Page 20 - NBY News January 2019

ELDER ABUSE ~ SPOT THE WARNINGS

What is elder abuse? Any of these warning signs – alone or
combined – may suggest the elder has
Elder abuse can happen to anyone, fallen victim to neglect, abuse or financial
regardless of sex, social status or ethnic exploitation.
background. It wears many faces and,
alarmingly, typically occurs at the hands
of the people who are most trusted by the How can you help?
victims – like their spouses, children,
grandchildren, caregivers or financial or Unfortunately, because such a high
other advisors. percentage of abusers tend to be the
elder’s family members, caregivers or
California’s laws set forth several advisors, more often than not the persons
specific types of elder abuse: who we would expect to be solving the
problems turn out to be the ones
· Physical abuse responsible for causing the problems. As
· Neglect a result, hundreds of thousands of elder
· Financial abuse abuse cases go unreported or ignored
· Abandonment every year.
· Isolation
· Abduction If you suspect someone is a victim of
But nearly any behavior leading to elder abuse, please try to intervene. First‚
harm, pain or mental suffering of a take steps to get more involved in his or
vulnerable adult may qualify as elder her care. Talk to the caregiver or advisor,
abuse – regardless of whether those assess the situation, and do your best to
specific results actually were intended. determine the nature and extent of the
problem. If the caregiver or advisor is
standing in your way, or if you feel the
What are the Signs of Elder Abuse? problem is beyond your control, consider
seeking assistance from the state
The signs of elder abuse may be very Ombudsman‚ other government agencies‚
subtle, particularly when the abuse is or a law firm like ours that focuses on
something other than physical. A few elder or fiduciary abuse.
things to look for are:
Written by Suzanne M. Rehmani, Esq.,
· Changes in the physical Founder of Rehmani & Associates – one of
appearance, grooming or general California’s TOP Elder Law Attorneys.
behavior of the elder; Attorney Rehmani has more than twenty
· Unusual banking activity; or years of experience practicing law including
· Sudden changes in estate litigating cases and has also handled
planning, or transfers of assets, deeds numerous cases at the appellate level. She has
or trusts. an LLM in Taxation and is a licensed CA real
Other signs of elder abuse might be estate broker and notary. She has extensive
more apparent when observing experience in numerous areas of transactional
relationships between elders and their business and corporate law as well as basic
caregivers: and complex estate planning, including wills,
trusts, probate, trust and estate administration
1. Does the caregiver seem to matters, life insurance trusts, family limited
express more concern about the elder’s partnerships, elder law, guardianships and
finances than about his or her physical conservatorships. Attorney Rehmani is
and/or mental health? a Member of the National ElderCare
2. Has the caregiver isolated the Matters Alliance, and she and her firm are ADVERTISERS: Contact Dave for Details
elder, or does the caregiver prevent the Featured in ElderCareMatters.com –
elder from interacting with friends or America’s National Directory of Elder Care /
family members unless the caregiver is Senior Care Resources to help families plan
present? for and deal with the issues of Aging.

20 January 2019