Family dynamics and their association with elder family financial exploitation in families with appointed powers of attorney.

Abstract

Powers of attorney (POA), widely used in end-of-life planning, give authority, often to relatives, to manage elders' affairs if they become incapacitated. Unfortunately, family members are frequently perpetrators of elder family financial exploitation (EFFE). To understand possible EFFE precursors, the Elder Family Financial Exploitation Survey (EFFES) collected hierarchical data (individual relatives nested within families) including respondent and elder demographics, financial exploitation details if it occurred, and family dynamics (general family functioning, fairness conflict, resource exchange patterns, entitlement attitudes, and communication/problem-solving). Multilevel logistic regression models found positive association with greater fairness conflict and entitlement attitudes, and negative association with general family function, resource exchange expectations, and communication patterns when growing up, but no association with current communication. Findings can prompt families to proactively address negative family dynamics to reduce the risk of EFFE. Results may also inform decisions about appointing other fiduciaries, e.g., trustees, and personal representatives (executors).