Relevant to our senior readers Financial abuse

Australians are living longer, and even the most dilapidated of their homes is now worth a fortune, which sounds like a good news story until you begin reading about how the elderly are being abused, harassed and blackmailed by impatient kids and other family members — or even carers — who want to get their hands on the money. 

It’s not a new phenomenon. On the contrary, most people know some poor soul who got ripped off by greedy relatives near the end of their life. But a new survey on elder financial abuse, conducted on behalf of State Trustees Victoria, makes plain the scale of the problem. 

Among the startling results: 91 per cent of respondents agreed that it was “easy for people to take advantage of older friends or family and exploit them for financial gain”; one in five knew somebody they suspected had been a victim of financial abuse; and one in 25 older people said they had experienced it themselves. 

Even worse, in the vast majority of cases the perpetrator was a family member, with adult daughters accounting for 25 per cent of the reports, followed very closely by adult sons (24 per cent); but spouses were also in there (17 per cent), as were carers (4 per cent) and neighbours (3 per cent.) 

Australian Today

6 comments

Must be happening mostly in Sydney and Melbourne Brocky where property is now unaffordable to most

parents who can are helping their kids with deposits 

Abuse, too, can take many forms. It doesn’t have to be pushing and shoving or even shouting. It’s more about pressuring or emotionally blackmailing a person into giving up their assets, which can be their pension but also their house, and it can happen when they are still in fine fettle, or when they are very close to death.

elderly people living at home, with maybe a few health problems, such as getting a bit forgetful or frail, can find themselves bullied, too.

An Australian Law Reform Commission report says some of the reprehensible behaviour suffered by the elderly includes humiliating them about their care needs; repeatedly telling them they have dementia; threatening to withdraw affection; and preventing an older person from seeing family and friends (or worse, the grandchildren).

Or younger people trolling senior sites .

good topic

Thank you young fella . Hope you learn something .

my comment was meant for Bens thread on pokies.

error made

There are, of course, laws to deal with this kind of thing but financial abuse of the elderly can be hard to detect, especially if the older person is isolated or lonely, or depends on the abusive family member for basic care.

If you heard of a Senior being mistreated what would you do?

They need access to social serivces and legal aid 

 

http://www.elderabusehelpline.com.au/

6 comments



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