How do you Prevent your Loved Elders from Being Neglected?

There comes a time and age in your life when you feel that you are not being able to take good care of your parents any longer. In such cases, what do you do? One option that many elders go for is nursing home care. If you put your loved ones in a nursing home then it will provide them with skilled nursing round the clock along with giving medicines and all kinds of proper care. However, nursing homes can also neglect your loved ones and deprive them of the care that their patients deserve and what they are being paid for. A nursing home can be pretty expensive to pay for, so if you see any signs of neglect in your loved ones, go in for nursing home attorney assistance immediately. 

Planning for long term care

If you are planning for long time health care for your elders, then there are quite a few things that you need to sit down and consider. That includes looking at the long term insurance plans, and looking at options for nursing homes. You should also make sure that your loved one is able to extract the most out of benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid, etc. Make sure that their assets are protected and be on the lookout for any form of elder fraud. To help you with these financial decisions, you could also hire an attorney who specialises in elder law and finance cases. In that case, you will know all the legalities and the rights that your loved one has.

Be alert for signs of neglect

The first thing to do is to regularly visit your loved ones in the nursing home. If you cannot be present then make sure that you send someone to do it regularly. There are many warning signs of nursing home neglect and you can hold the home legally accountable for them. These include bad hygiene, malnutrition, forms of physical abuse including fractures, bruises or any form of unexplained marks. All living conditions including bathrooms also fall under this category. Lastly, if a nursing home is making claims of providing professional nursing facilities then any form of medical negligence or substandard care also falls under nursing home neglect.

If you feel that your loved one is facing any of these on a regular basis, then you need to seek legal assistance. Remember that it’s not about abuse, even negligence is criminal and can lead to emotional trauma and in some cases, death too.

What to do in case of elder neglect

If you have definitively verified that your loved one is being neglected then you should remove him/her from the facility immediately and have them placed somewhere else. Then you should inform the local authorities and file a complaint with the social services. If you want to take it a step further, then consider going in for nursing home attorney assistance. Hire the services of a civil lawyer who specialises in a branch of elder law. This should include elder abuse, consumer fraud, nursing home law, etc. If there are others like you, then you could consider going in for a class action lawsuit.

The advantage is that, you can sue for neglect as well. The case doesn’t necessarily have to escalate to the point of abuse. There are industry standards that require nursing homes to provide standard and reasonable care to their patients. If the nursing home fails to provide “reasonable care”, then you have cause or action for neglect cases.

About the author:
Jean is a lawyer specialising in elder law for the past fifteen years. She has helped countless elders to structure their healthcare and finance plans. Recently she has also co-authored an article on nursing home attorney assistance. Jean likes to read novels in her free time.

Top Five Ways of Avoiding Financial Scams And Abuse In 2013

Finance (Photo credit: Tax Credits)

All of us, irrespective of gender or age, are vulnerable to financial scams and abuse. And interestingly most of the time we are not even aware that we are being victimized by an imposter. However, all of us must take some stern steps to avoid such mistreatment. Let us start our discussion with a brief discussion on what is financial abuse.

What Is Financial Abuse and Scams?

Financial abuse is subtle form of fraudulent activity that is mainly perpetrated by someone on whom you trust blindly. It can be your financial advisor, tax consultant or even a near relative who has access to your earning as well as bank account details. They might access your account and steal or invest a negligible amount of money without your permission. When such actions are taken by a person on whom you have full trust, it is called financial abuse and scams. However, it is extremely difficult for the victim to understand that he or she is being exploited as the perpetrators always chose such victims who would not realize that is being mistreated or will not be able to protest.

The Target Group

It is generally seen that swindlers target the older persons for falling prey to their scam. Research conducted in this regard show that the old people are generally much more confident and optimistic when it comes to taking financial and other decisions. Moreover, it is also seen that their ability to analyze things quickly also declines to quite an extent. Thus, they are the target audience of the cheats. Therefore, all of us and specially the older people need to take certain solid steps to protect themselves.

Here are top five ways whereby financial scams and abuse can be avoided:

Share Your Bank Statements

According to Burton Copeland, While sharing the accounts details with one person is not a good idea, sharing it with many close associates and professionals can be beneficial. Make an effort to forward the e-statements to your old friends, grandchildren and your advisors as they will be able to detect the frauds or misappropriation, odd transactions or latest investments from your account which you might have overlooked. However, make sure you are circulating it among your close knit circle only as these documents are really important.

Acquaintance Is Important

Most of us seek the aid of many specialists to look after our finance. Therefore, you have a team of tax consultants, investment advisors and real estate advisors working for you. It will be a good idea to introduce them with each other as this decrease the chance of any fraudulent activity in your account. Since all of them would want to maintain a cordial relation with you for their future business, you will be hinted about any financial abuse by any one of them. However, if too many advisors are trying to convince you for a particular financial product, then you should make extra effort to review the product before buying it.

Beware of Promise of High Return

If an investor is promising you unbelievable return from a particular investment, then you definitely smell danger. Always remember that if the investment is genuine, then the return from it will be less but steady. So do not fall prey to such lucrative offers made by the investors or any other persons.

Avoid ‘Pocket Littering’

We always carry with ourselves some valuable and sensitive information so that we can access them easily. For example, the passwords or the ping numbers are stored in our cell phone or computers or wallets. Crooks can use this sensitive information to access your accounts and perform some illegal activities. Therefore, if you are using computer or mobile phone for accessing your accounts, then make sure to log out of the account and not let any other person know your password. Moreover, it is best to keep these vital numbers at your home only.

Do Not Take Decision in Haste

Another important measure that can safeguard you from financial fraud is not taking decision in haste. If an investor is pressurizing you to sign a deal quickly, then it indicates that he is actually trying to stop you from reviewing all the aspects of the investments. So be very conscious to avoid such problems. Moreover, all lawful financial products come with a detailed brochure stating all the terms and conditions. If there isn’t sufficient disclosure, then it is not a good idea to make such investment.

By taking these steps, you can avoid financial scams and abuse. It is a matter of being a bit more careful and cautious and does not involve any excess expenditure. So do not let any other person fool you with your hard earned money.