Protecting Elders From Financial Abuse

As people age, they often need to rely on others for various kinds of help, and some may sadly suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, becoming vulnerable to financial exploitation. Even trusted family, friends, agents, and advisors might take advantage of a vulnerable person. A recent study by AARP estimates that financial exploitation costs adults older than 60 $28.3 billion annually.^[1] Fortunately, there are proactive steps you can take to prevent financial abuse before it occurs. Additionally, older people and their family members and friends have protective and remedial actions available if they discover that financial abuse has occurred.

What Are Common Forms of Financial Abuse of Elders?

Financial exploitation of elders can include:

• Forcing or deceiving an older person into signing legal documents such as a will, trust, power of attorney, or financial documents.
• Using or taking money or other assets without the elder’s permission, through deceptive means, or with a power of attorney through self-dealing.
• Preventing a senior from accessing or obtaining information about their own property, money, or accounts.
• Providing unnecessary caregiving services to the older person.

This list is not exhaustive, but it provides some broad categories to beware of and take steps to prevent.

Protect Yourself Against Financial Exploitation by Planning Ahead

As an attorney, Brendan O’Reilly can help you develop a comprehensive estate plan that protects your assets and provides for your future needs by establishing trusts, powers of attorney, and other legal tools to safeguard finances and ensure your wishes are honored. When you meet with Brendan as your attorney, it is important to consult with him privately, even if someone else transports you to the meeting. Meeting privately will let Brendan feel confident that another person is not unduly influencing your decision-making about your estate plan.

It is crucial to be very careful in selecting the individuals who will act on your behalf, such as your chosen trustee, agent under a power of attorney, or your chosen nominee to serve as your conservator or guardian. Although many assume they should select a family member to fill these roles, family members are not always the best choice. For example, an adult child dealing with financial difficulties who has been given the authority to pay the elder’s bills may be tempted to use the elder’s checking account to pay their own bills. Sometimes a person you trust just can’t make a decision without feeling guilty about it or second-guessing themselves. Some people are overwhelmed by money, medical terminology, data, or anxiety. Brendan can help you carefully think through family dynamics and each potential fiduciary’s personal and financial situations. In addition, Brendan can help you evaluate whether an independent fiduciary would be a better choice or if additional safeguards could be helpful, such as frequent accountings or the appointment of a trust protector who could remove and replace a trustee.

What Can You Do if Financial Abuse Has Occurred?

There are steps you can take if you believe you or an older loved one has already been a victim of financial abuse.

1. Report the Abuse: Contact your local Adult Protective Services (APS) agency or law enforcement to file a report. The sooner you report suspected financial abuse, the sooner an investigation can occur, followed by actions to protect the victim and prevent further abuse. Working with APS, law enforcement, and Brendan as an elder law attorney, you can assess the scope of the financial abuse and identify the affected assets and the extent of economic losses.
2. Establish a Support Network: If the victim is a loved one, surround the older individual with supportive family members, friends, and professionals like Brendan who can provide the emotional support and guidance they need throughout recovery. This network of professionals may include attorneys, financial advisors, therapists, and social workers.
3. Contact an Elder Law Attorney: If the perpetrator of the abuse was considered a trusted family member or was a professional caretaker, Brendan can help you take steps to have them immediately removed from contact with the victim and from any accounts or other access that would allow them to continue the financial abuse. Brendan can help facilitate the appointment of an interim individual to provide financial oversight and protections until a new formal financial appointee is named.
4. Establish Legal Guardianship or Conservatorship: Brendan can help establish legal guardianship or conservatorship, which appoints a trusted individual or institution to manage the older adult’s finances and make decisions on their behalf. This action may be appropriate if an agent appointed by an older person abuses their authority in a way that causes financial harm. It may also be necessary if family members have removed property from the older person’s home without permission. Under those circumstances, family members or friends can go before a judge to request, on the elder’s behalf, the appointment of a conservator, who must report to the court about financial transactions and obtain the court’s approval of certain decisions.
5. Recover Misappropriated Assets: Brendan can assist with recovering assets that have been misappropriated or stolen. He may work with financial institutions, file lawsuits against the abuser, or explore other legal remedies to recover the stolen funds or assets. In some cases, resolving disputes regarding financial abuse through mediation or settlement negotiations may be possible. Although it is difficult to recover funds from some perpetrators of financial abuse, most financial crimes against the elderly are committed by a person well known to the victim. Mediation, settlements, and even civil or criminal litigation may be appropriate avenues to pursue. Working with APS and law enforcement, Brendan can provide the necessary documents and ensure that a formal complaint is correctly and promptly filed.
6. Obtain Protective Orders or Injunctions: In cases where the abuser continues to have access to the older individual or their assets, Brendan can help obtain protective orders or injunctions to prevent further harm. These legal measures can prohibit the abuser from contacting or approaching the older person and safeguard their financial resources.

We Can Help

Brendan O’Reilly can help you create a plan designed to help protect elders from financial abuse. Brendan’s knowledge and desire to protect the rights of older adults significantly increase the chances of a positive resolution and restitution. If you want to plan proactively to protect yourself or if you suspect that you or a senior adult you love is experiencing financial abuse, contact The Lawyers O’Reilly PC, and Brendan will take care of it.

^[1] Jilenne Gunther, The Scope of Elder Financial Exploitation: What It Costs Victims, AARP Pub. Pol’y Inst. (June 15, 2023), https://doi.org/10.26419/ppi.00194.001.