Elderly cheated by greedy families

By REBECCA WALSH

About a quarter of elderly people who put someone they trust in charge of their personal and financial affairs are then abused by that person, says an Age Concern report.

Financial and psychological abuse are the main types experienced by people who have given someone control over their property or personal care and welfare, or both.

Overall, levels of abuse and neglect are increasing, the report says.

In some cases the abuse is intentional, in others it is the result of a lack of knowledge.

In many cases the abuser is the son or daughter of the elderly person, says the report.

Elderly people often put up with the abuse rather than lose contact with family and friends.

The survey, which spanned an 18-month period, includes data where people were referred to Age Concern services for suspected abuse or neglect and it was known they had appointed someone to act on their behalf by giving them enduring power of attorney.

Of the 821 people referred, 244 (30 per cent) were known to have appointed someone to act on their behalf.

Enduring power of attorney is intended to benefit people who become unable to make or communicate decisions about their property or personal care and welfare, by getting someone they know and trust to act on their behalf. Although the report data reveals little about whether the power provided protection from abuse and neglect (largely because it was not collected for all those referred) it shows that about a quarter were being abused by the person they had trusted.

Age Concern chief executive Garth Taylor said the numbers were "very concerning".

"A lot of people don't realise they are abusing their power." Sons and daughters, in particular, "think they have a God-given right to help themselves to mum or dad's money even when they are alive".

Mr Taylor said offspring would sometimes deny their parents the care they needed - such as moving to a rest home - because they wanted to protect their inheritance.

The report says people do not realise how important it is to create an enduring power of attorney and often do so when they are "quite old and have probably already developed some vulnerability to abuse or neglect".

Elderly Maori people are less likely to have such a guardian.

"It would be preferable if people give [the power] earlier, in anticipation of future need, when they can make more informed decisions because there is less need for haste."

The report, launched at the Association of Gerontology conference in Christchurch, says the data does not necessarily represent the overall incidence of elder abuse. But many cases probably go unnoticed.

Case studies

From the report:

* A man, with power of attorney in both welfare and property affairs for his 80-year-old mother, who has advanced dementia, refuses to place her in residential care. A psycho-geriatrician says she needs 24-hour supervision and health workers have encouraged him to find a rest home. The son thinks he is entitled to his mother's home as of right but knows it will need to be sold to pay her rest home fees.

* An 81-year-old woman, who lives with her daughter's family, sleeps on a couch by the front door and next to the lounge. If the teenage children entertain, she has to sit at the kitchen table, waiting to be able to go to sleep. Doctors have told her she needs residential care, which she wants but her daughter does not. The woman says nothing, to avoid upsetting her daughter. Eventually she is hospitalised again and goes into a rest home.

* An elderly man, aware he can no longer look after himself, moves to a nearby rest home. He gives his landlord three weeks' notice and moves. A few months later, he goes to the bank and discovers there is less money in his account than there should be. He finds his automatic payment for rent is still going through, but the landlord denies this. He contacts the Elder Abuse and Neglect Service and eventually the landlord, who had the man's forwarding address, agrees to repay the $3000 in rent.