The Daily Record, July 2014

As the elderly population continues to grow rapidly in this country, it is important to ensure that they are properly taken care of physically, emotionally, and financially. Now, more than ever, an increasing number of fraud cases involving the elderly are occurring.

Our growing elderly population 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the nation’s 65-and-older population is projected to reach 83.7 million in the year 2050, almost double in size from the 2012 level of 43.1 million. A large part of this growth is due to the aging of baby boomers. Although the baby boom population will decline in the coming decades, it is expected that the 65-and-older population will account for approximately 21% of the U.S. population in 2050. 

Mistreatment of the elderly 

Along with the increase in the size of the elderly population comes an increase in the need to protect them from neglect and abuse. The National Center on Elder Abuse (“NCEA”) defines Elder Mistreatment as intentional acts that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder. Recent research by the National Adult Protective Services Association reported that one in nine seniors reported being abused, neglected, or exploited in the past twelve months. The rate of financial exploitation is extremely high, with one in twenty older adults indicating some form of perceived financial mistreatment occurring in the recent past. Unfortunately, signs of elder abuse are often missed by professionals because of a lack of training on detecting abuse. The elderly may also be reluctant to report the abuse for fear of retaliation, lack of physical or cognitive ability to report, or for fear of getting the abuser in trouble.

Who is abusing 

The NCEA reports that approximately 90% of abusers are family members, most often adult children, spouses, and partners. As mentioned above, because of this, the elderly are much less likely to report the abuse as they do not want to get their loved ones in trouble. Therefore, it makes recognizing the abuse that much harder. The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (“NCPEA”) reports that family abusers often present one or more of the following traits:

• Have substance abuse, gambling, or financial problems
• Stand to inherit and stand justified in taking what they believe is “almost” or “rightfully” theirs
• Fear that their older family member will get sick and use up their savings, depriving the abuser of an inheritance
• Have had a negative relationship with the older person and feel a sense of entitlement
• Have negative feelings toward siblings and other family members whom they want to prevent from acquiring or inheriting the older persons assets

A friend of mine is currently dealing with an issue involving his mother’s primary caregiver. There are three children involved, all of whom were previously assigned equal rights to make decisions on their mother’s behalf. However, there is one sibling who is closest geographically, and spends more time with the mother than anyone else. The other two siblings were recently notified by their sister that their mother has exhausted her resources, and is unable to pay for assisted living care. The siblings are concerned that their mother has been taken advantage of financially by their sister, and are currently trying to determine what they can do to remedy this situation. However, it becomes incredibly complex when a family member is the potential abuser. Had the siblings been more aware of some of the warning signs of abuse, they may have been able to prevent it.

Red flags 

When it comes to recognizing potential financial abuse of the elderly, we should look for patterns or clusters of indicators that would suggest there is a problem. Using information published by the NCPEA, the following are some indicators that could be a sign of abuse:

• Unpaid bills, eviction notices, or notices to discontinue utilities
• Withdrawals from bank accounts or transfers between accounts that the older person cannot explain
• Bank statements no longer going to the elder’s home
• Legal documents, such as power of attorney, which the older person didn’t understand at the time he or she signed them
• Unusual activity in the older person’s bank accounts including large, unexplained withdrawals, frequent transfers between accounts, or ATM withdrawals
• Suspicious signatures on checks or other documents
• The elder is unaware of or does not understand financial arrangements that have been made for him or her

How can we help?

The prevention, detection and intervention of elder abuse rely in part, on the training of professionals and the public. The NCEA encourages those working with the elderly to receive training on spotting elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. Their website offers links to videos, webcasts, and a list of training and conference opportunities coming up. Because many elder abuse cases go unreported, it is imperative that if you or someone you know has been affected by abuse, that it gets reported by calling the police or the Adult Protective Services program in your area. 

Duty to protect

It is important that we become more familiar with the warning signs of elder abuse as this fragile population continues to grow around us. Being appointed guardian over someone doesn’t grant you the right to financially exploit someone. The money older adults lose in these cases is rarely recovered, and the loss can have a significant impact on their health and ability to care for themselves.