BEWARE: Caregiver Fraud

BEWARE: Caregiver Fraud

A woman engaged the services of a caregiver agency to help care for her dad in South Carolina. Her dad was living with end-stage Parkinson’s.

Within a month, the caregiver convinced him to sign documents naming her as his Power of Attorney—and had the deed to his home transferred into her name for $5.

This man’s daughter lived in the Northeast and checked in by phone every few days. After several weeks of only speaking with the caregiver, something didn’t feel right. She drove to South Carolina.

When she arrived, the locks had been changed.

She eventually got into the house through an unlocked window—and discovered that the furniture was gone and the house looked completely different.

Then came the devastating discovery: her father had died several days earlier after being transferred to an assisted-living facility without the daughter’s knowledge.

Granted, this is a highly unusual scenario. But it highlights something every family caring for an aging parent should think about:

How do we protect our loved ones when we aren’t there?

A few steps can provide important layers of protection:

1. Don’t wait until there is a crisis to discuss Power of Attorney.
Have your estate-planning documents prepared while your loved one has the capacity to understand and execute them. An elder-law or estate-planning attorney can help determine what documents and safeguards make sense for your family.

2. Establish regular communication and oversight.
If family members live out of town, create a system for checking in—not just with the caregiver, but directly with your loved one whenever possible. Depending on the circumstances and your loved one’s wishes and applicable laws, technology such as a camera in a common area may provide another way for family to know that everything is okay.

3. Carefully vet caregivers and agencies.
Ask exactly what background checks the agency performs, what databases are searched, and how far back they look. Don’t assume that “background checked” means every possible record has been reviewed.

READ MORE