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The Adult Guardianship Act: It Really Works!

I would like to take the opportunity to share with you a recent success story in which Part Three of the Adult Guardianship Legislation, the Adult Guardianship Act, was used to respond quickly and effectively to a situation of financial abuse.

The story is one that is all too familiar to many of us. An elderly person with long-standing alcohol abuse issues and a related dementia, was being taken advantage of financially by her alcoholic and drug-addicted son.

Essentially, he would take her out, encourage her to drink, and then take her to her bank to withdraw funds as he waited outside. At times of sobriety she had expressed fear and concern about her son forcing her to give him money. At other times she adamantly denied any problems.She lived in a nursing facility and the management was considering evicting her due to her difficult and dangerous behaviour when she was intoxicated.

The staff of the facility and the other family members were burned-out trying to help this woman. The bank was concerned but didn't feel that they had the authority to deny her requests for funds since she was presumed to be capable. The police who had been involved couldn't investigate further because the adult denied the situation in order to protect her son. Alcohol and drug treatment programs had previously been involved but had no success because of the adult's unwillingness to participate in recovery. Mental health professionals had been involved but withdrew due to her refusal to participate in treatment. Continuing Care assessors had spent many hours dealing with the adult directly and trying to come up with solutions with her and the staff. A financial competency assessment had occurred a few years earlier but at that time she had been assessed as competent to manage her own financial affairs. Other family members were not willing to get involved because of burnout and fear. Everybody felt stuck.

A report of suspected financial abuse was made to the designated agency. This time, thanks to the mandate of the legislation, they had the authority to look in to the matter further. The bank confirmed the concerns, as did the police. Liaison with the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee's Office was established immediately and an investigation of financial abuse was initiated. A letter was sent to the bank by the designated agency advising of the investigation. The bank in turn was able to prevent the adult from withdrawing a large sum of money over that weekend when she was brought in by her son once again. A few days later the adult was assessed by medical professionals to be incapable of managing her own financial affairs and the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee assumed committeeship.

Currently this adult's assets are protected and are being managed responsibly with her maintaining some autonomy. She continues to have a relationship with her son, but he no longer takes her out and encourages her to drink. The alcohol and drug therapists are working with her and the facility staff to manage her drinking behaviour and a withdrawal program. The Continuing Care assessor has been able to reassess her level of care and provide more support to the facility to manage her effectively. Overall, an effective and collaborative treatment plan was implemented to provide the least intrusive yet most effective response to a difficult situation. Just what the legislation was designed to do!

Amanda Brown,
Social Worker,
Geriatric Mental Health Team,
West Vancouver, B.C.