Financial Elder Abuse

Here is a link to a great article on financial elder abuse. It is at http://life501.blogspot.com/2011/06/financial-elder-abuserphp.html

This is a great article but a little long. It gives much detail into the signs to look for when you suspect your elderly parent/grandparent or someone else close to you may be being taken advantage of financialy and also possibly being abused at the hands of a con man/woman. I posted this article because I feel that people need to understand the signs. When I first encountered this problem believe it or not I was unprepared on how to handle it. Most people aren't. I knew about manipulators and manipulative tactics(I read about that) but I wasn't sure what direction to take when it came to possible elder abuse. Elder abuse doesn't have to come in the form of physical violence it also comes in the form of manipulation, threats, isolation, neglect and many other forms. In my case the abuser tried to isolate my dad from everyone including family members, most definitely family members. He manipulated my dad into thinking if he didn't move in with him he would be taken to a nursing home by going so far as letting my dad think his nurses had confided they were trying to get him put into a nursing home but as long as good old con man(I removed his name for privacy purposes and it makes him seem more human when in reality people who will take advantage of an elderly person is on the lowest part of the totem pole when it comes to humanity) was there to take care of him he wouldn't have to go and he made sure my dad knew it was him because the nurses had so diligently let the con man know someone needed to be there all the time and the con man was the only one who could do it.

He made sure my dad knew no one else could take care of him. These are all forms of abuse. It's the worst kind of abuse. Often times the elderly don't hear as well as they used to, they don't see as good as they once did and they don't always remember things as well. My dad fell into this category. An abuser will take advantage of everything he can when it comes to an elderly person. He will spare nothing. He will do and say anything he has to to get the elderly person to comply with his demands and manipulation and fear are at the top of the list. They wield fear with an iron fist. Sometimes literally.

Everything stated here are excellent points and should be taken note of.

Unfortunately, an elder will not often tell you he is being taken advantaqe of and he won't tell you he is scared of his manipulator/abuser out of fear of retribution or damage to himself or personal property.

In my dad's case I later found out he was afraid of the con man. He was afraid of what he would do. My dad didn't want to confide to me that he was afraid of him. Most elderly people don't want to admit this. Especially to their children out of fear you will think less of them and perhaps even berate them for allowing someone to take advantage when in reality this isn't the case. This is probably one of the hardest things for an elderly person is to admit they are afraid of someone, that they lacked judgement when allowing this person into their lives. They feel it will make them look weak or worse the family will assume they are no longer able to take care of themselves and force them into a nursing home and most people want to be independent for as long as they can. I know my dad did.

So remember if your elderly parent is being exploited he/she will not openly admit it mostly out of fear so it is up to you to look for the signs for most likely your parent will never confide in you. My dad never did. It was only later I found out the extent of just how bad some of the people his abuser had brought him into contact with.

Remember this point: It can start out with one abuser and wind up more than one depending on how many lowlife's the abuser brings around. This is what happened with my dad. And I was unaware of the other exploiter's until after my dad's death. Especially if the exploiter has a drug or alcohol problem and often times they do.

So be aware of the signs.