Whatcom View: Financial abuse growing as problem for elderly

With the aging of the baby boomers, small- and large-scale financial scams that prey on older adults are on the rise.

One 86-year-old widower lived alone with no close family members. He was a very successful Whatcom County farmer who had acquired several large parcels of land and had considerable financial assets. He was showing more and more signs of dementia. A man of routines, he was a regular at his favorite restaurant where he was well known by the staff. He became particularly close to a waitress. She became increasingly involved in his life, visiting with him daily and eventually providing him with transportation. One thing led to another, and soon she was paying his bills and managing his financial affairs. In the course of her relationship with him, she also began transferring money and assets to herself. While the full scale of her crime is not known, she transferred 32 acres of farm land and one of his vehicles to herself and her husband.

COMMON PROBLEM

Stories like this are increasingly common. But for every elder abuse crime that is discovered, there are probably 10 that go unnoticed and unreported. Many of these crimes are small scale, like the waitress’, but some are more calculating and larger in scale, conducted by unscrupulous telemarketers and solicitors. In other cases it is the family that is financially abusing the elder.

While the full scale of the problem is unknown, experts in the field estimate that one in five Americans over 65 has been victimized by financial fraud. A 2011 MetLife Mature Market Institute study found that financial exploitation costs seniors at least $2.9 billion annually.

Many victims, like the widower, are cognitively impaired and isolated. But sometimes, families fail to realize that an elderly family member is showing signs of dementia and assets are lost before anyone notices what is happening. This is because financial management skills are one of the first domains to be lost in a dementing illness, when the elder may still appear to be functioning normally.

PREVENTION KEY

There are steps you can take to protect yourself or your loved ones. Prevention is the best approach.

If you are an elder, you should consider completing a power of attorney for finances (as well as health care) that would be activated should you become mentally incapacitated. For maximum safety, you should put oversight in place. Having a lawyer or other responsible professional oversee your estate can provide a layer of protection. Having co-trustees for trusts and co-agents under the power of attorney gives added protection against one of the agents taking advantage.

The National Do Not Call Registry is a free way to reduce telemarketing calls. To register your phone number, visit donotcall.gov, or call 888-382-1222. A number of commercial robo-calling services are also available that can block automated commercial phone calls.

The Mail Preference Service lets you opt out of receiving unsolicited mail from many national companies. To register, go to dmachoice.org. Another method of protection is to redirect the elder’s mail to another family member or loved one for screening.

CHECK FINANCES

If you have a loved one who might be vulnerable, it is invaluable to look over their finances from time to time, if they will allow you to. Banks and other financial institutions are becoming more aware of the issues surrounding elder abuse, and can provide help such as setting up automatic payments and establishing a cosignatory on an account.

Washington Adult Protective Services investigates allegations of elder abuse. If you think that an elder might be a victim of abuse, you should contact the local APS office or the statewide hotline at 866-363-4276. A report to protective services will result in an investigation and, if warranted, law enforcement or court involvement. Your identity will remain confidential, and you suffer no consequences if no abuse is found.

In cases where the elder is mentally incapacitated and there is no power of attorney in place, a guardianship can be established, but it is usually considered a last resort. This is what eventually happened with the widowed farmer, but it was too late. Most of his assets were not recovered.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Whatcom View: Financial abuse growing as problem for elderly."