The emotive topic - The role Powers of Attonery's play in the lives of parents

Inspiration and motivation comes in many forms – for me I thrive on the many interesting conversations that I have with clients. This week there has been one in particular that has left me wanting to share it with you. It involves a Power of Attorney (POA) who has engaged Cultiv8 to prepare advice outlining the options surrounding the placement of their elderly father into an Aged Care facility.

Given this being a highly emotive topic and requiring heavy decisions to be made, the process can be made lighter and options can be clearer by having assistance from a professional who is removed from the emotion.  Here at Cultiv8 we can provide specialist advice and support through advising on financial choices such as the arrangement of the elderly father’s assets.  It is a smart decision to know which assets are retainable and which ones should be wrapped up in order to minimise any risk and liabilities to any of the parties.  By engaging a professional to provide advice, the POA is protecting themselves from any future issues that may arise from other family members who may have a difference of opinion and / or understanding.

Cultiv8 are careful at facilitating with our clients to ensure that we understand the estate planning position of the elderly parent when constructing this type of advice - it is important that all conversations and actions are done so in a manner that involves the whole family and solicitors.

In this particular case - the POA discovered that one of his siblings has been accessing the elderly father’s credit card and had very nearly maxed out the facility!  This distress and uncertainty of what actions the POA needed to take lead them to Cultiv8’s door.

The POA was rightly emotional about the matter to the point that they were considering resigning as the POA. Through careful and precise coaching, I was able to re-align the POA to remember that it was his father that had chosen him to act in his best interests for these very reasons. Without the POA in his position the elder gentleman would continue to be a victim of financial elder abuse and this potentially could compromise his quality of care and life if such abuse was to continue.

While it is never a pleasant situation to find yourself in and heightened by the fact that it emotionally involves family, financial elder abuse continues to be an issue within society. Cultiv8 are professional and prepared to help mitigate these risks.  We provide the necessary support so that families can make informed decisions about the financial impacts of placing their parent or parents into an aged care facility.

We encourage all families to prepare in advance – make sure you understand the financial position of your parents, the costs involved when entering into Aged Care facility, ensure that they have updated their Wills, made elections for suitable POA’s and Guardians whilst they have capacity.

If you suspect an elder is being abused financially please reach out via the national hotline or to the state based hotlines- via https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/contact-us/complaints