Romance Schemes. Lottery Schemes. Grandma Schemes.
Do we need to be paternalistic
when it comes to protecting seniors' savings?
YES. I could leave the newsletter like that and offend a good many of you. This ageist statement offends my ears as I hear it come from my brain and then express it aloud. Others might take my response at face value, understanding that I have seen it all.
But I have not seen it all. In fact, just when I have thought that I witnessed the ceiling of horrible human greed, the top of my office expands to accommodate more injustice. Sometimes I can help and other times, the damage has been too severe and the culprits unidentifiable. In the latter situation, there is no way even a well intended bright attorney can make the senior whole. Most of us attorneys cannot afford to work for free and most of the time there is no hope of getting the money back.
It's a delicate balance. Unfortunately, it is often the case where one must truly treat an older adult like a child; putting him or her on a restricted budget with limited access to funds. I will not like that. In that last sentence I do something that is painful but necessary to bring the point home.
I recognize that I am not immune to losing my ability to understand when I am being duped. I am handling three such cases now. They are: a lottery scheme, ($500,000 gone); a romance scheme ($200,000 gone); a "grandma I need money or I will go to jail" scheme ($180,000 gone).
These happened to very bright, once highly capable human beings, like me, like you. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that this can only happen to other people. If you are open to the horrors of this possibility and wish to maintain your dignity, the first thing you should do is find someone you truly trust and make that person your contingent advocate. You need a power of attorney. That person can stop what is happening dead in its track.
If you do not do this, the bank will not listen to an interested friend or relative and the financial abuse will never end. The only hope is that trusted friend or relative, at his or her own expense, hires an attorney to get a conservatorship over your estate and an order from the judge to bring to the bank. Many people do not have this kind of money. Many elderly people do not have these connections anymore because they have isolated themselves and therefore created opportunity for such scams.
No one should be isolated. If you have a relative or friend who is vulnerable, make sure to constantly check on them.
If you have been to one of my seminars, the following will not surprise you: over 90% of all reported elder abuse is committed by the older person's own family members, most often their adult children, followed by grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and others.
Common tactics include depleting a joint checking account; promising but not delivering care in exchange for money or property; outright theft; and other forms of abuse, including physical abuse, threats, intimidation, and neglect of basic care needs.
Be careful who you chose to be your trustee or power of attorney. What also should not surprise you is that independent caregivers (I'm not referring to an agency) do a lot of financial damage as well. They take advantage of the vulnerabilities we feel and insinuate themselves into your life as "a family member."
Just the other day I was asked to change a woman's Will to include her caregiver that brought her to the appointment.
I declined. Such a gift in California is presumptively invalid.
Because many seniors find themselves planning for retirement, a number of investment schemes have been targeted at seniors looking to safeguard their cash for their later years, including complex financial products that many economists don't even understand. Investment schemes have long been a successful way to take advantage of older people.
One plausible way to find protection has been extinguished by the Senate. There was a recent Washington Post Article that succinctly outlined, in my humble opinion, the misstep by the Republicans controlled Senate.
They passed legislation to block Obama administration rules that require financial professionals to put their client's best interest first when giving advice on retirement investments like individual retirement accounts.
The new regulations, commonly known as the "fiduciary rule," require advisers who charge commissions to sign a promise that they will act in the client's best interests, earn "reasonable" compensation and disclose information about fees and conflicts of interest. I personally do not understand how that would chill any business.
