Elder abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to an elderly person or puts a helpless older person at risk of harm. A 2009 Report entitled Broken Trust: Elders, Family and Finances completed in collaboration with with the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Met Life revealed that Elder Financial Abuse costs older Americans more than $2.6 billion per year.
The Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons -AARP says that elder abuse is a serious and common reality for too many older adults, and reports of such crimes are on the rise. In an emergency, call 911 or the local police. AARP says that each state has a lead agency responsible for investigating reports of elder abuse and various subagencies that take on different types of cases. Adult Protective Services (APS) is the lead agency in most states. APS typically contacts other relevant agencies, such as law enforcement.
The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse -NCPEA give us clear definite definitions of the forms of elder abuse. NCPEA states that elder abuse is any form of mistreatment that results in harm or loss to an older person. It is generally divided into the following categories:
Physical abuse is physical force that results in bodily injury, pain, or impairment. It includes assault, battery, and inappropriate restraint.
Sexual abuse is non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an older person.
Domestic violence is an escalating pattern of violence by an intimate partner where the violence is used to exercise power and control.
Psychological abuse is the willful infliction of mental or emotional anguish by threat, humiliation, or other verbal or nonverbal conduct.
Neglect is the failure of a caregiver to fulfill his or her care giving responsibilities. Self-neglect is failure to provide for one's own essential needs.
Financial abuse is the illegal or improper use of an older person's funds, property, or resources.
Let's Look Closer at Financial Abuse
Elder financial abuse spans a broad spectrum of conduct, including:
Taking money or property
Forging an older person's signature
Getting an older person to sign a deed, will, or power of attorney through deception, coercion, or undue influence
Using the older person's property or possessions without permission
Promising lifelong care in exchange for money or property and not following through on the promise
Confidence crimes ("cons") are the use of deception to gain victims' confidence
Scams are fraudulent or deceptive acts
Fraud is the use of deception, trickery, false pretence, or dishonest acts or statements for financial gain
Telemarketing scams. Perpetrators call victims and use deception, scare tactics, or exaggerated claims to get them to send money. They may also make charges against victims' credit cards without authorization
Who Are the Perpetrators?
Family members, including sons, daughters, grandchildren, or spouses. They may:
Have substance abuse, gambling, or financial problems
Stand to inherit and feel 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 or other family members whom they want to prevent from acquiring or inheriting the older person's assets
Perpetrators also include individuals who seek out vulnerable seniors with the intent of exploiting them. They may:
Profess to love the older person ("sweetheart scams")
Seek employment as personal care attendants, counselors, etc. to gain access
Identify vulnerable persons by driving through neighborhoods (to find persons who are alone and isolated) or contact recently widowed persons they find through newspaper death announcements
Move from community to community to avoid being apprehended (transient criminals)
Perpetrators also include unscrupulous professionals or businesspersons, or persons posing as such. They may:
Overcharge for services or products
Use deceptive or unfair business practices
Use their positions of trust or respect to gain compliance
Who is at Risk?
The following conditions or factors increase an older person's risk of being victimized:
Isolation and Loneliness
Recent losses
Physical or mental disabilities
Lack of familiarity with financial matters
Have family members who are unemployed and/or have substance abusers problems
Why Are The Elderly Attractive Targets?
Persons over the age of 50 control over 70% of the nation's wealth . Many seniors do not realize the value of their assets (particularly homes that have appreciated markedly). The elderly are likely to have disabilities that make them dependent on others for help. These "helpers" may have access to homes and assets, and may exercise significant influence over the older person. They may have predictable patterns (e.g. because older people are likely to receive monthly checks, abusers can predict when an older people will have money on hand or need to go to the bank)
Severely impaired individuals are also less likely to take action against their abusers as a result of illness or embarrassment . Abusers may assume that frail victims will not survive long enough to follow through on legal interventions, or that they will not make convincing witnesses. Also some older people are unsophisticated about financial matters. Advances in technology have made managing finances more complicated.
What Are The indicators?
Indicators are signs or clues that abuse has occurred. Some of the indicators listed below can be explained by other causes or factors and no single indicator can be taken as conclusive proof. Rather, one should look for patterns or clusters of indicators that suggest a problem.
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 and canceled checks no longer come to the elder's home.
New "best friends"
Legal documents, such as powers 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.
The care of the elder is not commensurate with the size of his/her estate.
A caregiver expresses excessive interest in the amount of money being spent on the older person.
Belongings or property are missing.
Suspicious signatures on checks or other documents.
Absence of documentation about financial arrangements .
Implausible explanations given about the elderly person's finances by the elder or the caregiver .
The elder is unaware of or does not understand financial arrangements that have been made for him or her.
Contact Steven Peck's Premier Legal toll free at 1.866.999.9085 to talk to an experienced elder abuse attorney and visit on-line at www.californiaeldercarelaw.com
