Monmouth County's Ask the Doctor Sept/Oct

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is helping long-term care facilities protect older Americans from financial exploitation We’ve heard a lot of stories about vulnerable adults falling prey to con artists, family members, fiduciaries, and pro- fessional advisers who steal their nest eggs and threaten their financial security. A son steals $315,000 from his elderly mother’s retirement accounts and frequents casinos. When he doesn’t pay his mother’s rent, she’s evicted from her assisted living facility. The pastor of a 77-year-old man with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases makes 130 withdrawals from the man’s bank account but fails to make nursing home payments on his behalf for nine months. The man was nearly discharged from his nursing home. These stories are all too common. You can download the free manual online at consumerfinance.gov and see more similar stories which helps family members and assisted living and nursing facility staff with the know-how to prevent and spot the warning signs of abuse. Here are some warning signs that a long-term care resident is being financially exploited or abused: • Possessions disappear from a resident’s room or apartment • Resident pressured to make a decision or sign a document “now” • A previously uninvolved person claims authority to manage a resident’s care and/or finances but does not provide documentation • Unpaid facility bills • Resident’s checkbook or check register shows checks made out to “cash” frequently or check numbers out of sequence • Frequent or costly gifts to facility staff or volunteers

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ASK THE DOCTOR

FALL 2020