Gold in the old for greedy children
State Trustees in Victoria is investigating 63 suspected cases of financial elder abuse, that’s more cases of ”than ever before”, according to case manager, Steve Cowell.
“A combination of the housing boom and the credit squeeze has tempted children with financial power of attorney to help themselves to their ageing parents’ assets,” he told The Age.
“Workman’s cottages bought for $1,000 in the 1950s are now worth $1 million, and Generation X and Y wants access – the opportunity to misappropriate your parents’ income is easier than ever before…
“The son goes to the bank, the bank won’t loan him money, so who does he get money from? Mum or dad.”
Mr Cowell says the Trustees only see the worst cases.
“If you’re a smart perpetrator, you’ll get away with it.”
Laws protecting the elderly from financial abuse need an overhaul, says the chairman of the Victorian Law Reform Commission, Professor Neil Rees. The commission has just released a draft paper on Victoria’s guardianship laws.
Visit http://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/ for details.
