People are aging and the incidence of elder financial abuse, and the permutations it can take are growing as well. There is lots of talk of these issues but what you need to do, for yourself if applicable or for loved ones that might be affected, is take action. There are a number of specific steps that might prove helpful and protective. First, let’s look at some of the many forms this exploitation can take.

A recent article in FA magazine illustrated what appears to be a common occurrence which it dubbed “inheritance exploitation:”

“After a live-in caretaker was hired to care for his mother full-time, the woman’s step-son and other family members were allegedly denied access to their loved one, locked out of the family home and written out of estate planning documents that had originally named them as heirs. By the time the step-son sued for breach of fiduciary duty and financial elder abuse, the caretaker had already pocketed some $5 million, according to a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of California in Alameda. Although the case against the caretaker was privately settled in mediation last month, the attorney for the plaintiffs, Michael Hackard, warned that cases of inheritance exploitation like this one are on the rise.”

The statistics of those potentially at risk is alarming: “The number of boomers in their 60s with living parents has risen since 1998 to about 10 million, according to an Urban Institute analysis of University of Michigan data. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 5.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s.”

Read more @Forbes