Elder abuse ia being forecast as a top financial issue state law makers will contend with in 2017.
The prediction come from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Financial Services Committee.
A possibility for new state legislation on elder financial abuse includes mandating that financial advisors and other professionals who see suspected cases report them to authorities, said Heather Morton, an NCSL staff aide to the unit.
Other possible measurers could include more states making elder financial exploitation a crime and stiffer penalties for the abuse in states that already have this type of legislation on the books, she added.
Morton said another avenue is for states to follow the lead of one that is funding a forensic accountant to dig deep into records to find often hard-to-spot instances of elder fraud.
Committee Vice Chair and Maryland state Senator Brian Feldman said the states may need to “catch the wave” of financial fraud against retiring baby boomers.
The committee's co-chair, Hawaii Democratic state Senator Rosalyn Baker, said she could see more states setting up financial abuse education programs for seniors and caregivers.