California Elder Abuse Laws Include Elder Financial Abuse (also known as “elder fraud”) on the rise. It can be as simple as stealing some money from an elderly person's wallet or as sophisticated as fraudulently taking control of an elderly person's estate. Elder financial abuse occurs when an older adult is financially exploited by friends, family, or caregivers, such as nursing home staff. This type of abuse can leave seniors penniless after decades of hard work to save money.
Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself against financial abuse of older people and take action if it occurs. There are steps that both the elder and those close to them can take to prevent such an act from happening; however, those who commit financial abuse will often know who is close to the elder and will do their best not to get caught. It has been argued that 1 in 3 cases of child abuse is reported compared to 1 in 5 or 1 in 15 cases of elder abuse (Rosenblatt et al. Lawyers can also help you if your loved one suffered other types of elder abuse (such as physical injury).
A number of difficulties have been identified in relation to the filing of a civil remedy for financial abuse of the elderly. In addition, although little research has been conducted on financial abuse in institutional settings, recent studies identifying the top 10 deficiencies in long-term care settings identified physical abuse or neglect more frequently than financial abuse (Menio and Keller, 2000). Other indicators include sending bank statements and canceled checks to an address other than the senior citizen's residence, suspicious signatures on checks or other documents, and the inclusion of additional names on the older person's credit card or bank-signed card (Coker & Little, 1997; National Center on Elder Abuse, 2001; National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, 2001; National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, 2001; Zimka, 199. Similarly, if research indicates that a large number of egregious incidents of financial abuse of older persons go unreported or not addressed under a child abuse model, more comprehensive measures than those established under a child abuse model may be needed to improve reporting of abuse. financial and its subsequent investigation.
They can generally take steps to protect the older person from further abuse, including obtaining protection orders and initiating a guardianship to place the older person's property in the hands of a guardian (Capezuti et al. For example, family members who withhold necessary care for an elderly relative or warn that they will send that person to a nursing home, unless they give up financial assets, are committing elder abuse. National Research Council (EE) panel. Department of Education) to review the risk and prevalence of elder abuse and neglect; Bonnie RJ, Wallace RB, editors.
Similarly, older people may not want to report financial abuse for fear of suggesting that they are having trouble managing their affairs and providing justification for being placed in a nursing home or institution of a guardianship (Hwang, 1996; Nerenberg, 2000c). People financially abuse the elderly because they choose money over the trust and well-being of the elderly person. They include that the standard of proof that normally applies to cases of abuse in the civil system is clear and convincing proof that the abuse occurred. Alternatively, perpetrators may be prosecuted under a specific criminal law that addresses (abuse of vulnerable adults (which, either by law or judicial interpretation, has been expanded to include older persons), (elder abuse in general) or (financial abuse of older persons specifically) (Dessin , 2000; Moskowitz, 1998b).
In addition, children can get more sympathy and protection than the elderly and, therefore, reports of abuse may be more frequent. In addition, the underlying dynamics provided by Pillemer and Finkelhor (198) to explain the occurrence of the forms of elder abuse they studied (physical abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect) further suggests that a model of spousal abuse may not be appropriate to address financial abuse of elders. . .
