Action on Elder Abuse, whose website can be found at http://www.elderabuse.org.uk/ has told of thousands of elderly people being financially abused by their families and friends. The elderly are having their possessions, life savings and even their homes taken by close members of their own family.
The problem is so bad, say the charity that they estimate that tens of millions of pounds could be involved. Solicitors have said that the rise in financial abuse may be due to the substantial increases in property prices over these last few years.
The charity warns that a lack of awareness of the predicament makes such crimes easy. More and more people are contacting the charity for help.
The charity isn’t saying this happens to every family, but the problem is wide-scale. Large sums of money are involved. The financial abuse can include:
* Theft on money and possessions from an older person
* Benefits collected by family being withheld
* Older people being forced to sell their homes or being remortgaged to raise money for other family members.
Last year the government made good measures to ensure that Powers of Attorney became much more difficult to exploit. These legal documents can protect the finance of anyone, not just the elderly. They require the ‘donor’ (the owner of the finances) to nominate an ‘attorney’ (the person who will manage the finances) so that the right person or people can be involved. The documents can be used while a person has their full capacity, or after it is lost (maybe even temporary).
Say the charity “Many aged people are too embarrassed to say what has happened, or perhaps do not realise what has happened because of their mental decline.” “We need to create a culture in which people can blow the whistle when they find something suspicious because we can’t allow so may older people to be defrauded.”
LSUK recommends everyone to take out a power of attorney to protect their finances in later years. It may not be 100% foolproof to stop all theft from family members, but it places legal considerations in place that may put off most potential family criminals, because it most certainly is a crime.
Filed under: News
This is a scary issue and trend that should be seriously dealt with. Entrusted Family members should look onto its complication in the event that an elderly member dies leaving a fortune. Or the elderly themselves should be taught to handle their financial assets carefully or best to consult an attorney to avoid being in the dilemma of who to trust.
Thank you so much for making elder abuse a priority.
Our mission here at “Saving Our Parents” is to share solutions regarding elder abuse. Our “just released” DVD entitled, “Saving our Parents” is being used as a training video for families, health care professionals, caregivers, hospital staff and government agencies throughout the world and won the 2007 Silver National Mature Media Award for best in educational materials concerning older adults. Elder Abuse topics range from crooked conservators to nursing home neglect, physical abuse and more. Experts are featured throughout the film to provide solutions to this burgeoning epidemic.
Hosted and narrated by Ed Asner (Mary Tyler Moore Show), and featuring LAPD Police Chief William Bratton and Los Angeles Director of Public Health, Dr. Jonathan Fielding, “Saving Our Parents” is a documentary that will help protect and educate our public servants, older adults and their adult children about safe and healthy aging.
“One elderly person is victimized every 2.7 minutes.” By allowing me to post on your site, you are assisting in our mission to:
Prevent a million elders from becoming victimized
Raise funds for Alzheimer’s
Inspire & empower one million families to care for their loved ones in their golden years
Please take a moment to visit our website: http://www.savingourparents.com to view clips of our DVD. With gratitude for all you do,
Dorothy Breininger, Producer, Saving our Parents, and
President, Delphi Center for Organization, Inc.
Debby Bitticks, Producer, Saving our Parents, and
CEO, Delphi Health Products, Inc.
SavingOurParents.com