Early Alzheimer’s: Is It OK for Your Parent to Keep Paying Bills?

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When your parent is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, you want to help preserve as much independence as possible for as long as possible. But when it comes to finances, the time to step in may be earlier than you think, says elder-care consultant Carolyn Rosenblatt.

She writes at Forbes.com that vulnerability to scams sets in early:

Research tells us that with Alzheimer’s Disease, the judgment needed for financial decisions is impaired even at the beginning of the disease, though you might not see it. The elder may look and feel fine. Perhaps he or she is completely appropriate socially. The problem is, he can’t see a scam coming.

Your parent may be at risk for other types of financial abuse as well—from outsiders or even other family members. Rosenblatt writes that though family members and your parent may believe otherwise, whoever has the power of attorney might need to take over finances early on. At the end of the column, she explains a couple of tools that can give you objective clues to when that time is.

Have you taken over finances for a parent with dementia—or seen someone get taken advantage of? One question to ask yourself when hiring in-home care is, do you trust the caregivers? Look into the agency’s screening process; not all are thorough.

At Preferred Care at Home, we make our seven-step screening process transparent. You can read about it here. We require a number of background checks, references and years of experience. We make it a priority to ensure that our caregivers are trustworthy so you can rest easy, knowing your parent is in good hands.