Elder Abuse Affects 1 in 10 Older Adults

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), observed annually on June 15, seeks to educate and mobilize the public on an issue that affects millions worldwide and costs victims billions: the neglect, abuse, and financial exploitation of older adults in our society.

According to The National Elder Mistreatment Study, 1 in 10 community-residing Americans age 60 or older—over 7 million people today—has experienced some sort of emotional, physical, sexual, or financial abuse or probable neglect.

Elder abuse thrives in silence and is an underreported problem.

A New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study found that for every case of elder abuse in New York state reported to authorities, 23.5 went unreported. Additionally, they found that for each case specifically of elder financial abuse reported, about 44 cases went unreported.

Family members often play key roles as either facilitators to vulnerable adults or perpetrators of financial crimes for personal benefit.

Many victims feel ashamed when they are harmed or fear the loneliness that might come from a broken trusted relationship with adult children or a hired caregiver who has become a social companion. They don’t want to get anyone into trouble or fear losing at-home care and being sent to a nursing home.

COMMON WARNING SIGNS OF ELDER ABUSE AND NEGLECT

It is important that any home health care providers be carefully vetted and any signs of bodily harm or deterioration of physical health be quickly investigated.

According to the National Institute on Aging, common warning signs to watch for physical abuse of elderly persons include:

• Depression, confusion, or acting withdrawn
• Isolation from friends and family
• Unexplained injuries
• Appears dirty, underfed, dehydrated, over-or undermedicated, or not receiving needed care for medical problems
• Has bed sores or other preventable conditions

As more of us seek to age at home rather than in a nursing home or assisted living facility, signs of physical abuse may be more difficult to detect.

While the famous and wealthy may be in the news as targets or victims of elder financial exploitation, all of us should learn the common warning signs to prevent elder financial abuse and neglect in our families and community.

According to the American Bankers Association, any unusual activity in an elderly person’s financial accounts or spending habits could be a sign of elder financial abuse, including:

• Unusual account activity, including large, frequent, or unexplained withdrawals
• Closing accounts without regard to penalties or changing to more complicated account types that the customer does not completely understand or need
• Confusion, fear, shame, reluctance to discuss, or lack of awareness of financial activities
• Statements that no longer go to the customer’s home
• New powers of attorney the elder person does not understand
• A caretaker, relative, or friend suddenly begins conducting financial transactions without proper documentation
• Altered wills and trusts

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE?

Elder financial exploitation statutes exist in most states to protect elderly persons. The following includes some potential avenues for protecting alleged victims and their estates.

Restraining order

Seeking a restraining order can be a productive first step. It puts some space between the alleged abuser and the elderly person during which time the financial abuse may be investigated.

For example, Katherine Jackson, mother to Michael and Janet Jackson, was granted a restraining order against her caretaker nephew who was accused of isolating her from family members and controlling financial matters for his own benefit.

This provided time and space for family members to assess the situation and take action, ultimately removing the nephew from employment.

Conservatorship

If the victim of abuse cannot safely control their surroundings or has a cognitive impairment like dementia such that they cannot provide informed consent over financial decisions, probate courts may award conservatorship to another person. Conservators are generally granted the legal authority to make financial and/or medical decisions on behalf of the elder person (the conservatee).

Although this is an often costly and complicated process, conservatorship is what a Disney executive recommended when actor Mickey Rooney divulged decades of emotional, physical, and financial abuse by his eighth wife and her son. The court documents in this case shocked Hollywood about the extent of manipulation over so many years and highlighted how difficult it is often for the victim to report abuse.

Lawsuit

Filing an elder abuse lawsuit is another method that may be worth considering.

In perhaps the most famous such case, the son of New York socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor, who suffered from Alzheimer’s in advanced age, was found guilty of altering her will and stealing millions of dollars from her estate. Notably, the criminal case of neglect and financial abuse was brought to the local police by her grandson, who sought to protect his grandmother from his own father.

In his subsequent advocacy work, Astor’s grandson, Phillip C. Marshall, advises the elderly to maintain trusted relationships, to designate at least two agents with power of attorney, and to employ a professional fiduciary trustee or co-trustee to oversee trust assets. It’s all about having checks and balances.

In another no-less-shocking case, Marvel Comic creator Stan Lee was allegedly the victim of elder abuse in the last years of his life, following the passing of his long-time wife and business manager. Lee’s adult daughter and multiple men of dubious character allegedly sought and, at times, successfully gained access to Lee’s financial accounts and physical and intellectual property. Multiple restraining orders were issued and civil and criminal cases were filed before and after his death seeking to recoup millions, some of which have been settled while others are still pending.

AMG CASE STUDY: UNUSUAL TRANSACTIONS RAISE SUSPICIONS

The above cases and so many others highlight why it is so important to “question, support, and report” any suspected elder abuse. For fiduciaries like AMG advisors serving the large and growing elder population, this is especially true.

For example, we work with an elderly client for whom we serve as the corporate trustee on a trust account. The client holds other investment and banking accounts with other financial institutions, yet most of his bills for daily living are paid through the trust account. He and his AMG advisor have developed a close relationship.

This gentleman is hard of hearing and walks with a cane, so he engaged a weekly caretaker to help him keep up his home and support his care. This caretaker became a valued social companion; he viewed her as an extension of the family.

When discussing the trust’s tax return, his AMG advisor realized that the client didn’t have anyone working on his personal tax returns. To support her client, the advisor scheduled a meeting to help the client sort through all the account statements and other documentation needed for his returns.

In reviewing the statements for accounts held outside of AMG, the advisor discovered new and unusual charges. Although AMG paid most of the client’s bills from his trust account, there was a credit card bill with unusual charges. And although the client had long paid off his primary residence, there was a new mortgage, which can be a form of identity theft. It became clear the caregiver was using the client’s funds for the caregiver’s personal benefit.

The client initially was reluctant to do anything because he didn’t want to get his caretaker in trouble. Eventually, the client provided AMG the name of a Trusted Contact, which allowed the advisor to alert a family member who became an advocate on the client’s behalf. The potential financial exploitation also was reported to the local adult protective services agency.

In the end, the family decided to not file a police report. Over time, the issues were resolved. The client decided that he no longer had the desire or ability to manage his estate on his own. He granted a family member power of attorney to make financial decisions on his behalf and consolidated all of his accounts with AMG for ease of administration and oversight.

HELPFUL RESOURCES

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), publishes tools and resources for consumers, caregivers, and service providers like financial institutions on Protecting Older Adults from Fraud and Financial Exploitation.
• The nearly 70 million-strong Baby Boomer generation presents an enticing target for increasingly sophisticated schemes. The CFPB’s Money Smarts for Older Adults is a terrific resource for older adults and family members on everything from identity theft to popular financial scams to preparing for unexpected life events.
• The U.S. Department of Justice takes financial abuse seriously and works to educate the elder population, including this FBI flyer on Elder Fraud detailing common scams.
• AARP maintains a database of scams and fraud aimed at the elderly. You can sign up for its bi-weekly Watchdog Alerts email.
• To lower unsolicited calls, to which lonely seniors often fall prey, register telephone numbers with the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry.
• The University of Southern California’s Center for Elder Justice seeks to lead and coordinate research and policy on elder mistreatment. For professionals and caregivers, it maintains a database of Training Resources on Elder Abuse searchable by topic.
• The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) has many useful publications. To report elder financial abuse and neglect to adult protective services, it also maintains lists of local resources by state and U.S. territory.