Financial advisors could be in a good position to uncover addictions and help save clients’ assets from this drain if they learn to recognize the signs, ask the right questions and listen patiently, according to Captrust’s Catherine Seeber.

Seeber, a CFP based in Lewes, Del., assists clients impacted by addiction – their own or a family member’s – and teams with clinicians and attorneys who work in this field. She’s also the mother of a former heroin and alcohol addict. Her experience with clients helped her more readily identify her son’s addictions, she said.

According to the National Institutes of Health, living in poverty is a risk factor for abuse of opioids and other substances. But addiction doesn’t discriminate, noted Seeber, and a growing number of high-net-worth families are being afflicted by the opioid epidemic.

“Money is the angel and the devil in this case,” she said.

It’s easier for wealthy individuals to continue to access legal opioids, she said, and they’re better able to hide their addiction because it’s not as physically obvious as heroin, a less expensive substitute. Access to money can also be an obstacle in recovery, she said.

Seeber’s first client in recovery spent five years in jail for an alcohol-related incident before becoming a chef and restaurant owner. “The problem he had as a recovering alcoholic was his own success,” she said. To him, “money was evil,” she said. “He didn’t want to have money in his hands because he was afraid of what he would do with it.”

(You can meet Seeber and a mental health consultant during the “Helping Clients Fight the Financial Drain of Addiction” session at FA’s Invest in Women Conference.)

Last December, financial services firm True Link released the first study Seeber has seen that quantifies the relationship between money and a substance use disorder (SUD). Of the 341 American adults True Link surveyed, 44 percent reported having a loved one who is struggling or has struggled in the past with an SUD. Among this group, 82 percent said their loved one has experienced adverse financial effects due to their addiction.

Nearly half reported that their loved one drained savings or retirement accounts (48 percent), incurred additional medical and legal expenses (43 percent) or sold assets to gain access to cash (42 percent); 11 percent said their loved one filed for bankruptcy.

Seeber asks all her clients if they’ve ever been in a situation where their assets have been compromised or abused and provides all clients with a list of resources that includes estate-planning attorneys experienced in asset protection and money abuse.

Signs that may indicate a client or client’s family member has a drug, alcohol or other addiction (such as gambling or compulsive spending) include sudden suspicious withdrawals, voicemails left in the middle of the night, broken promises, unusual or increased purchases and abrupt changes in family dynamics, she said.

One of her clients needed money to replenish an account because the client’s son was making unauthorized withdrawals. Another client had to reschedule calls because he was visiting his son. When Seeber said it must’ve been a wonderful visit, the client responded that it wasn’t fun. Mindful of not being nosy, she casually asked during later calls how his son was. After their fifth conversation, he told her his son had an opioid addiction. 

She likens this slow progression of dialogue to how one might “pull on that thread that unravels the sweater,” she said. However, “you’ll be surprised at how open people will eventually be once they gather trust in you,” she said. She’s also had advisors open up about their loved ones’ addictions upon learning she shares their struggles.

There’s a big difference between today’s popular drugs and alcohol, added Seeber. Alcoholics can function for a very long period but “with Xanax, heroin and meth,” she said, “the window of time that you have to help someone and be proactive has collapsed.”