State and federal officials launched an initiative Monday to help caregivers manage the finances of relatives and friends who can no longer do it because of cognitive problems.
Guides tailored to Virginia law are available online and in print for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease, strokes or other cognitive problems. Relatives of people with mental health problems or developmental disabilities also might find them helpful.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and Richard Cordray, director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, made the announcement and said they were the first state-specific guides in the country.
Similar guides are being developed for five other states with large populations of older people: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Oregon.
The “Managing Someone Else’s Money” guides are designed to help people go through the legal channels to handle finances and help avoid scams and mistakes.
Caregivers are typically spouses or adult children managing finances through power-of-attorney documents. They also could be court-appointed conservators for people with mental illnesses or developmental disabilities.
The guides show caregivers how to get started, how to prevent scams and financial exploitation, and how to fulfill their duties. They also explain how to act in the person’s best interest, maintain good records and manage money and property.
The guides come in four versions: power-of-attorney agents, court-appointed conservators, trustees and government benefits fiduciaries.
Guides are available at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website. Printed guides can be ordered free from the same website, or by emailing naomi.karp@cfpb.gov.
Elizabeth Simpson, 757-222-5003, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com
