Every year, State Trustees discovers instances where older people have been taken advantage of financially by those they trust most, but sadly, we are often asked to step in as a last resort, after much of the damage has already been done.
Financial elder abuse can range from misusing an ATM or credit card, to taking money or property, forcing or forging an older person's signature or persuading them to change their Will, contracts or power of attorney through deception or undue influence.
Financial elder abuse is complex and we have engaged Monash University to undertake research to shed light on this important social issue. Entitled Protecting Elders Assets Study: Ethical Management of Older Persons’ Financial Assets, the project has delivered its first report and findings will be delivered over the next three years.
The first report, Financial Abuse of Elders: A Review of the Evidence, provides a summary of existing Australian and international research and the next stages of the study aim to build on this existing knowledge. A copy of this report is available by clicking here.
Even at this early stage, the research is proving a useful contribution to the Victorian Government’s elder abuse prevention strategy and we hope that it will lay the foundation for future initiatives, including policy and legislative reform, and improvement to services.
State Trustees is pleased to commit our resources to this research project, something we see as essential if we are to understand the best ways to reduce, prevent and remedy the growing problem of financial elder abuse.
From here, the study aims to:
· Investigate existing data to identify the types, incidence and prevalence of financial abuse of older people in Victoria; trials of interventions that have been completed to date; and how the financial assets of Victorians are currently protected;
· Conduct community studies of older Victorians, including from diverse ethnic and rural groups, to explore their awareness of financial elder abuse and the services available to help reduce its occurrence;
· Interview professional service providers in the financial, health and community care sectors to determine their views and experience of best and worst practices in the management of older people’s financial assets; and
· Develop and pilot educational interventions for community groups and professional service providers.
SOURCE: StateTrustees.com.au
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