Helping Seniors With Finances: Daily Money Managers

Many people worry about the ability of aging parents and other loved ones to handle money and financial affairs. Older people often need assistance because of:

• mental (cognitive) impairments
• physical impairments (like arthritis) that limit the ability to write checks or sign documents
• visual impairments
• loss of a spouse who handled all of the finances
• for immigrants, lack of English skills or familiarity with banking and tax procedures, and
• increased vulnerability to scammers.

When elderly people can't handle daily finances or become more susceptible to financial abuse, the consequences can be severe. Older people who forget to pay bills could lose their home to foreclosure, get evicted from an apartment, risk utility shut-off, or damage their credit. Those who fall victim to scams might get cheated out of large amounts of money or lose their home.

This article discusses methods of assisting elder relatives with their financial affairs—including figuring out what kind of help is needed, broaching the subject with your relative, and hiring a daily money manager.

Assessing Whether a Senior Needs Help With Finances

The first step in assisting your elderly parent or relative with money management is to determine if they need help with money management—and, if they do, how much help. Start by talking with your elderly relative.

In some situations, the financial needs of the elderly are apparent. Some seniors may admit they need help and will welcome your assistance. Others will insist they can handle their affairs and will resist intervention. If your relative falls into the latter category, but you see signs that assistance is necessary, do some investigating.

• Talk to your older relative's doctors, friends, and other family members. What do they say about your relative's mental capacity? Have they seen signs of confusion or increasing forgetfulness?
• Take a look around your older relative's home. Do you see lots of unopened mail, bills scattered around, or piles of papers? Can the elder show you an organized filing system or describe how they manage their money?
• Go through your elderly relative's checkbook, credit card statements, and bank statements. Look for anything unusual, including:
  • double entries for the same item
  • questionable transfers
  • transfers involving large amounts of money
  • several small transfers
  • a change in banking habits, or
  • payments to unknown entities.
• Ask the elder to explain any large payments or payments to entities or people unknown to you. (Often, the elder's explanation itself will give you an idea of their ability to handle their own financial affairs.)
• If the elder pays the mortgage, rent, utilities, or other monthly expenses by check, do you see consistent entries for these items in the checkbook?
• Has the elder received account alerts or letters from collection agencies?
• Does the elder fail to open and pay bills, cash checks, record checks, or list deposits?
• Are checkbooks, bank statements, or other financial documents missing or hard to find?
• Does the elder seem confused or forgetful?
• Has the elder spent large amounts of money on things such as lotteries, contests, or items from the Home Shopping Network?
• Has the elder made unusually large donations to charitable organizations or other groups?
• Does the elder know what bank accounts and investments they have?
• Has the elder been the victim of a financial scam—such as telemarketing fraud, investment fraud, gift card scams, identity theft, or predatory lending?

Talking With Seniors About Money Management

It's important to broach the subject of financial assistance with sensitivity. Many older people are embarrassed by their inability to handle their financial affairs. Others are afraid that, by relinquishing control of money, they're losing a large measure of independence. Some believe that children or relatives want to steal their money.

Often, the best time to discuss finances for the elderly is before your elderly parent or relative needs help. Talk about what will happen if and when they need help managing finances, agree on some "trigger" events that might indicate they need help (for example, receiving account alerts), and come up with a plan as to how the two of you will work together if and when that time comes.

Explain your concerns about certain aspects of money management, and point out possible consequences if things remain as they are (such as closed accounts, damaged credit, or foreclosure). Involve your elderly relative in the decision-making process as much as possible. Keep the focus on what they can do, and make suggestions only for those tasks that you feel they need help with. Most importantly, listen to what they have to say about the issue.

Depending on the type of help your relative needs and your availability to help with the day-to-day finances, hiring a bill-paying service may be a sensible first step you can take.

Consider a Daily Money Manager Program

Daily money management (DMM) programs provide bill-paying services for the elderly who can no longer handle certain aspects of money management. Whether an older person needs comprehensive help or just a monthly reminder to pay bills, these programs can mean the difference between living independently and residing in a nursing home. DMMs also offer relief to family members who are providing care to their older parents or relatives.

Although daily money management programs can be lifesavers, they also come with significant risks. To avoid problems, you should first understand what a daily money manager can and can't do, how the various DMM programs differ, and how to choose a DMM.

What Is a Daily Money Manager?

Daily money management (DMM) programs help people who can't handle their own financial affairs. Essentially, a daily money manager acts as a personal financial assistant. According to a survey conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the kinds of financial services that DMMs provide most often are:

• paying bills
• maintaining financial records
• preparing budgets
• balancing checkbooks, and
• negotiating with creditors.

Daily money managers can also prepare checks for clients to sign, help older people organize bank and financial records, prepare and deliver bank deposits, gather documents for tax returns, help decipher medical bills, and review bank statements to detect potential financial abuse or fraud.

It's important to know what DMMs can't do. They're not financial or legal professionals, so they can't act in an advisory capacity or prepare tax returns. But a good DMM can provide referrals to professionals like accountants, investment advisors, and lawyers.

How Daily Money Managers Can Help Elders and Their Caregivers

Daily money manager programs can be valuable for older Americans who:

• can't keep track of bills and financial documents
• forget to pay bills
• can't write checks because of arthritis or other health problems
• have trouble getting to the bank
• can no longer manage money or finances, or
• are susceptible to financial scams.

There are many upsides to helping an older person handle their finances. Here's a look at a few.

Help maintain independence. Studies show that bill paying services can help seniors remain in their homes longer and avoid costly nursing home care. DMMs ensure that bills get paid on time, checks are deposited, and taxes get paid. This helps avoid eviction, foreclosure, utility shutoffs, and other debt trouble.

Relieve burden on caregivers. In most cases, when elders need help managing money, adult children or relatives step in. Yet often adult children live far away or have busy lives that make daily, hands-on money management difficult or impossible. DMMs provide adult caregivers relief from some or all daily money management tasks. Ideally, the elder's children or relatives should oversee the DMM's performance.

Protect against scams. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, DMMs can play a role in protecting the elderly from financial abuse or scams. DMMs can review bank and credit card statements, looking for signs of abuse or fraud—such as large, unexplained withdrawals of money, checks written to charities or other groups in unreasonably large amounts, or any other suspicious activity.

How Daily Money Manager Services Are Provided

Older Americans can obtain daily money manager services in a number of ways.

Elder-assistance agencies with DMM services. Often daily money management services are provided through a larger umbrella organization, such as a private nonprofit elder assistance organization or government agency. These agencies often use volunteers to provide basic financial tasks, such as bill paying. To find an elder assistance agency that provides DMM services, contact your local Area Agency on Aging (AAA). (You can find the AAA in your area by using the federal government's Eldercare Locator at www.eldercare.gov.)

Professional for-profit DMMs. In the past decade, an increasing number of individuals and private for-profit companies have started offering daily money manager services for a fee. Cost for these services varies by region, but is often between $25 and $100 per hour. According to one study, most clients need approximately four hours of services per month, but this varies according to the services needed and the complexity of the elder's financial situation.

The emergence of private, for-profit DMM services has caused some concern among eldercare professionals. When dealing with any company that provides services to the elderly and requires access to sensitive financial documents, don't overlook the potential for fraud. Although a private DMM program may be well worth the monthly cost, use extra caution when selecting one for your older relative.

Taking More Formal Steps to Help Seniors Manage Their Finances

Other measures you can take to protect an elderly family member include becoming an authorized signer on their bank account, being named as a "trusted contact" on a retirement plan, or getting a power of attorney. To learn more about these other options, see our article protecting an elder relative's money.

If Financial Assistance Isn't Enough

Sometimes an older person isn't competent to handle any of their affairs and needs a guardian or conservator to take control of finances and medical decisions. Guardians and conservators can be family members or other adults, but they must be appointed by the court.

To learn more about these more formal methods of handling an elderly person's affairs, see Nolo's article on conservatorships and adult guardianships.