FROM THE EDITOR'S PEN
/ Ba-bum…ba-ba-ba-ba-bum /
Editorial List
(Page 2 of 2)
His actions regarding her stock brokerage
accounts set bells ringing at her brokerage firm and
their security department was alerted. But without
her consistent consent, nothing was able to be done
to safeguard her investments. At the same
time, he had managed to place himself in total
control of her medication schedule and she was
becoming dangerously ill. It was clear to everyone
who was concerned about her welfare that something
needed to be done immediately. With the swift
work of the elder abuse unit at the local police
department, some fearless and dedicated lifelong
friends, and even a few attorneys who stood up for
her rights, the court stepped in and froze him out
of her financial accounts (only hours before he
walked into the main branch of her bank looking to
strip her account bare).
Certainly not every financial abuse case is as
dramatic as this one was, but it did seem as if we
were living in an episode of Law and Order: Senior
Financial Abuse Unit (ba-bum…ba-ba-ba-ba-bum).
I guess the lesson for this coming Saturday’s
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is that elder
abuse does not just refer to physical abuse, but
financial abuse as well. If you think you see
something amiss with an elder friend or neighbor,
please contact your local police department’s Elder
and Dependent Adult Abuse officers or your
community’s Adult Protective Services Agency. It
might be nothing, but then again…ba-bum!
Share your elder abuse advice
Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com
