While some elderly adults age quite well and do a pretty good job living on their own with only daily visits from friends and family to check on them, that situation is more the exception than the norm. As advanced age sets in, it’s exceedingly common for the elderly to need round-the-clock care, especially as their eyesight, their cognitive skills, and their mobility are compromised by the natural aging process.
Sometimes, caring for an elderly adult becomes a full-time job and the family members are not properly equipped to provide the level of care their elderly loved one needs. Ultimately, the family has to decide whether to go on caring for their loved one or place him or her in a nursing home facility. In many situations, the family decides to place their loved one in a nursing home that can provide 24-hour care.
The Elderly Can Be Highly Vulnerable
Unfortunately, the aging class is very vulnerable. Much like an infant who needs to be fed, bathed, and watched closely to protect their safety, the elderly can have the same needs. When a senior moves into a nursing home, they often become the target of unscrupulous people, especially if they have dementia, valuables, and assets that can be stolen without the elderly resident’s knowledge.
While seniors are targets of all forms of nursing home abuse and neglect, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse, for the purposes of this article, we’re focusing on the other type of abuse that goes on at nursing homes, financial abuse, also known as “financial exploitation” in nursing homes.
What does financial abuse look like in the nursing home setting? Here are some common examples of the type of financial abuse committed by caregivers in nursing homes:
- Stealing the resident’s cash
- Stealing the resident’s cash
- Stealing the resident’s jewelry and other valuables
- Stealing the resident’s debit or credit cards
- Using the resident’s debit or credit cards without their knowledge
- Taking cash out of the ATM with the resident’s debit card
- Convincing the resident to put the caregiver in their will
- Convincing the resident to make the caregiver a beneficiary on the resident’s insurance policies or bank accounts
- Using the resident’s Social Security or driver’s license number to commit identity theft
- Using the resident’s checks to commit check fraud
Financial abuse or exploitation in the nursing home setting is not uncommon; it happens every day. If your loved one is complaining of cash or other valuables going missing or if they have made changes to their estate planning documents to incorporate their caregiver, these may be signs of financial abuse. To learn more, contact The Zendeh Del Law Firm, PLLC to explore your legal options.