Financial abuse of the elderly is often perpetrated by those in a position of power over them. Often, it is someone that is appointed as an attorney via a power-of-attorney, or as a deputy via the Court of Protection. It can also occur when the individual’s children wrongly believe they are entitled to their parent’s money now as they will later receive it under their will.

Financial abuse often occurs when the perpetrator funds themselves by making transfers or withdrawals from the elderly person’s bank account or through transactions inconsistent with those which the elder would have made. An example of this may be the perpetrator making online purchases when the elder is in hospital or purchasing items which they have no use for and have not previously purchased.

It can often, but not always, coincide with the execution of a new Will, leaving the estate to the individual who is committing the abuse.

Often, the issues are not discovered until after the elderly person passes away, and a beneficiary who makes a request for their legacy is advised that they are either not entitled to it due to a change in the Will or that there are no assets left from which to make payment of the legacies.

Head of Civil & Commercial Litigation, Andrew Leakey, at Jackson Lees, says:

“It is important to remember that this is theft and should be reported to the police. Many wrongly refer to financial abuse of the elderly as fraud. However, if reported as fraud it is unlikely anything will ever happen due to the sheer volume of cases they are dealing with.

Issues can often arise when dealing with the assets of the deceased as the executor is the individual who has the right to investigate any misappropriation of funds given an unexpected change in the Will. It may be that the executor is also the person who misappropriated the funds, and orchestrated the Will, leaving the estate, or what is left of it, to themselves.”

Steps can be taken by disappointed beneficiaries to investigate the misappropriation of funds, and potentially the removal of the executor to seek reimbursement from. It is important to act quickly as the perpetrator will likely have dissipated the funds and a forensic accountant may be required to trace those funds in order to seek reimbursement.

If you're worried that someone has taken financial advantage of an elderly person which has caused issues with their Will, call us today to speak to a member of our team.