Fast help; Financial Abuse Specialist Teams: little-known, but valuable to CPAs.

• Author: Molnar, Gloria
• Position: ELDERCARE

Do you have clients who are single elders with no family, but have a regular visitor, such as a gardener, shopper or caregiver?

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Perhaps you have a client who is a surviving spouse with some degree of dementia and is a co-trustee with another person? Or maybe the surviving spouse is the trustee, but is no longer able to act.

Maybe you have an elderly client with a living trust that is not supervised.

These are just some of the many elder client scenarios that should raise red flags to CPAs. With America's population aging at a staggering rate, and with so much wealth transferring between generations, the potential for financial elder abuse is high.

SPOTTING PROBLEMS

Sensitivity to financial elder abuse, training and staying current on the subject are keys for CPAs to spot potential problems.

Years ago, I had a client who suffered financial elder abuse. At the time there were few, if any, elder abuse resources specifically for CPAs. But now, this emerging area of concern is gaining attention. CalCPA's Personal Financial Planning Committee provides an Eldercare Resource Guide, www.calcpa.org/members/committees/PFP/eldercareresource, that details many resources.

An article titled "Fighting Back" by Vanessa Hill in the March/April 2005 California CPA details the vulnerabilities of elders and the different types of financial abuse that can occur.

Hill states that more than two-thirds of reported elder abuse cases involve family members. Since CPAs are often one of the few advisers in a position to get to know family members, they have a unique ability to render essential assistance to elders.

One of the more prominent warning signs of elder abuse is isolation. When a person asks to visit or speak to an elder, the perpetrator tells the visitor that the elder does not want to see them or gives a similar excuse. The perpetrator then tells the elder that nobody but the perpetrator loves them anymore and that no calls or visits have occurred. This is a violation of California Welfare and Institutions Code Sec. 15610.43. The ultimate of all stories is then told to the elder: if any government, social worker or other person asks the elder any questions, it is only for the purpose of placing the elder in a nursing facility. This statement shocks the elder into silence, afraid of speaking even to those who are sincerely trying to help.

So, be on the lookout for warning signs, listen to all of the family members and talk to your...