Protecting Elderly From Themselves

Dear Suze, I’m part of the sandwich generation living with our teens and caring for my aging mother. We restricted her from using any appliance but the microwave (after starting a kitchen fire), and took away her driver’s license (after getting lost). It’s time to take her credit card because she’s been scammed twice. She cried and I died inside. 

Dearie, While your mom is still mentally competent, obtain a durable power of attorney so you make decisions over finances, medical, etc. Freeze her credit reports. Regularly block/unsubscribe her phone/tablets for scams. Eliminate everything in her wallet that if lost/stolen can be used for identity theft (Social Security card/Medicare card/debit card). Give your mom some cash as a trade for her credit card so she has some control, but be realistic -memory loss and unsafe behavior only progresses as she ages. Removing the credit card is easy compared to the decisions to come. -SQ