Watch out for these financial elder abuse flags
Combating fraud takes education and a plan for trusting the right people
Protecting yourself against abuse and exploitation takes education monitoring and careful planning for trusting the right people
Elder abuse effects over five 1,000,000 older Americans each year according to the National Council on Aging. Surprisingly the majority is appropriate against these these individuals are family members friends and neighbors
Protecting yourself against abuse takes education monitoring and a careful plan for trusting the right people
To protect your wealth from scams and fraud it is critical to have a plan in place before anything bad happens
Know common dangers
Telephone calls stating that they are from Social Security or the IRS. The IRS never calls and calls from Social Security only occur if you have an ongoing issue and the phone number always shows Social Security
Home repair scams people claiming that they are licensed or work for a company collect a deposit and then disappear
For a complete list of of these types of scams check out our free book Scams Fraud and Protecting Your Money available on the website as a download or for purchase on Amazon
Know yourself
To protect your wealth from scams and fraud, it's critical to have a plan in place before anything bad happens. Doing that, however, means being honest with yourself. Are you the kind of person who always gives whatever your children ask for, even if it starts to dig into your nest egg in a way that impacts your retirement plans?
If you can't be sure you can say no to yourself or others when it comes to money, you may want to put some protections in place to wall yourself off from making bad decisions with your money.
For example a finical advisor was asked how he could make it more difficult for himself to give money to his son, who had a gambling problem. No matter how the client tried to provide money to his grandchildren—putting it a 529 college savings plan or giving it to his daughter-in-law directly—it ended up lost. The client ended up using trust structures to protect the assets.
"Best case scenario is when you are aware of your own susceptibility,. One option to consider to keep your assets safe is to consolidate your accounts in one place, which will make it easier for you to keep track of everything as you age. This also makes use of the ability of your financial advisor to keep an eye on your accounts and recognize whether anything is amiss.
Know your family
Beyond having a trusted contact, you will want to have a properly executed power of attorney so that somebody (or several different people) can handle your affairs in case you become incapacitated. Every adult needs this, but it becomes even more important as you age.
Depending on the dynamic of your family, this can get complicated . Seek Help from your trust attorney or your financial advisor
"Just because you give a child power of attorney, it doesn't give them license to steal. And just because they are going to inherit the money someday, it doesn't mean they can take it now,". "If you really feel like there is someone with power of attorney who is acting inappropriately, then get a different one. Don't give them that open door, because once the money is gone, it's gone."
When you are trying to figure out how to manage this process, It is important to understand the financial situation and values of your family members.. Typically you do not want the trustee or executor to be somebody that has financial problems debt gambling or any history where there may be financial abuse somebody in a strong financial state has no reason to try and do anything wrong the person also has to be able to say no so if one of your children can’t say no to the others that’s not the right person It is OK and very common to look outside your family to trusted friends that you’ve known for a while
\ investments out of line with your long-term plan, or changes to beneficiaries who are in the family map (such as adding a household helper to a life insurance policy).
Bottom line
As you age, make sure you have a plan in place that addresses your needs in case you can't handle your own affairs. You may want to consult with a financial professional or attorney to help you figure out the options that will suit your needs.
For more information check out Scams Fraud and Protecting Your Money Free on our website And And available on Amazon. An additional resource is the retirement guidebook Also available on Amazon written by Nancy Burgandine and Irene VanDyke
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Retirement Guidebook- From Planning Your Retirement to Enjoying It FREE on our website
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