If I had the chance to catch someone abusing my dad’s savings now that he’s older, it’s best to ask him gently about what’s happening and see what’s going on with his finances.My sibling has isolated my 97 year old mother from myself & my family for 2 years now. That said, APS offices are locally operated, so different agencies may take slightly different approaches to investigating concerns.If you are not sure whether certain activity constitutes financial elder abuse, check your As is often the case, when it comes to financial exploitation, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.The challenge, however, is that taking steps to reduce the chance of exploitation often requires older adults to do two things that most find difficult.Understandably, many people are reluctant to give others the ability to review their decisions and intervene in their autonomy.Still, such sacrifices are probably necessary, to significantly reduce one’s risk.

Financial exploitation of the elderly is a serious and often underreported problem. Try to not be too overtly critical, because in the long run it’s better if you can cooperate as you care for your father over the coming years. Second, it’s a term that is often used in state laws related to elder abuse, or sometimes to statutes related to guardianship issues.Here is a general definition, followed by California’s definition (which was just revised in 2014):California’s statute goes on to specify four criteria which should be considered when determining whether a result was produced by undue influence. Husband and I encouraged a bit of discussion, and answered questions, and reassured them that it was informative and that they aren’t required to do anything, probably for years.We got compliments afterward, and our kids must have talked about it with their friends, because they also relayed compliments from friends and intentions of doing it themselves.By the time the kids have to take over, our finances will be very simple, and we’ll have had years of this – our parents didn’t do anything like this, and we decided it’s important.Plus they won’t have to do ‘moving mom and dad into care’ nor ‘dejunking and selling the family manse.’ They are most grateful, and have been encouraging us to do what we need and want.Wonderful that you have been so proactive, and that you’ve already gotten started addressing financial issues with your children.I think it’s also great that you invited your children to discuss things after presenting your plans. Or there may be concerns about stirring up family dramas and conflicts, by voicing concerns about a sibling or another relative.People are often unsure of what exactly constitutes illegal activity, and what can be done if they are concerned about financial exploitation.So in this article, I’ll cover the key things you should know, so that you can better evaluate and address a worrisome situation, should one arise.I’ll also share a list of additional resources and references at the end.The financial exploitation of older adults is also known as “financial abuse.” It is considered a type of elder abuse.

(4) "Deception" means, in addition to its meaning as defined in Section 15-4 of this Code [720 ILCS 5/15-4], a misrepresentation or concealment of material fact relating to the terms of a contract or agreement entered into with the elderly person or person with a disability or to the existing or pre-existing condition of any of the property involved in such contract or agreement; or the use or employment of any misrepresentation, false pretense or false promise in order to induce, encourage or solicit the elderly person or person with a disability to enter into a contract or agreement.The illegal use of the assets or resources of an elderly person or a person with a disability includes, but is not limited to, the misappropriation of those assets or resources by undue influence, breach of a fiduciary relationship, fraud, deception, extortion, or use of the assets or resources contrary to law.A person stands in a position of trust and confidence with an elderly person or person with a disability when he (i) is a parent, spouse, adult child or other relative by blood or marriage of the elderly person or person with a disability, (ii) is a joint tenant or tenant in common with the elderly person or person with a disability, (iii) has a legal or fiduciary relationship with the elderly person or person with a disability, (iv) is a financial planning or investment professional, or (v) is a paid or unpaid caregiver for the elderly person or person with a disability. They had two savings accounts.