ELDER ABUSE BLOGGER: Being Sane Takes Too Much Work

The number of cases involving misuse of funds by a financial power of attorney is not broken down in the elder abuse data. Prosecutors, law enforcement officials and elder advocates all agree that the problem is getting worse. Family members or friends with financial power of attorney have abused their access to older individuals' money and property by purchasing vehicles, wiping our their bank accounts and selling their furniture. Some have went as far as to buy bigger homes. Heather Strickland, assistant special agent in charge of the at risk adult unit of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said, "Part of my job is to train local law enforcement that power of attorney is not a license to steal". One area of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act is to spell out the criminal aspects of this type of elder abuse and to clarify what someone with financial of attorney what they can and cannot do. According to Strickland, " A lot of people still think it's a civil issue and a lot of times it's not".