By Libby Banks, The Law Office of Libby Banks, PLLC
Image: Metro Creative Services
Clients often ask how they can prevent loved ones from being the victims of fraud and abuse. For an answer, I turned to Kent Berk, with Berk Law Group, P.C. in Scottsdale.
Kent’s firm assists clients who have suffered financial or physical abuse by pursuing claims for financial exploitation, physical abuse and/or neglect, or establishing guardianship and conservatorship. Learn more about Berk Law Group here:berklawgroup.com
Here is my Q & A with Kent:
Libby: Kent, scams often target seniors. They receive a call that their grandson needs money, or engage online with someone, and the next thing you know, they’ve sent money to a scammer. What can we do to help prevent that?
Kent: Education is key here. Make sure your loved ones know to never share financial or personal information over the phone, and be wary of unsolicited calls or emails. Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry (www.donotcall.gov), and freeze your credit. Most important in all of this is to be sure your loved ones are communicating openly about what is going on in their world. Be sure they feel comfortable talking and even admitting a mistake before the situation escalates.
Libby: Is it a good idea to make sure there is good monitoring as well?
Kent: Definitely. Checking financial accounts, setting up alerts for large transactions, and monitoring credit card and bank statements on a regular basis assures that if something unusual is happening it is caught early.
Libby: For a loved one who is showing signs that they can no longer handle their own finances, what can our clients do?
Kent: Libby, as you know, one of the most important things they can do is to create an estate plan that includes a durable power of attorney. A durable power of attorney is one that survives the person’s disability and allows the agent to manage their affairs. The earlier the better! Do it before your loved one begins to deteriorate. There is no reason not to have these plans in place in the event someone becomes disabled or incapacitated. In the event they don’t have such documents in place and they become incapacitated, the only option is likely a court proceeding for guardianship and/or conservatorship.
Libby: Tell our readers about that.
Kent: Guardianship is a court proceeding where a court appoints a guardian to make personal and medical decisions for a person unable to make those decisions for themselves. Conservatorship is the court process for appointing someone to manage the financial affairs of a person who cannot manage them. Conservators handle paying bills, managing property, and safeguarding financial assets. We file these proceedings to allow a loved one to step in to handle the affairs of the person. Those proceedings are time consuming and expensive. They can and should be avoided by proactive estate planning with a knowledgeable attorney, such as yourself. Appointing a trustworthy and dependable agent to serve under a power of attorney is very important.
For our readers, learn more about estate planning at libbybanks.com, or call for your free initial consult at 602-228-4218.