Often our clients have chosen a trusted relative or friend to manage their finances when they are unable to do so. This trust may be abused, with devastating consequences for the older person.
In 2018, 77-year-old Theresa* sold her home and moved into a Granny flat on her daughter, Abigail*’s property in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Theresa’s health and mobility were declining, and she was having trouble attending to her bills and banking. She gave her bank card and pin number to Abigail so that she could pay her bills and withdraw money for Theresa’s day-to-day use.
In 2019 Theresa had a fall at home and was admitted to hospital with a fractured hip, she chose to move from the hospital into a nursing home because of her limited mobility. Most of her personal belongings, including her purse remained at home with Abigail. Abigail initially paid the aged care fees from Theresa’s account which contained the proceeds of the sale of her home. Theresa was not receiving bank statements and was not aware of the transactions taking place from her account.
After several months, Abigail ceased contact with Theresa. The aged care facility then notified Theresa that she had fallen into arrears with her fees. Theresa was taken to the bank by a friend and obtained her bank statements which showed that her accounts had been depleted. She immediately changed her PIN so that Abigail could no longer access her account. With the assistance of the nursing home staff, Theresa contacted Seniors Rights Victoria (SRV).
SRV analysed Theresa’s bank statements and found that Abigail and her adult children had withdrawn more than $100,000.00 from Theresa’s account without her authorisation. Theresa wanted the matter referred to police for investigation and the SRV lawyer assisted her to complete a Fraud Report. SRV then drafted a letter of demand to Abigail, which was ignored.
SRV issued proceedings in the County Court to recover the funds withdrawn by Abigail. SRV lawyers were supported by pro-bono counsel. Abigail did not respond to the Writ or Statement of Claim filed with the Court and SRV subsequently obtained a judgement in default and applied for a Warrant for Seizure and Sale of the daughter’s home, which was obtained and then referred to the Sheriff for execution.
Upon being contacted by the Sheriff, Abigail volunteered to sell the home herself, and the full amount taken from Theresa was recovered, plus interest from the date of judgement.
*Personal details have been changed to protect our client’s privacy. Image at top courtesy the Centre for Ageing Better’s age-positive image library.