As well as better care and treatment, Canadians with dementia badly need protection from people who are out to get their money. Does ‘buyer beware’ really apply?
By Grant Robertson and Tara Perkins
Sep. 20, 2010
Even at 86, she isn’t afraid to take a risk – you don’t lose almost a half-million dollars by playing it safe. But where, her family wants to know, was her financial adviser as she pumped her life’s savings into volatile mining shares? And how can someone that old, having suffered a stroke and been diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia, be allowed to sign a form stating that she has an “excellent understanding” of the stock market?
By the time the complaint, which is still outstanding, reached Douglas Melville, Canada’s banking ombudsman, the woman’s portfolio was down an alarming $470,000.
For another elderly woman, family was part of the problem. After being diagnosed with cognitive impairment, she wisely turned over her financial affairs to her daughter. But she retained joint control of her account, which was all an unscrupulous relative needed to have her co-sign for a pair of hefty bank loans.
With dementia on the rise as the population ages, Canada’s financial and legal systems are beginning to realize how ill-equipped they are to deal with the growing number of people unable to administer their own affairs. Some are being taken advantage of, defrauded in a variety of ways, while others are being given bad advice, even by lawyers, financial advisers and family members with good intentions.
How serious is the problem? Nobody knows for sure – because nobody is keeping track.
See more stories, portraits and multimedia from The Globe's series
(Please go to source for a great article on the subject)
Abridged
SOURCE: The Globe and Mail
_________________________________________
Click for Updates, More Cases and Resources
Search Right Col/Labels for More Posts/Resources
No comments:
Post a Comment