How to Guard Against Elder Financial Exploitation

Planning for older age can be emotionally challenging and involves letting go of control of your finances. While we all hope our family, friends, and caregivers will have our best interests at heart, sometimes those we are about take advantage of our trust. This is called elder financial exploitation, and if you or a loved one is a victim, you need the LLF Law Firm. Our Family Law Team is here to protect you. Call us at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to get started.

What is Elder Financial Exploitation?

Elder financial exploitation is a form of elder abuse. This type of elder abuse takes many forms; it can look like:

• Unauthorized use of bank accounts or credit cards
• Theft of cash, valuables, or personal belongings
• Coercing an older person to make changes to their will, trust, or beneficiaries
• Joint account misuse, for example, a family member taking money from a joint account for personal reasons instead of the older person’s care
• Using the older persons’ information to take out loans, co-sign financial agreements, or open credit cards
• Abuse permissions as a financial Power of Attorney

How to Protect Yourself or Your Loved One

You can implement a few safeguards to protect you or your loved one from experiencing elder financial exploitation. These include:

• Regularly monitoring accounts
• Limiting joint access to accounts
• Appointing a trustworthy POA
• Using a financial advisor instead of a friend or family member to objectively manage your finances
• Have an attorney review any documents before signing
• Take inventory of your assets and limit access to valuables
• Have multiple people involved in checking your finances, accounts, and valuables

What to Do if You Are a Victim of Elder Financial Exploitation

Arguably, the most upsetting elder financial exploitation is committed by those we care about and trust, such as friends, family members, and caregivers. You may fear taking action for many reasons. At the LLF Law Firm, we understand these complicated feelings, but we are here to protect you first and foremost.

If you’re a victim of elder financial exploitation at the hands of a loved one or caregiver, you may want to consider filing for a Protection from Abuse Order (PFA). Many people believe that PFAs are only for physical abuse, but in Pennsylvania, that isn’t the case. You may be wondering how a PFA can help in your case. PFAs can provide victims with the following support:

• Legally prohibiting access from being near you, reducing their ability to further exploit you.
• Freezing or limiting access to financial accounts by ordering the abuser to stop accessing those funds or ordering a freeze on accounts
• Removing Power of Attorney or other financial management roles your abuser may have and potentially transferring that authority to a trusted person
• Laying a path for further legal action, whether it be criminal charges or assistance from law enforcement

Retain the LLF Law Firm Today

The family law attorneys at the LLF Law Firm understand how stressful and confusing this process may be. We understand that this is an emotional time, but we are here to help. Let us support you; call us today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.