Restraining financial abuse in nursing homes

Financial abuse is one of the fastest growing areas of elder abuse.

Usually a simple legal document like a power of attorney designates a person to oversee an elderly person's finances.

In some cases, an offspring didn't even know he or she had been named in the document until the a parent or grandparent became unable to take care of day-to-day financial affairs. Such secrecy generally led to confusion down the road, with the appointee often woefully ignorant of the principal's state of affairs.

Or worse, a healthcare aide or housekeeper or neighbor with ulterior motives might procure a POA and persuade a gullible senior to sign it. The signature of the elderly person was basically all that was required.

In New York, it's a lot tougher now

One safeguard is a multiplicity of signatures. Now both the elderly principal and the agent/offspring/neighbor must sign the POA, and each signature must be notarized.

The document specifically states that when you accept the authority to act as agent, you create a special fiduciary relationship with the principal that imposes legal responsibilities until you resign or the power of attorney is terminated.


Another important provision of the statute is the right of the principal/elderly to appoint a monitor, like a trusted accountant, to oversee the activities of an inexperienced agent or a family member to ensure that an agent acts according to the principal's wishes.

The POA must now keep records and account for every penny, which was not a requirement under the previous law, The new law makes it easier to bring a civil suit against an agent who has acted inappropriately.

Hopefully other states like Pennsylvania will adopt these tougher POA standards to minimize financial abuse for the elderly and in nursing homes.