You went to great lengths to find an ideal nursing home in Alabama for your aging parent. Everything looked great during the tour, but could your mother or father become a victim of financial abuse?
Learn the signs of financial abuse in nursing homes. Educating yourself could protect you and your loved one from an unnecessary indignity and violation.
Poor living conditions
If you ever visit your mother and father and notice a dip in her or his living conditions, financial abuse could be to blame. A nursing home resident in living conditions below her or his current financial means could have an unknown financial leak sapping his or her monetary resources. On the other hand, your parent may request a smaller room or less-expensive accommodations to save money, so consider that possibility.
Odd withdrawals
Do you have access to your aging loved one’s finances? If so, be on the lookout for odd withdrawals in a retirement, checking or savings account. Any odd activity could indicate financial misdeeds on the nursing home’s part.
Generic medication
Taking generic medication is fine. What is not all right is nursing homes charging for name brand medication while residents take generic prescriptions. Keep tabs on your parent’s most-current prescribed medication and what she or he actually takes.
Changed financial documents
If you notice unexpected edits to a power of attorney, will or another estate planning document, get to the bottom of the reason for the change. Someone at the nursing home could be guilty of financial abuse.
Do not brush off any potential indications of financial abuse in a nursing home. You never know when your hunch may be right.
