When it comes to eldercare, you’ll see that the following alert requires immediate family intervention and assistance.

We know that Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease. People with this ailment have memory, behavior and thinking problems. Alzheimer’s, insidious by its very nature, has been found even it its earliest stages to affect financial decision making and the capacity to resist fraudulent schemes.

A recent study conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham compared healthy elderly adults with elderly adults diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s. Both groups were given a number of financial planning-type tasks. These tasks ranged from simple financial concepts like identifying coins and their values to more complex ones like describing investment options and returns. Conclusions of the study determined that financial capacity is significantly impaired in patients diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s. This impairment grows exponentially in just a one-year period. Decline in the ability to perform both simple and complex tasks is significant.

If you suspect or know that a family member is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, there is an immediate need to see that financial supervision and planning is available for them.

Eldercare can be involved … this should be a priority for family members.

Gerri Tyber
Operations Manager, Barton Home Care

 Reverse mortgage proceeds can help make your home a secure environment

An interesting concept that is getting a lot of attention by our aging population is the conversion of their homes into safer environments. It’s just part of a larger movement to help people age in place. This is a more desirable choice for most aging Americans versus moving to assisted living facilities or in with other family members. Staying in one’s own home offers a sense of security and control. Most people are hesitant to give up those things.

There are many renovations and products available for safety conversions. Examples include raised dishwashers and lowered cupboards, curbless showers, slip resistant floor tile, combining full and half baths to create one large bath with easier access, or possibly turning an unused bedroom into a bath and laundry combination. There are accessibility specialists to give advice on design and equipment needed to make these changes and maintain independent living.

Certainly, there will be costs associated with these improvements, as there would be for any significant change in one’s home. Financing them may not be as difficult as might be imagined. One option could be a reverse mortgage, which enables homeowners over 62 to convert a portion of their home equity into tax-free cash. This cash can be used for streamlining one’s home for safety without requiring a monthly payment. The loan does not become due and payable until the borrower permanently moves out of the home.

For more information on reverse mortgages in the Denver area, check with Karen Barton, a reverse mortgage consultant with Wells Fargo.

Gerri Tyber
Operations Manager, Barton Home Care

Seldom a week goes by without coverage by the media, locally and/or nationally, of a new scam being run, all too often victimizing trusting our elderly senior citizens. It may originate in Nigeria or in a nearby city or neighborhood. These senior scams may surface via a letter, an e-mail, or a telephone call. The FBI estimates that con artists are bilking the elderly out of billions of dollars a year. The elderly population is often targeted because they are too trusting, a reflection of their upbringing. It is difficult for them to hang up or close a door on someone.

The American Association of Retired Persons, AARP, estimates that anyone over 60 is on at least one “sucker” list, and a woman over 75 is guaranteed to be on such a list. These women are often widows who are lonely, home during the afternoon, and therefore available and willing to take calls from phony telemarketers. This is unfortunately a huge growth industry in our country, women being primary targets.

The prevalence of scams on the elderly has necessitated the formation of organizations such as Senior Sleuths. Seniors are vulnerable for a variety of reasons. Most have monthly money from Social Security in addition to pensions and possibly proceeds from the death of a spouse. Con artists pay close attention to the obituaries to find new widows. These individuals may be easy prey for phony investment schemes because they are afraid they may outlive their savings and become a burden on their families. Plans to invest their money with large profits guaranteed are enticing. Once entrapped in these schemes, escaping from them often looks impossible.

Prevalent senior swindles include lottery scams, internet get-rich-quick schemes and bogus charitable solicitations often run by telemarketers offering phony prizes or cash awards. These telemarketers are savvy enough to call people out of their own state because prosecution is more difficult. It is hard to prosecute these crimes because the elderly victims often die or become incapacitated and cannot testify if a case makes it to trial.

These insidious scams on the elderly is not only theft of finances but theft of dignity. Organizations like AARP Elderwatch, a group based in Colorado, coordinates services for elderly victims of scammers. Legislation in the form of the Elder Justice Act was introduced on March 29, 2007 in both the Senate and House. It will take the concerted efforts of legislation, organizations and individuals to stop or at the very least decrease the scamming of the elderly.

Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager

Barton Home Care