Elder Abuse and Power of Attorney - (Canada)

Abuse of power
Fraudsters, even family members, prey on elderly

By Ann Marie McQueen

When she went to see her elderly dad at his nursing home, the 63-year-old woman, his primary caregiver and keeper of his power of attorney, found he was gone.
Her older brother -- the one her 87-year-old father had never trusted around his finances -- had drawn up and wielded a new power of attorney.
"He took my father to his place," she said, "just because he wanted complete control."
An ex-wife persuaded her elderly former father-in-law to sign away his son's power of attorney to her: When the son fought back, the power of attorney went back and forth twice before it was finally returned to the son for good.
A woman with multiple sclerosis is a patient at a chronic care hospital, bedridden. Each of her two children would race to the hospital on the first of each month, because that's when her monthly pension payment arrived.

USE CAUTION

Brenda McGillvray, a detective with the Ottawa police elder abuse section, has these tips when drawing up a power of attorney. They can't guard against fraud, but they can make it easier to prove after it happens.
- Insert a triggering clause, or a protection clause, to say specifically when the power of attorney comes into effect. Have it done in a lawyer's office and insert a clause to say it will stand even in the face of subsequent documents.
- Choose a power of attorney you know who will act in your best interest, a person you know well and trust. Not a family member who is putting on pressure or who you don't want to anger or disappoint. - Appoint a joint, or even multiple, power of attorney. That way, if one person tries to access funds for themselves, another is directly accountable.

Abridged Article - SOURCE: ottsunCanoe