10% of people age 65+ experience some sort of abuse each year. And financial abuse is the most common. That is staggering.

We are so pleased to have a guest blogger! Thank you, Angela Yenssen, for the blog series on such an important topic! Angela is a Staff Lawyer with the Grey Bruce Community Legal Clinic.

Seniors, Protect Yourselves from Financial Abuse!

This blog is the first in a series of four blogs providing information about the financial abuse of seniors.  Today’s blog is a general introduction to the issue of financial elder abuse.  We will cover the following topics in the next three weeks.

• How to prevent fraud and scams
• What to do if you experience a scam
• Consumer rights, including dealing with home equipment with loans attached, such as water tanks and furnaces

Sadly, financial abuse of seniors is a common problem in our country.  Did you know that research across Canada has found that 10% of people aged 65 and older in Canada experience some sort of abuse every year?  Financial abuse is the most common form of elder abuse. 

Financial abuse is anything done with a senior’s money and items they own that are against the wishes, needs, and best interests of the senior.  Here are some examples of financial abuse. 

• Using the senior’s cash, credit cards, or debit cards without the senior’s permission

• Using the senior’s funds for a purpose for which they were not intended – for example, the senior gives a friend money to buy groceries for them and the friend buys groceries for themselves too using the senior’s money without the senior’s permission

• Redirecting the senior’s pension cheques and other mail without the senior’s permission or threatening/pressuring the senior so they will agree their mail can be sent to a different address

• Threatening, pressuring, or tricking the senior into changing their will, power of attorney, or other legal or financial papers

• A will is a paper that someone signs that says what will happen to their money when they die
• A power of attorney for property is a paper someone signs to name a person to help them look after their money and the items they own if they are too sick to look after their money and personal items themselves

• A person who is a senior’s attorney for property using the power of attorney paper to get a senior’s money and then using the senior’s money to buy things for the attorney and not the senior

• A person who is a senior’s attorney for property ignoring their role as attorney to pay the senior’s bills if the senior is too sick to pay their own bills

• Expecting the senior to work for little or no money, including caring for grandchildren

• Threatening, pressuring, or convincing the senior to loan or give away money or items they own, including their house

• Moving into the senior’s home and taking over the home – using most of the space in the senior’s home against the senior’s wishes and or not offering any money towards household costs

There are actions seniors can take to protect themselves from financial abuse. 

• Always open and read your own mail so you know what is happening with your bank accounts and credit cards and can identify and address any misuse of your money right away

• Talk to your bank about creative ways to pay for items that you need someone to pick up for you so that you do not have to give anyone your cash, debit cards, or credit cards to pick up items for you.  For example, your bank might be able to help you set up direct payment from your bank to the store for the items you need if you can’t go to the store to pay for items

• Don’t sign any papers someone gives you until you talk to a lawyer or financial advisor alone so you understand the consequences of signing the papers

• Include a note in your power of attorney for property papers that says the attorney must report how they handle your money to someone at least once a year, such as your accountant or financial advisor, so that someone is supervising your attorney’s behaviour if you are too sick to supervise the attorney.  For example, you could say in your power of attorney papers that once a year your attorney must show an accountant all of your bank statements for the past year.  If the accountant sees money leaving your bank account that is not being spent on you, then your accountant can ask a government office called the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee to investigate if your attorney is financially abusing you.

• If someone is threatening/pressuring you to do things with your money or items you own, such as your house, call 211 and ask for help to find a social worker to talk with you about ideas for stopping the threats and pressure 

• Talk to a social worker or lawyer to help you deal with situations which people expect you to work for free, such as babysitting grandchildren

• If you are going to share your home with anyone, including a family member, create a written agreement before the person moves into your home to protect yourself from a takeover of your home.  For example, say in the agreement the parts of the house the person moving in can use.  Make sure you keep parts of the house for your use only in the agreement to protect you from guests taking over the whole house.

Contact the Grey-Bruce Community Legal Clinic for help if financial abuse is happening to you or if you want help to do these ideas to protect yourself from financial abuse.  Free legal advice is available to all people in Grey and Bruce Counties from the Legal Clinic.  The Legal Clinic can provide other services, such as writing legal papers, for people who are living on a low income.  People are considered low-income if they get money from Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program, or Guaranteed Income Supplement.  People who do not get these payments might still be considered low-income depending on the amount of money they get and the number of people who live with them.  Please contact the Legal Clinic to discuss your income and find out the types of services the Legal Clinic can give you based on your income.  

You can reach the Grey-Bruce Community Legal Clinic by phone at 519-370-2200 or 1-877-832-1435.  You can also contact the Grey-Bruce Community Legal Clinic by email at general@gbclc.clcj.ca.