What Is Elder Abuse and How Can You Keep Yourself (or Your Parents) Safe?

One day, you will be an elderly person, you hope. Maybe you are already there. Or, your parents are.

And, unfortunately, as more of us age, there is more and more cases of elder abuse, and in order to stop it, we must first spot it and understand the totality of the problem.

Physical abuse is obvious. Signs of physical abuse include bruises, broken bones, and scrapes, often resulting from sexual abuse, hitting, pushing, and restraining.

Physical abuse also includes dispensing medicine that affects a person’s ability or desire to function properly. For example, administering additional pain or sleeping medication may lead an elder to be bedridden when they would otherwise be active and mobile.

Emotional abuse takes a heavy toll on a victim, but especially the extra vulnerable, such as seniors. Emotional abuse includes insults, threats, and screaming. It can also include isolating someone from others, interfering with their access to friends and family members. These behaviors are demeaning and can lead victims to withdraw, become angry, or suffer other types of personality changes.

Financial abuse is most often hidden, and the one that you (and your parents could be most at risk from).

Financial abuse encompasses taking advantage of, as well as stealing from, seniors. And, surprisingly, often occurs when seniors get trapped in a Court system with unscrupulous lawyers, guardians and conservators. You can read story after story of the heinous crimes being committed by our very own court system against our elderly community, starting here.

You might think it can’t happen to you, or your parents, and yet when you read the actual stories, you begin to realize that it could. Without trusted legal counsel on your side, even the “right documents” sometimes aren’t enough.

If you would like to ensure you have trusted counsel on your side to keep you and your family out of Court and outside of risk of elder abuse from our own Court system, start by having a Family Wealth Planning Session with our office. We’ll look at what you own, who you love, and how to ensure you are more financially organized and empowered than you ever have been before to keep yourself and the people you love out of court and out of conflict.