When a loved one is facing senior financial issues, make sure fraud isn’t the culprit.
Discussing senior financial issues with a loved one is often considered taboo. This can be a big challenge for even the closest of families. With the addition of elder home care issues, financial help for seniors can become more complicated, and perhaps even combative. When someone is facing financial difficulties, it can often be embarrassing and lead the person to hide money-related problems from their loved ones. Cognitive impairments and elder fraud may also be the sources of financial issues, and these can be hard to pick up on until money becomes a real problem.
Ensuring that a senior loved one is not being taken advantage of by friends, strangers, or even family members is crucial. Here are some suggestions:
- Be on the lookout for subtle changes in financial ability.
- Encourage senior loved ones to use professional financial advisors for taxes and investments and not to rely on family or friends who may have hidden agendas.
- Get to know who the senior talks to and sees about his or her finances.
- Make sure taxes are being paid on time.
- If the person has cognitive or memory issues, sign them up for automated payments for utilities.
- Keep tabs on how and where the person spends money.
- Avoid leaving valuable or precious jewelry out in the open. Keep them in a safe or lock box.
Home Care Can Help
Elder fraud and senior financial issues can be serious problems. Having a trusted caregiver around can help seniors make informed financial choices and stay safe from scams and fraud. If you are concerned about a senior loved one’s financial health, the professional senior home care providers at Solutions [LAH4] provide dedicated at-home care Richland, WA families need.
An in-home caregiver can:
- Assist with sorting mail and correspondence to ensure bills are paid and that seniors do not respond to financial solicitation scams
- Answer phone calls to help avoid phone scams
- Help with shopping
- Discuss any financial warning signs that arise with the senior’s trusted family members
While discussing financial help for seniors can be challenging, it’s better to make sure their finances are in order now than to uncover a disaster later. If you need help talking to your senior loved one about money issues or would like to know more about other warning signs that help at home may be needed, contact Solutions In-Home Care in Kennewick, Washington. Our in-home caregivers are thoroughly vetted, thoughtfully chosen, and overseen by a registered nurse to ensure your loved one receives the highest quality care.
We provide professional at home care and senior financial help in Richland, WA seniors need and deserve and can help get those important conversations going. To learn more about our services, call us at (509) 627-8575 or via our contact form.