Unfortunately, when an Ohioan has done well for themselves, there are many people who are more than willing to try to seize that wealth through deceit and manipulation.
As people get older and more vulnerable, tricking them in to giving up their wealth can get easier. If they are successful in their financial exploitation, perpetrators can leave the victim broke and they victim’s family in unexpected financial trouble.
Moreover, this sort of behavior also inflicts significant and lasting emotional wounds.
Anyone can be a perpetrator of financial exploitation. In addition to a person’s own children, grandchildren or relatives, manipulators can also be romantic interests, close friends or business partners or even dishonest and unethical legal, medical or financial professionals.
According to the Department of Justice, faithful family members in the greater Cincinnati area should be on the lookout for the following warning signs of financial exploitation:
- Sudden and unexplained gifts and transfers are warning signs.
- Changes in a person’s financial practices, especially if they seem to benefit a specific individual or group, are also warning signs.
- If financial transactions, like withdrawals, missing assets, or new debts cannot be easily explained and do not make sense, it is a warning sign. Likewise, a family should watch out for sloppy financial or accounting practices.
- A family should be wary of frequent, sudden or unusual changes to a person’s estate plan.
- Families should also be cautious about a person’s new or changed relationships that do not make a lot of sense.
- Actual evidence of illegal activity, including unauthorized charges or signatures, should set off alarm bells.
- On a related note, family members should take their loved one’s concerns about alleged financial exploitation seriously.
What can a family do if they suspect financial exploitation?
In extreme cases, a family may be able to get the police or other authorities involved to stop financial exploitation.
Unfortunately, though, there are lots of cases where the government can only do so much. Sometimes, the best remedy for a concerned family member is to consider their alternatives under probate law.