured during in-home sales pitches by the company's door-to-door sales representative,'' said Attorney General Mike Fisher. "In at least one case, the salesman led consumers to believe that he was affiliated with a local Bible school to gain entry into a couple's home.''

One couple said a SIS representative came to their home where they remained for four to five hours despite attempts to get them to leave, the AG's office said. The salesman eventually left after a family member threatened to call the police.''

In a settlement reached in February with the AG's office, without admitting wrongdoing First American Marketing agreed to pay $28,000 in civil penalties and change its business practices.

First American Marketing is abiding by the settlement said Joseph Goldberg, an attorney representing the company. Goldberg is a former director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection -- which falls under the Attorney General's office.

In any business there are a few bad apples, Goldberg said.

"Anytime you have a sizable sales force in the field there's a potential for people doing things they were not trained to do and shouldn't do,'' he said.

It was only in hearing from the AG's office that First American Marketing learned there were issues,'' Goldberg said.

"Obviously, if there are problems the company wants to take care of those problems,'' he said.