2024 NJ Bill Protects Nursing Home Residents from Financial Abuse

A new bill in New Jersey that would provide some protection to nursing home residents was recently introduced and passed in the Senate. The goal of this bill is to protect nursing home residents from financial abuse or exploitation.

This is a huge step forward in the right direction, as many nursing home residents are tricked into appointing a nursing home employee as their power of attorney or guardian, giving them access to their money, bank accounts, credit cards, and more.

About the new 2024 bill that will prevent financial abuse in nursing homes

According to WHYY, a bill, S1962, was passed unanimously in the New Jersey Senate this year. This bill aims to prevent nursing home owners or workers from tricking nursing home residents into appointing them as their guardians. Under the bill, the only way that the owners or employees at nursing homes can be appointed as a resident’s guardian is if they are approved by the courts. While nursing homes were the bill’s main focus, it can apply to any patient or resident of a long-term care facility, such as assisted living facilities, residential healthcare facilities, personal care homes, rehabilitation facilities, and more.

Senator Robert Singer, a sponsor of the bill, stated that this bill is necessary to protect our elderly seniors. He mentioned how the bill was created after a real-life situation occurred where an administrator at a long-term care facility appointed himself as a resident’s guardian and gained access to the resident’s money and belongings. As a result, he started selling several of the resident’s valuables, including his vehicle. Luckily, the administrator was caught, but that is not always the case for some residents.

If implemented, the bill would require a surrogate judge to appoint a guardian to a resident if they do not have any immediate family members available to be their guardians. The Department of Health would also need to create standards for admission agreements for nursing homes and long-term care facilities. These agreements would not be allowed to be changed unless a health official gives approval.

Singer explained that all people, including seniors, tend to ignore the fine print when looking at a document and signing it. Therefore, they may sign a paper, appoint someone as their guardian, and not even realize what they are actually signing or doing. That means this bill would not only give residents a sense of protection, but it would also give their family members peace of mind, knowing that their elderly loved one will not be subject to certain types of financial abuse or exploitation.

The CEO of the Senior Planning Services, Ben Mandelbaum, also took the time to express how important this bill is, pointing to the rising numbers of elderly people entering long-term care facilities. He stated that if passing this bill does not happen soon, there will be more vulnerable people that nursing home owners and employees can prey on and take advantage of.

What forms of financial abuse frequently occur at nursing homes?

A nursing home resident may be a victim of financial abuse if their money or personal belongings are accessed and taken from them in some way. A few of the different forms of financial abuse that frequently occur at nursing homes include:

• Stealing items or cash from a resident’s room: One of the most common ways that residents can be financially abused is by stealing their items or cash from their room. This may happen when the resident goes to sleep, is in the restroom, or is out visiting with their family or enjoying an event held in a community room.
• Stealing or gaining access to a resident’s credit cards, bank accounts, or checkbooks: Nursing home workers can also steal a resident’s credit cards and checkbooks or gain access to their bank accounts. This may happen when a worker drives or transports a resident to the bank, ATM, or a store to purchase something or withdraw/deposit money.
• Committing identity theft: When working with a resident, an employee may learn certain information about them, opening the door for identity theft. For example, a nursing home employee may use a resident’s personal contact information to apply for a credit card or loan in their name.
• Misusing the resident’s money or accounts: Some nursing homes are allowed to access residents’ bank accounts. Their families may have granted this permission to purchase necessities for the residents. Unfortunately, some workers at the nursing home may find out about this and misuse their money or accounts for their own benefit.
• Intimidating or tricking the resident into giving access to funds: Lastly, one of the most common forms of financial abuse that occurs in nursing homes is finding ways to gain access to the resident’s funds. The employee may trick, intimidate, or lie to the resident to persuade them to hand over access to their funds. Another way they may do this is to pretend to be the resident’s friend or grow close to them, which may convince the resident to appoint them as their guardian, power of attorney, or beneficiary.

Signs that may indicate that your elderly family member is being financially abused in Cherry Hill

The following are some of the signs that may indicate that your elderly family member is being financially abused:

• Reports or complaints of items or money going missing
• Money being withdrawn or transferred with no explanation
• New loans in the individual’s name
• Acting afraid, confused, or reluctant to talk about finances
• Suddenly being informed that another person has control of the individual’s accounts
• Frequent selling of items or belongings that the individual had been holding onto for years or cherished
• Reports of the individual’s identity being stolen or used to open accounts
• New bills or debts arriving with the individual’s name
• Sudden changes to wills, estates, bank accounts, and more
• Becoming close to a certain nursing home employee or owner

Tips to prevent your loved one from being financially abused at a nursing home

There are several ways you can try to prevent your loved one from being financially abused at a Cherry Hill nursing home. Below, we will provide you with four tips to help you prevent these situations from occurring.

1. Monitor your loved one’s bank accounts, credit card spending, retirement accounts, and more.
2. Request that the bank, bill companies, and other institutions inform you if any unusual or alarming activity occurs on their accounts.
3. Visit and call your loved one frequently. This ensures that you have a strong relationship with them and that they feel comfortable enough to tell you about any abuse or hardships that they are experiencing.
4. Keep a close eye on your loved one and look for any clues that may point to current or future financial abuse. This can be any unusual behavior or closeness between your loved one and an employee at the nursing home, opening the door for potential financial abuse.

If you believe that a nursing home facility or employee is financially abusing your family member, the Cherry Hill nursing home abuse attorneys at Ferrara & Gable can help. Our team has over 50 years of experience working on nursing home financial abuse cases, which means that we know how to successfully build a strong case against the responsible party and hold them accountable for your elderly loved one’s losses. Please call our office or submit our contact form to schedule a free consultation today. Our firm is based in Cherry Hill, but we proudly serve all of South Jersey.