Abuse of power of attorney a growing crisis for seniors
Gillian Shaw, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, February 23, 2008
Financial abuse of the elderly is a huge and growing problem as frailty and rising rates of dementia can leave the assets of Canada's aging population to the mercy of their children or other relatives.
Some of those charged with the responsibility of caring for aging relatives can't wait for them to die and abuse power of attorney agreements to spend the seniors' money on themselves, experts say.
"It is a national and international crisis," said Laura Watts, national director of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law. "What we are seeing is increased abuse of power of attorney. It appears to be on the rise and certainly we will have more of it occur as our baby boomers age."
Joan Braun says BCCEAS gets many calls about seniors being financially ill-treated.
Houses can be sold with the money ending up in the hands of someone other than the senior who owned it. Properties can be encumbered by mortgages that drain what is often the only big asset a pensioner owns.
"There are scenarios where [relatives] might use the money for supplementing their own accounts, or they may use the money to invest in their home," said Watts. "Those are real things happening every day and seniors often have little recourse because they don't have money to hire a lawyer."
The people who carry out financial abuse often are well-meaning adult children who see no reason why Mom's money should be sitting in a bank account or funding high-priced home care when it could be financing their annual cruise, or a new kitchen. Or they are loath to spend their inheritance on perks for their aging parents.
"It is not just the kids, it often is close friends and family members," said Watts.
Watts said elder abuse can result from a sense of entitlement on the part of family members or be done by "a new best friend."
"The core issue is where people are unclear or uncertain of their roles or responsibilities and many times see it as 'it's my money anyway, I'm going to inherit it,'" she said.
In the most blatant cases involving a new "best friend" who gains power of attorney to oversee financial affairs, seniors can be targeted, exploited and left penniless and alone, Watts said.
Watts said many baby boomers -- carrying debt loads among the highest in history -- are looking to their parents' nest eggs for a bailout.
Watts is also past-chair of the British Columbia Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors, which is opening a legal clinic at its headquarters at 411 Dunsmuir St. in downtown Vancouver this summer.
"Enduring power of attorney can be a useful tool when planning for a time in the future when you will be unable to make decisions about your assets," said Jay Chalke, B.C.'s Public Guardian and Trustee. "However it is a very powerful instrument and it can be misused.
The provincial Acts governing powers of attorney, representation agreements and guardianships are being updated. The new legislation is expected to be proclaimed within a year.
Abridged Article: (more details from source)
SOURCE: vancouversun
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The sad fact is that this is true in many other countries. It is very sad that elderly parents have to be warned about their own children. Think it will never happened to you? That was what the victim in the Frank Punito Case, thought too. A life destroyed in his twilight years. The abusers "buried him" long before his time. The frightening thing is that the abusers are unscathed under existing laws in Australia.
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