In Indiana, there is a crime called “Financial Exploitation of Endangered Adult”. It is codified under Indiana Code 35-46-1-12. The most common situation is when someone is taking care of an elderly parent. Sadly, sometimes as a parent ages, they can lose the ability to control their own finances and decision-making. This is especially true in cases of Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
A common remedy is that the elderly person can appoint one of their children as their guardian or give them power of attorney. This would also put that person in-charge of their money. Most of the time, the guardian uses that money to buy goods and services that are necessary for the well-being of the elderly. Often this can be medical expenses, housing, nursing home costs, etc. Unfortunately, there are times when the guardian uses that money to buy things for themselves. There are some very sad cases where the guardian will spend all of their parent’s money on themselves and leave the elderly parent with nothing. In those cases, the guardian can be charged with a crime.
The offense is a Class A misdemeanor which is punishable by up to a year in prison and fine of up to $5,000. Restitution would also be a likely penalty which means the guardian has to pay back any money they used improperly.
In order to be convicted of this offense, first the state has to prove that the person had care of the elderly person, whether this be in a professional capacity, or because of some legal arrangement. Most commonly, it is someone who has been appointed guardianship or granted power of attorney over the person. Next, the State has to prove that the person used that authority for their own personal profit.
Sometimes this is easy. For example, using the money to buy themselves a new car or a vacation is clearly not for the benefit of the elderly person. However, sometimes the issues are less clear. What if the new car is a handicap accessible mini-van that is necessary to get the person to and from appointments? What if the money is used to build a new bedroom onto their own home so that the elderly person may move in with them?
These are often situations where the detective and the prosecutor will investigate the situation more in-depth to determine if it is a benefit to the elderly person or not. What is important, is that the statute requires the profit to the guardian to be “grossly disproportionate” to the benefit on the endangered adult. But sometimes these close cases end up getting litigated.
If this situation sounds familiar to you, or you feel unsure about whether or not an expenditure could get you into legal trouble, please give contact us at (317) 870-0019 or info@banksbrower.com. Many people who are just trying to help out an elderly parent end up getting a scary call from a detective wanting to go through their finances. Having a lawyer can help.