Our nation’s elderly citizens deserve compassion and respect for the dignity they’ve earned over a lifetime of experience. Sadly, cases of financial elder abuse in nursing homes and other settings have been on the rise and have doubled since 2020. We think of elder abuse as the egregious physical abuse and neglect that sadly occurs inside nursing homes, but one of the most common forms of elder abuse doesn’t leave physical marks or symptoms on the victim. Instead, it depletes their hard-earned financial resources.
Financial elder abuse is a form of fraud or exploitation resulting in an average of $120,000 in losses per victim, though some elderly victims of financial abuse lose far more, and at the time of their lives when they most need peace and security.
What Is Elder Financial Abuse?
Elder abuse occurs when a senior citizen suffers financial losses due to exploitation or fraud. The U.S. Justice Department describes elder financial abuse in 8 L.P.R.A. § 342 as the following:
“The improper use of an adult’s funds, property or resources by another individual including, but not limited to, fraud, false pretenses, embezzlement, conspiracy, forgery, falsifying records, coercion, property transfers or denying them access to their wealth.”
The most common examples of elder financial abuse include the following:
- Stealing checks from an elderly person
- Making unauthorized withdrawals from bank and investment accounts
- Forging an elderly person’s signature on financial documents
- Using deception to defraud a senior
- Taking money from a joint account for improper purposes
- Using coercion to pressure an elderly victim into signing a power of attorney, deed, or will
- Using telephone scams, fake sweepstakes, home repair cons, identity theft, and other deceptions to defraud the elderly out of assets
- Moving into an elderly person’s home and freely using their possessions
- Refusing care to an elderly person in order to continue financial exploitation
- Befriending an elderly relative or taking over their care with the intention of financial exploitation
These and other means of improperly or illegally accessing assets belonging to an elderly person are forms of abuse with devastating impacts on the elderly victim’s financial and emotional status.
What Are the Warning Signs of Financial Abuse to Elderly Victims?
Those with vulnerable elderly loved ones should watch for some of the most common signs of financial abuse, including the following:
- Sudden financial problems or unpaid bills
- Unexplained withdrawals
- Unusual account activity
- New names on an elderly person’s bank signature card
- Missing property
- A new friend or houseguest
- Financial documents with signatures that do not look authentic
- Property transfers
- A caregiver’s over-interest in their elderly patient’s financial matters
An alteration in mood or personality or sudden secretiveness sometimes indicates an elderly person’s embarrassment or anxiety over becoming a victim of financial abuse.
How Can a Financial Elder Abuse Lawyer Help?
If you or an elderly loved one has become the victim of financial fraud, a Louisville nursing home abuse attorney can help you pursue justice. An attorney gathers evidence to make a strong case by tracing assets and uncovering fraud. Call a financial elder abuse attorney to defend your family’s rights against those who exploit the vulnerable elderly.