Credit Professional 2018 Spring_2018_magazine | Page 15

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Think about involving a
trusted relative, friend
or professional
Besides listing them as
emergency contacts, you may
wish to give a trusted relative,
friend or professional an
overview of your finances (even
if you don’t want to share all
the details).
For example, you might ask
your broker or bank to send
duplicate statements to your
daughter or accountant. You
might also consider asking a
trusted friend or relative to
join you on periodic visits to
your financial professional.
This would give someone you
trust a sense of your financial
situation and with whom you’ve
been doing business. If you
choose to involve a relative or
friend, it is very important it is
someone you are sure you can
trust. Consider discussing the
selection of the person with a
number of other trusted friends
or relatives.
Keep things up to date.
you’ve been the victim of a
fraud, speak up. Sadly,
sometimes even financial
professionals and people we
know commit financial crimes.
There’s no shame in being a
victim, and the sooner you let
someone know about it, the
better chance there is of
putting an end to it.
HELPING OTHERS WHO
MAY HAVE DIMINISHED
FINANCIAL CAPACITY
to take these steps, ask your
relative or friend to consider
how he or she wants to
maintain control of his or her
finances in the future. Explain
that advance planning is a way
to make sure that a trusted
person makes decisions if he
or she no longer can.
Help your relative or friend
with managing finances.
You may also offer to take a
more active role in helping your
Be sure that if something
loved one manage his or her
You may have a parent or
changes (for example, you open
other loved one with diminished financial accounts. Be alert
a new account), you keep your
financial capacity, or whom you both to mistakes that your
information as current as
worry may face that issue in the loved one may make in
possible. Also, your trusted
managing finances and to any
future. If so, consider the
contact may change over time.
signs of elder financial abuse.
following steps to help.
Keep your financial
professionals informed of
Have an open conversation It can be hard to tell whether
changes regarding who has
actions are the result of
about investments and
authority to review your
confusion or of financial
other financial matters
account or whom they
exploitation. For example, if you
sooner rather than later.
should contact in case of
find that a loved one has paid
an emergency.
the same bill twice by mistake,
Even if it feels awkward, it is
you should help him or her fix
important to have an honest
Speak up if something
the error. But beware that
conversation about finances.
goes wrong.
multiple or unusual payments
Ask your loved one to consider
could also be a sign of financial
taking the steps outlined above.
If you ever think someone is
exploitation, so don’t rule out
taking advantage of you, or that Even if he or she does not want
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The Credit Professional
14
Spring 2018