This blog presents the ideas and creative thinking of some of Utah's talented older adult writers. Their submissions are to inform and entertain, not to present policy or opinion positions of the Utah Commission on Aging. Enjoy.
During the last 10 of his 97 years, every time my father introduced me to someone, he always said, “This is my oldest daughter, Marti, and she manages all my finances!” He had six sons, so maybe it showed a bit of his old school nature that he pointed out it was me and not one of them who had taken on this task. He had made me co-executor of his estate along with my youngest brother, but he was very willing to have me take on the whole responsibility.
As an elderly person, attempts to fraudulently take my money are frequent. Here are some examples and the things I’ve learned to do to keep that from happening.
In 2010, when my dad was 90, he lost $4,000.00 to a combination lottery/bad-check scam. I looked at his bank account online almost daily, but when I asked him why he had withdrawn that large amount, he wouldn’t tell me. He said something like, “I can’t tell you now, but you’ll be so happy in a few days.” Then I saw that he’d deposited a check supposedly drawn on an Idaho Falls, Wells Fargo bank for $4,000. After a 3-day bank holiday weekend, it “bounced.”