Abuse of trust hitting elderly

It's estimated 70-80 per cent of elder abuse is at the hands of family members. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

Financial abuse is the second most common form of maltreatment of older people, and the economic downturn may be aggravating the situation.

Age Concern is campaigning for the second time in five years to reduce the incidence of elderly people being taken advantage of financially.

The amount of financial abuse it sees is surpassed only by psychological abuse, the organisation says.

There are around two new confirmed cases of elder abuse each day (half of which are of a financial nature) and agency workers say the continuing effects of the recession appear to be having an impact.

"It's not reflected in our statistics yet, but we are getting more reports of sons or daughters losing their jobs, so the whole family moves in with an elderly parent and don't contribute at all financially," Age Concern professional adviser Jayne McKendry says.

This is one of a range of situations which ultimately take away the right of the older person to choose what they do with their money due to outside pressures, she says.

Other common abusive scenarios include family members or caregivers helping themselves to items in the older person's home without asking, refusing to pay back loans, buying themselves groceries with the older person's money and refusing to help an older family member buy a new car or new clothes because 'they don't need it'.

"Often it's people thinking things like 'I'm going to get the money when my parents die anyway, so I'll just take it now'," explains Auckland's Elder Abuse and Neglect co-ordinator Emsie Walters.

Retirement Commissioner Diana Crossan says often the elderly person has emotional ties to the abuser - it's estimated 70-80 per cent of elder abuse is at the hands of family members - which makes it difficult for them to say no without damaging vital relationships.

New Zealand netball legend Dame Lois Muir, who is fronting this year's campaign for Age Concern, believes many situations could be solved if people voiced their concerns early on. "I think it's important to open up the lines of communication because that can often stop a small problem becoming something bigger."

Spicers financial adviser Jeff Matthews sees clients who he suspects are being pressured by family into making poor decisions, but most people won't admit to the problem.

As one of the most vulnerable groups in society, the effects of financial abuse on the elderly are lasting. "Someone in their 70s may have 20 or 30 years of life left, but they have no way to generate more money in all likelihood," McKendry says.

"So people who have their assets sealed or taken from them can end up on the poverty line. Often these people are left thinking this is their own flesh and blood who ripped them off, and they're embarrassed that it's happened."

The problem is set to worsen, Matthews believes, as the population ages and younger people find it increasingly difficult to accumulate assets.

"It's not going to change by a website or a brochure, it's something that needs to be talked about more and families need to take responsibility," Crossan says.

Act of kindness pays bitter dividend

Mrs Murphy is 75. Five years ago, she gave her daughter-in-law, Jane, her credit card to purchase a fridge they had chosen together.

However, as well as buying the fridge, Jane ran up a debt of $6500 gambling. Mrs Murphy confronted her about the debt and Jane was apologetic and agreed to pay it back, as fast as she could. Eager to keep up appearances within the family, they agreed to keep these transactions "their little secret".

About a year ago, Jane took Mrs Murphy's eftpos card without her knowing. She withdrew thousands, again for gambling. Mrs Murphy asked Jane to post cheques she had written to pay her bills but, knowing they would now bounce, Jane destroyed them. The first Mrs Murphy knew about this was when she got warning notices from the power and phone companies.

It was at this point that Mrs Murphy decided to talk to Age Concern, and when it became evident that Jane had no intention of paying the money back, the police became involved. The process was distressing to Mrs Murphy, as her son took Jane's side.

Some names and details have been changed for confidentiality.

Criminal minds

June 2010: An 89-year-old blind man's caregiver, Christine Orr, is sentenced to four months' home detention after stealing $21,265 from his accounts.

May 2010: Caregiver Wendy Bennett, 44, is sentenced to 150 hours of community service after stealing $5000 from the elderly blind woman she cared for.

September 2009: Caregiver Alofa Leota gets six months' home detention for stealing more than $33,000 from an elderly cancer patient.

November 2008: John Baker, 26, is sentenced to 150 hours of community service after he transferred $9650 from his ill grandmother's bank account into his own.

November 2008: Tauranga man Brett Laurent, 38, is jailed for 18 months on 28 charges of stealing more than $10,000 and household goods from his 70-year-old parents.

June 2006: Wellington caregiver Kathleen Brooking, 70, is jailed for two years for defrauding an elderly and disabled employer of $45,000.

Top tips

* Keep cheques, credit and bank cards, PIN numbers and other important documents in a safe place. If you do need to, have clear written instructions for anyone asked to assist with financial matters, get receipts and check statements.

* Review Enduring Powers of Attorney as circumstances change and consider appointing two people who you trust. Requiring the property attorney to give reports to another person is recommended.

* Seek legal advice when providing finance for a property owned by family or others.

* Uphold older people's right to make decisions about their money and assets. Speak out if you think someone may be abusing this right to an agency such as Age Concern.