Aging and Financial Abuse: What Can Happen and Steps to Prevention
Posted by E.A. Westby on Feb 7, 2017 in Estate Planning | 0 comments No one wants to think about the aging process, let alone all the dangers associated with advanced age and living in today’s world. Education and planning are the two most important steps to preventing any type of issues in the future. Senior financial abuse scams are a multi-billion dollar industry. This type of abuse not only effects the senior individual, but also their families, their financial institutions, taxpayers and all the services that provide relief to the victims. A study was done in 2011 by MetLife Mature Market Institute and they estimated that the annual financial loss from senior financial abuse was 2.9 billion dollars! That number was based solely on the cases that made it to the media. Seniors are especially susceptible to fraud. This is because we tend to be more trusting as we age, we have more wealth accumulated by that time in our lives, and our worlds become smaller. Generally, Seniors do not have contact with a wide variety of people and become secluded from the outside world. While this is a natural process that comes with age, it also provides opportunity for those who mean to cause us harm. All seniors are at risk for being targeted, but women account for the majority of these types of crimes. I am not convinced this will always be the trend but for now it is. That is due to the fact that women live longer than men, leaving them alone when their spouse passes, and elderly women in 2017 are from a generation where they are used to relying upon others in their lives to help them make important decisions. What Are The Common Types of Abuse? Financial abuse comes in a variety of forms but there are certain forms that present themselves over and over again and have become very commonplace. Types of senior financial abuse include: 1. Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud 2. Power of Attorney Abuse 3. Reverse Mortgage Scams 4. Living Trust and Annuities Scams 5. Deed Theft and Foreclosure Rescue Scams 6. Undue Influence 7. Healthcare Scams Who Would Do Such a Thing? The perpetrators are not so easy to spot. They come dressed as your family member, friend, neighbor and people working in a professional atmosphere with ready-made deals, and ideas on how to invest money. When someone approaches an elderly person regarding: reviewing an estate plan, reverse mortgages,...read more