Financial or Material Abuse

What is Financial or Material Abuse?

Examples: fraud, theft, taking property without permission, assuming ownership of money or items, scamming (which can be in person, by letter, phone and internet), coercion in relation to an adult’s financial affairs including the writing of or changing a Will, and misuse of benefits. Financial abuse can involve small and large amounts of money or value of property.

Possible Indicators:

• Sudden inability to pay bills
• Sudden debt
• Unexplained or unusual patterns of cash withdrawal from an account
• Lack of belongings that the adult can clearly afford
• Resistance by family to give explanation for unusual financial activity
• Extraordinary interest by family in an adult’s assets
• Purchase of items that the adult would not usually buy or need
• Personal items going missing
• The main interest shown by a family member is financial and not the in relation to the care of the adult