Financial Abuse

Financial or material abuse is the most common form of elder abuse in Canada. It can include:

• stealing money, belongings, credit cards, or pension cheques;
• forcing an older adult to make or change a Power of Attorney, Enduring Power of Attorney or Will;
• forging a signature on personal cheques or legal documents;
• holding back money that the older adult needs;
• convincing an older adult to invest in a fraudulent investment scheme;
• pressuring an older adult to provide services without pay;
• forcing, convincing or tricking an older adult to sell a home or possessions, or to pay for unnecessary services; or
• abusing Power of Attorney, Guardianship, or Trusteeship responsibilities.

Signs of Financial Abuse

• confusion about their own finances;
• signing a document without being told of its consequences;
• failing to make financial choices/decisions;
• family members moving in without agreement or without sharing costs;
• experiencing unusual bank or ATM activity done on their behalf;
• starting to show a difference between income and standard of living;
• disappearing belongings;
• sudden or unexplained difficulty in paying bills; or
• refusing to spend money without the agreement of their caregiver.

NOTE: Some of these indicators may be present and the older adult is not being abused. These are only possible signs of abuse.

For more information, see CPLEA’s Let’s talk: Elder abuse resource manual.