Elder abuse refers to any knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. Types of elder abuse include physical, emotional, sexual, financial exploitation, neglect and abandonment. The resources we’ve collected here focus on financial exploitation.
Elder financial exploration is the illegal or improper use of an incapacitated or vulnerable adult’s resources for another’s profit or advantage. Examples include forgery, misappropriation of cash or assets, abuse of joint accounts, and abuse of power of attorney. Elder financial exploitation is the third most frequent form of abuse (after neglect and emotional abuse) – recent statistics indicate that 30 to 40% of elder abuse involves some form of financial exploitation. And the problem is increasing as the number up elders rise.
Key is vulnerability rather than age. Victims may have one or more physical and/or mental impairments. They tend to be isolated by circumstances or perpetrator. And being competent doesn’t eliminate vulnerability. The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse (2011) found that elder females over age 70 who reside alone were likely victims. Women were nearly twice as likely to be victims of elder financial abuse as men. The study also found that many may suffer from more than one type of abuse.
90% of elder abuse is perpetrated by family. Of that, 50% is by adult children and 20% is by spouses.
Abuse of Power of Attorney: Preventing and Addressing Elder Family Financial Exploitation
UWE Publication B-1368
January 2021
Behavior warning signs include
Other specific clues to financial exploitation include
Elder financial exploitation is often underreported by the victims, perhaps because of shame or a desire not to cause problems. And it is not uniformly reported in national data collection or repository of reported cases since jurisdictions vary in how they describe and report the crime.
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The University of Wyoming is part of a multi-state research team that is trying to understand the risk factors
of elder financial exploitation (2018) and would appreciate your input. www.uwyo.edu/fcs/confidential-survey Outputs so far include these article:
