"Last week I looked in his wallet and there was $900.00. I called the bank and he'd made a $2000.00 withdrawal last week. I have no idea where the rest is!"

* Look into long-term tools for financial management like durable powers of attorney, trusts or conservatorship, or joint bank accounts. Consult your attorney, your accountant, or a financial counselor for the best options for your individual situations.

* Remove credit cards from the persons purse or wallet.

* Keep lots of family pictures and identification cards in the persons wallet, but only a very small amount of cash. Small bills may "seem" like more. For example, try 10 one dollar bills instead of one ten dollar bill.

* Locate valuables such as stocks and bonds. wills, deeds, titles, life insurance policies, good jewelry, etc. and place them in a safety deposit box.

* Arrange for direct deposit of checks when possible. Watch the mail carefully for checks you are expecting.

* Notify the bank that the person is memory-impaired and that you should be notified of any [large] transactions before they are processed.

(c) copyright 1996

Back to Challenging Behaviors Index

Next

Back