INTRODUCING A FRAMEWORK FOR DEFINING FINANCIAL ABUSE OF THE ELDERLY

Although an extensive body of literature has developed over the last d ecade that focuses on elder abuse, little has been written specificall y on financial abuse. Financial abuse of older persons remains difficu lt to detect and prosecute, in part, because it is poorly understood a nd ill-defined. The purpose of this article is to begin the task of sp ecifically identifying older persons who have been subjected to financ ial abuse. To do this, we offer a framework for identifying abuse that includes: (1) characteristics of the older person that suggest vulner ability to abuse, (2) the nature of the relationship between the suspe cted wrongdoer and the older person, (3) the outcomes and interests se rved by the relationship, and (4) the type of influence used by the su spected wrongdoer. The interaction of these factors is described and a nalyzed to help better identify abusive situations.