King & Wood, P.A.

What is Seattle Doing to Combat Elder Abuse?

“As Seattle’s senior population rises, elder abuse is increasingly becoming an issue on city officials and caretakers’ radars. Advocates throughout the nation are calling on states to increase public awareness of elder abuse and for courts to respond to the epidemic.”

Research from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting shows that adult protective services throughout the country conducted more than 713,000 elder-abuse investigations in fiscal year 2017. Almost a third of the cases identified the victims of abuse or self-neglect. In Washington State, reported elder-abuse cases increased from 19,000 in 2012 to 49,000 in 2017, according to Seattle Weekly’s recent article, “Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise.”

Mary Lynn Pannen, the founder and CEO of Washington-based geriatric care management firm Sound Options, remarks that the increased reporting is a result of better data collection. She has seen progress in the state’s response to elder abuse, since she worked as the head of a Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department counsel that focused on the issue 35 years ago. Over the past 30 years, she and her staffers have consulted with families throughout the region on caring for older adults. Employees help caretakers create and execute care plans, work with elder law attorneys and advocate on behalf of people in care facilities. Staffers are trained to be keenly aware of elder-abuse cases, which typically show up as financial exploitation. They’ll look for signals like bruises on the senior’s body or a refusal by family members or caretakers to allow the senior to respond to the staffers’ inquiries. Once they’ve gathered enough information to suspect abuse, staffers then report it to Adult Protective Services.

“One of the things to prevent abuse, is to make sure that we can help de-stress the whole family unit, because caregiving is really hard,” Pannen said. “This is a serious issue and we need to have the public understand that.”

Abuse often goes unreported because older adults feel shame or are unaware about the neglect or abuse they’ve received from their own family members or caregivers. Local agencies have strengthened protections for seniors in recent years.

The Seattle Human Services Department’s Aging and Disability Services Division (HSD/ADS) seeks to address the widespread issue, by working with the Office of the King County Prosecuting Attorney and Adult Protective Services to provide older adults with financial, health, legal services and safe housing in the face of abuse.

According to Adult Protective Services’ (APS) data, King County’s work is helping to increase elder-abuse reporting. They reported a nearly 50% increase over the previous five years in reported allegations of elder abuse in 2014. In 2017, more than 11,000 allegations were reported to APS in the region that includes King County, with nearly 30% of the cases concerning financial exploitation.

Reference: Seattle Weekly (December 12, 2018) “Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise”

“As Seattle’s senior population rises, elder abuse is increasingly becoming an issue on city officials and caretakers’ radars. Advocates throughout the nation are calling on states to increase public awareness of elder abuse and for courts to respond to the epidemic.”

Research from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting shows that adult protective services throughout the country conducted more than 713,000 elder-abuse investigations in fiscal year 2017. Almost a third of the cases identified the victims of abuse or self-neglect. In Washington State, reported elder-abuse cases increased from 19,000 in 2012 to 49,000 in 2017, according to Seattle Weekly’s recent article, “Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise.”

Mary Lynn Pannen, the founder and CEO of Washington-based geriatric care management firm Sound Options, remarks that the increased reporting is a result of better data collection. She has seen progress in the state’s response to elder abuse, since she worked as the head of a Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department counsel that focused on the issue 35 years ago. Over the past 30 years, she and her staffers have consulted with families throughout the region on caring for older adults. Employees help caretakers create and execute care plans, work with elder law attorneys and advocate on behalf of people in care facilities. Staffers are trained to be keenly aware of elder-abuse cases, which typically show up as financial exploitation. They’ll look for signals like bruises on the senior’s body or a refusal by family members or caretakers to allow the senior to respond to the staffers’ inquiries. Once they’ve gathered enough information to suspect abuse, staffers then report it to Adult Protective Services.

“One of the things to prevent abuse, is to make sure that we can help de-stress the whole family unit, because caregiving is really hard,” Pannen said. “This is a serious issue and we need to have the public understand that.”

Abuse often goes unreported because older adults feel shame or are unaware about the neglect or abuse they’ve received from their own family members or caregivers. Local agencies have strengthened protections for seniors in recent years.

The Seattle Human Services Department’s Aging and Disability Services Division (HSD/ADS) seeks to address the widespread issue, by working with the Office of the King County Prosecuting Attorney and Adult Protective Services to provide older adults with financial, health, legal services and safe housing in the face of abuse.

According to Adult Protective Services’ (APS) data, King County’s work is helping to increase elder-abuse reporting. They reported a nearly 50% increase over the previous five years in reported allegations of elder abuse in 2014. In 2017, more than 11,000 allegations were reported to APS in the region that includes King County, with nearly 30% of the cases concerning financial exploitation.

Reference: Seattle Weekly (December 12, 2018) “Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise”

What Are Some of the Myths About Caregiving Costs?

“Decipher the fine print when caring for a loved one.”

The financial aspects of caring for an aging loved one can frequently be a gray area. It can be hard to predict upcoming health-related expenses and estimate how much assistance will be needed. However, the costs of caregiving tend to run high, and the value of family and friend caregiving amounts to about $470 billion each year, according to an AARP Public Policy Institute report.

U.S. News & World Report says, in “7 Myths About Caregiving Costs,” if you’re currently providing care for a senior or plan to do so in the future, sifting through the financial details as early as possible can save time and money in the long term. Let’s look at some common misconceptions concerning the costs of caregiving, as well as the realities to expect.

Your relative will stay at home and not have caregiving expenses. While your aging relative may never move to an assisted living facility, other care-related costs could still arise because many adult children take on the responsibilities for their aging parent gradually. You eventually may need to bring in skilled nursing support or arrange for in-home care. Even if your senior never lives outside of his own home, responsibilities like these define the role of a caregiver, and costs creep up over time.

All home help will be paid for by insurance. You may think that health insurance or Medicare will pay for all of the costs. However, in most instances, you'll need to find other funds for daily help at home. Health insurance and Medicare never pay for custodial care.

It’s easy to figure out how much assistance at home will cost. The precise amount your loved one or family will spend on bringing in home assistance can vary significantly. It really depends on the level of care needed, along with whether a patient has long-term care insurance or any other form of long-term insurance, where they live and if they qualify for Medicaid. The cost can also vary based on the family situation where relatives are available to help on certain days, reducing the amount needed to pay for professional caregiving assistance.

The cost of caregiving is merely financial. If you’re taking hours every week of your days caring for a loved one, you may experience struggles in other areas of your life. This could mean you have little time for other family and friends, sleep or exercise. These can lead to non-financial costs like increased stress, your own health problems and the emotional strain of caring for an aging loved one.

You can’t afford a caregiver, so you're not going to get one. If your aging parent has few financial resources or other family members can’t help pay for professional care, you should look at what other resources may be available.

Caregiving won’t affect your own finances. Sorry, but helping a loved one may entail additional physical demands that can affect your career and your financial status. Caregivers often work less hours, forfeit promotions, change jobs and even leave the workforce.

A discussion about finances can wait until care is warranted. Not so. If your loved one is now in good health and living at home, it can still be a wise idea to plan, so that if a crisis such as an accident occurs, everyone is ready.

Start a financial discussion with your senior with a few simple questions, perhaps asking for guidance for your own retirement to set things in motion.

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (Dec. 12, 2018) “7 Myths About Caregiving Costs”

How Can I Help My Favorite Organizations?

How Can I Help My Favorite Organizations?

“You can, of course, set up a charity strategy for the end of the year. You don't need to have it in place by Giving Tuesday. You can also set up regular donations throughout the year.”

You can donate any time until the end of the year to qualify for a 2018 tax write-off, if you itemize on your tax return. However, many people are scatterbrained in their approach to charitable donations and don’t donate wisely. They need a strategy.

Forbes’ recent article, “5 Giving Tips For Smart Donations,” provides five key giving tips:

1. Align Targeted Charities With Your Personal and Social Goals. Think about your key passions and see which institutions can best solve those problems. Then set out to research and understand all you can about those organizations.
2. Are Your Selected Institutions Spending Wisely? A big tip-off is whether a charity is spending a significant amount of money on administrative and marketing expenses. Take a good look at the charity’s finances. Financially healthy organizations are ones that are both financially efficient and sustainable. They have greater flexibility and freedom to achieve their charitable mission. Make certain the charity is accountable and transparent.
3. Is The Charity Effective? Find out whether the charity is making a difference. What evidence of this do they provide? Read their annual reports thoroughly and ask questions.
4. Does The Charity Have Good Leadership? Solid charities will typically have formidable leaders—perhaps even more so than in the private sector. Look for a charity that has a dynamic, proven leader at the top. The organizations with high turnover typically struggle. This creates other problems. The inability to retain quality leadership is frequently a signal of instability and a lack of organization.
5. Do Your Donations Work With Your Estate Plan? Remember that you have the flexibility to give some money now, but perhaps you’ll be able to give more later through your estate plan.

If you don’t have an estate plan, it’s also time to start working on that Charitable giving can be a productive part of your estate plan, serving to create a legacy and minimize taxes. Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney to create your will, Power of Attorney and other necessary documents.

Reference: Forbes (December 7, 2018) “5 Giving Tips For Smart Donations”

How Do I Get Disability Protection as a Gig Worker?

How Do I Get Disability Protection as a Gig Worker?

“Company benefits are great to have, but if you're a contractor, chances are that you're out of luck.  If you get injured or are too sick to work, you could quickly find yourself in hot water. However, those self-employment taxes you’re paying, come with a federal benefit ready to act as your safety net.”

The modern gig economy is dependent on contract workers. While it offers flexible jobs to millions of people, there are no benefits, says Kiplinger in the recent article, “If You're a Gig Worker, Here's How You Can Still Get Disability Protection.”

Most part-time employees do have one advantage over freelancers. That’s workers’ compensation benefits, provided that they earn a wage and have taxes deducted from their paychecks. On the other hand, employers typically aren’t required to provide workers’ compensation coverage to independent contractors. If these workers get injured on the job, they are out of luck, and certain small companies are also exempt from this requirement.

The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program is your disability safety net. It’s designed to help today’s part-timers and gig workers. SSDI is an income replacement insurance for former workers with disabilities, provided through the Social Security Administration. This “insurance” isn’t something you have to sign up for or buy—if you pay FICA or self-employment taxes, you’re already paying into it and are on your way to being covered. Workers who earn at least $1,360 (in 2019) per quarter get credit toward their disability insurance. Typically, to be covered you must have paid FICA payroll or self-employment taxes for five out of the last 10 years. These benefits are portable and available, if you meet eligibility requirements, regardless of the number of places you’ve worked.

When someone experiences a severe disability that prevents them from working for 12 months or more, SSDI also allows access to other important benefits, like Medicare prior to age 65, dependent benefits, and return to work support. SSDI continues until the individual is able to return to work on a regular basis or until retirement age, when old age benefits start. It has the added advantage of protecting future retirement benefit income.

To be eligible, you have to meet the work history requirements and be able to prove that your condition prevents you from working. If you meet the requirements, SSDI is a great resource, if you experience a disability without private long-term disability insurance or workers’ compensation protection.

Giggers: no matter which—or how many—companies you work for, SSDI can be your safety net to catch you.

Reference: Kiplinger (December 11, 2018) “If You're a Gig Worker, Here's How You Can Still Get Disability Protection”

How Do I Make a Gift of Estate Planning to an Adult Child?

How Do I Make a Gift of Estate Planning to an Adult Child?

“67% of individuals over age 50 want to use their wealth to invest in their children and grandchildren.”

One thing driving Baby Boomers crazy is their kids’ estate planning–or lack thereof. Boomers have been building legacies from the day they were born.

As Forbes explains in its recent article “The Estate Planning Gift To Give Your Millennial Children In 2019,” Boomers entering their 60s and 70s are more focused than ever before on managing their family legacies. The 2018 U.S. Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth Study found that 67% of those over 50 want to use their wealth to invest in their children and grandchildren. Boomers who’ve managed their finances successfully, want to be sure their hard work doesn’t go to waste.

The challenge, however, is that Boomers can’t control all aspects of their financial lives. One complaint they have to their estate planning attorneys, is that their kids aren’t doing the things that they ask. Gen Xers and Millennials may see estate planning as a very low priority. Most are burdened by heavy debt and trying to get their day to day financial lives on the right track. Nagging parents might make them resist this type of advice.

There is one thing that Baby Boomers can do to make certain their children do the right thing, when it comes to estate planning—they can make a gift of estate planning to their adult children.

However, before Boomers do this, they should think about several issues to put their family on the path to success. Family dynamics can be challenging, and family patterns are often hard to break.

Parents who want to offer to pay for an adult child’s estate plan, should consider how best to broach the issue. A wrong start could torpedo the wrong situation and end in a family drama. Timing is crucial for these discussions. The assistance of your estate planning attorney can smooth the way for a successful approach. He can outline the process for everyone to feel that they have a voice. This can be done with a family meeting.

The advice for Boomers making this type of gift is quite simple: these conversations need to be more intentional in the why and the how. Boomers must also respect boundaries, once the estate plan is completed. They may have paid for the estate plan, but that does not mean they’re entitled to see the child’s documents. The burden of enforcing this parameter falls to the estate attorney.

The best gift a parent can give their children for 2019, is to help them organize and manage their affairs. If they offer to pay for an estate plan, Baby Boomers can take the right actions to be sure their legacies will continue after they are gone.

Reference: Forbes (December 12, 2018) “The Estate Planning Gift To Give Your Millennial Children In 2019”

What are The Top Financial Planning Predictions for the New Year?

What are The Top Financial Planning Predictions for the New Year?

“What are the hot financial planning trends for 2019?”

WTOP recently made some financial planning predictions for the New Year in its article, “Top financial planning trends for 2019.” Here are several to consider as 2019 begins.

1. Increased longevity means more planning. The Social Security Administration reports that the current average life expectancy for a man reaching age 65 is 84.3. For a woman turning 65, it’s 86.7. According to a World Economic Forum white paper, “We’ll Live to 100—How Can We Afford It?“, the global life expectancy for people born in 2007 is age 103. Are you ready for that? Think about how to best manage your costs and needs, should your live into your nineties.
2. Special estate planning tools for second marriages. The financial consequences of a gray divorce can be huge. It’s important to have open and honest conversations about your financial future with a new spouse. Balancing the legacy you leave for your children and building a life with a new spouse can create planning challenges. As women’s economic power and wealth increase, the job of protecting their assets becomes even more complex.
3. Financial technology. Technology continues to be a large presence in managing both administrative and complex financial tasks. This includes things like how we track spending and provide real-time investment data during volatile markets. These tools are a necessity for families that are more geographically dispersed, especially when they’re managing finances for aging parents.
4. More workforce diversity. Another effect of living longer, is that more people are working longer than prior generations and, in some cases, longer than they anticipated. Couples are also having to consider decisions about when they’ll retire and how to balance the trade-offs of retiring together, versus staggering their retirements over several years.

All of these trends for next year have implications for how we choose to work, how long we want to stay in the workforce and how we effectively manage the benefits that we have.

As diversity increases in the workforce, employers see that more differentiation and choice within benefit plans may be needed, to ensure that the benefits offered are meaningful for a wider variety of family circumstances.

When planning for your finances, there are potential opportunities and obstacles based on your specific circumstances. Being aware of the trends in financial planning can help you take advantage of these trends and enjoy more of your money.

Reference: WTOP (December 12, 2018) “Top financial planning trends for 2019”

 

What Do You Get For the Caregiver in Your Life?

What Do You Get For the Caregiver in Your Life?

“What do you give to the one who gives so much to another?”

During the holidays, your already busy schedule can get so much busier, when looking for that perfect gift for family and friends. Some people enjoy gift giving and the whole shopping experience, while others avoid it along with the holiday crowds by cyber shopping. Either way, you may have a family caregiver on your list.

In its recent article, “5 Gifts To Give a Family Caregiver This Holiday Season,” The Good Men Project reminds us that family caregiving quickly becomes a never-ending day of to do’s for the sake of another person.

Caring for a family member involves an exhaustive amount of paperwork, and an equally exhaustive amount of time coordinating all the financial crunching and logistical planning. At the same time, the caregiver’s own life and responsibilities still need to be addressed.

Take care of a chore. A caregiver may not have time to arrange for some of the basic chores around that house. You could pay for a lawn service, snow removal, meal delivery or an oil change. Be creative and  thoughtful. You might even do these chores yourself!

Hire an elder pro. With caregiving, the idea that “knowledge is power” takes on a significant role. An hour with an elder attorney, insurance specialist, or geriatric specialist can assess where the patient is now and how to help them plan for the future—that’s an invaluable gift that keeps on giving.

Professional Respite. Not everyone qualifies for this, unless they meet the eligibility factors. Even if you do qualify, funding and availability can be scarce. Call a home health agency and ask them if they’re willing to create a respite package, that would include a block of weekly respite visits.

Gift card.  It is a bit impersonal, but it’s like a tiny nugget of indulgence that a caregiver rarely gives themselves hidden away for a special day.

Your time. Caregiving can be an extremely isolating experience. So get over there and remind that person that they are so much more than a caregiver. They are someone worthy of your most valuable resource–your own time.

Reference: The Good Men Project (December 12, 2018) “5 Gifts To Give a Family Caregiver This Holiday Season”

Should I Include Beneficiaries in My Estate Planning? Most Definitely!

Should I Include Beneficiaries in My Estate Planning? Most Definitely!

“Estate planning is necessary to properly protect yourself, your assets and your loved ones. While most estate planning focuses on physical property, like your home, and liquid assets, such as investment accounts, retirement plans can actually make up a large portion of one’s estate.”

Because of the specific tax rules governing the distribution of assets at death, you should prepare carefully to be certain that liquid assets are integrated properly into your estate distribution plans and tax savings strategies. That’s the advice from Investopedia’s recent article, “Include Your Retirement Accounts in Your Estate.”

Re-examine your beneficiary designations after major life changes like marriage, divorce or the birth or adoption of a child. If you don’t designate beneficiaries for your retirement accounts, the designation may default to your estate. That can be one of the worst possible outcomes for your retirement accounts, from a tax and planning standpoint.

If your estate is named as beneficiary, your heirs have to wait until the probate process is complete, before they can access your retirement funds. Be sure to name an individual or a trust as your beneficiary. Each state may have a different requirement concerning who you can name as a beneficiary. For example, the federal ERISA law requires you to name your spouse as the beneficiary of your 401(k) account, unless he gives permission in writing to name another person or charity.

Another option is to include a trust in your estate planning, instead of distributing retirement funds directly to specific individuals. This gives you more control over the distribution and protects your heirs from additional paperwork and taxes. If you want to leave the assets in your retirement accounts to a relative who you think won’t manage the funds well, you can use a trust to provide regular distributions from those accounts. These regular trust distributions will keep a beneficiary from tapping into their inheritance and spending it all at once.

A trust is also a good choice, if your beneficiaries are minor children who cannot have direct access to the money until they become legal adults. All that noted, however, very careful planning must be done to avoid unintended consequences, when designating a trust as beneficiary of retirement funds. Otherwise, you may actually trigger unnecessary taxation and lose the ability for the trust beneficiaries to “stretch” their distributions as long as the law allows.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). Your retirement plans have rules about when you must begin taking distributions, known as required minimum distributions. For accounts like a 401(k), you are must start taking RMDs at age 70½. However, if you die and leave retirement plans and accounts to your heirs, the rules apply to them, and they can get pretty complicated. A spousal beneficiary can roll over retirement funds (tax-free) into his or her own retirement plan and make their own distribution choices. However, other beneficiaries don’t have the same option. Learning how the tax treatment and distribution options vary based on who’s receiving your retirement assets, is a crucial part of the overall estate planning process.

In addition, some beneficiary designations may qualify for the stretch IRA provision. This lets them withdraw their inherited retirement plan assets over the course of their lifetime—or they may be required to withdraw the entire balance within five years of your death. Who your beneficiary is and determining what distribution rules apply to that person, can make a big difference in how much of your retirement assets are actually passed on to your intended beneficiaries.

Taxes. The biggest worry to address when designating retirement accounts as part of your estate plan is how they’ll be taxed. Retirement accounts are some of the most heavily taxed assets you can pass on after your death. When reviewing your financial and estate plans, find out how you can withdraw from these accounts while you’re alive and how to minimize tax consequences after you’re gone.

Work with an estate planning attorney who has a deep understanding of retirement accounts and the legal requirements of estate planning to ensure that your retirement assets are distributed to the proper beneficiaries, with the least adverse tax consequences.

Reference: Investopedia (August 27, 2018) “Include Your Retirement Accounts in Your Estate”

TV Titan’s Grandson Says Guardian Needed

TV Titan’s Grandson Says Guardian Needed

“Sumner Redstone's grandson has asked the court to appoint a guardian ad litem in the legal battle over his estate planning documents, claiming the 95-year-old mogul struggles to communicate and the move will ensure the "integrity" of the proceedings is protected.”

Tyler Korff, grandson of the 95-year-old media titan Sumner Redstone, says that his grandfather has a "severe speech impairment." He claims that a court-appointed independent attorney would protect the integrity of the legal proceedings, according to a recent report in The Hollywood Reporter, “Grandson Requests Sumner Redstone Guardian.”

Redstone has been the subject of numerous legal skirmishes with former companions that have questioned the former Viacom chairman's ability to make decisions about his life and his business. A third party could make certain that those disputes are settled in his best interest.

After arguing in court for years that Redstone doesn’t possess the mental capacity needed to remove Manuela Herzer from his estate planning documents after he kicked her out of his mansion in 2015, Herzer changed her approach. Her attorneys are now claiming that because Redstone's legal team insists that he does, in fact, have capacity and is the impetus behind the elder abuse lawsuit against Herzer and his former fiancée Sydney Holland, it suggests he can't ask the court to confirm the validity of his trust before his death.

In a recent hearing, L.A. County probate judge David Cowan said it was time to appoint an independent attorney to watch after Redstone's interests. Redstone's grandson Tyler Korff made the formal request. In a separate filing, Redstone stated he consents to "the Court's appointment of an independent guardian ad litem to represent my interests in this proceeding."

"Mr. Redstone suffers from a number of health conditions, including most notably a severe speech impairment that limits his ability to communicate verbally," states Korff's petition. "The Court has raised appropriate concerns about ensuring that the interests of Mr. Redstone are protected and that the resolution of his petition is not reasonably susceptible to challenge, based on questions about his ability to have directed the litigation."

Korff also claims that a guardian will safeguard the integrity of the proceedings "in the face of Ms. Herzer's repeated and well-publicized assertions that this litigation is being controlled by and for the benefit of persons other than Mr. Redstone."

Korff's filing recommended that the guardian be chosen from two probate attorneys, Jackson Chen and Samuel Ingham, III. Ingham oversees the pop singer Britney Spears' conservatorship.

Reference: The Hollywood Reporter (December 6, 2018) “Grandson Requests Sumner Redstone Guardian”

What State Ranks Last in Elder Care?

What State Ranks Last in Elder Care?

“In yet another depressing ranking for South Carolina, a new report ranks the state 51st in protecting against elder abuse across 14 measurements.”

A study that compares all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in three categories related to the protection of Americans aged 65 or older—prevalence, resources and protection—finds South Carolina dead last in the rankings.

The Charleston City Paper reports in its recent article, “South Carolina ranks dead last in protections against elder abuse, study finds,” that the study was released by finance website WalletHub.

Massachusetts was in the top spot in the analysis.

In the prevalence category, which gauges the share of "elder-abuse, gross-neglect, and exploitation complaints," South Carolina tied California at 50. The Palmetto State also tied five other states—Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Montana, and North Dakota—for the lowest total expenditure on elder abuse prevention.

The most common types of elder abuse are neglect and financial, according to Florida International University social work Professor Rich Beaulaurier, who spoke to WalletHub for the report.

"Both have been increasing in recent years," he said. "There has been a huge increase in mechanisms to scam or exploit older people out of their money and savings. Medicare and bank fraud, mortgage fraud, and other scams target older people differentially."

The report noted that South Carolinians received 3.3 million robocalls per day in November 2018, according to robocall-blocking software YouMail.

In May 2018, Governor Henry McMaster signed legislation designed to thwart a popular subset of fraudulent calls in South Carolina. The law targets a practice known as "spoofing," defined in the bill as a scam call that shows "misleading, false, or inaccurate caller identification information on the receiving party's telephone."

Kathleen Wilber, a professor of health services administration at the University of Southern California, who also was interviewed by WalletHub for the report, remarked that aggressive policies that go after scammers can help. However, protecting against elder abuse is a multi-faceted task that should include better monitoring of abuse in facilities and more accessible mental health care for both the elderly and their caregivers.

"It is not uncommon for caregivers to lack the capacity and ability to support frail older people—sometimes we assume the kids are the caregivers when they have historically been receiving care from mom or dad because of their own disabilities," she said.

The five states that ranked best for protections against elderly abuse are Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan and Arizona.

Reference: Charleston City Paper (December 4, 2018) “South Carolina ranks dead last in protections against elder abuse, study finds”