FAQs

Here are some tips to help stop a senior from being scammed, as well as ways to identify scams right from the beginning:

1. Place a list of “danger words” close to their computer to use as a checklist before replying to emails asking for money.
2. Remind them to ask a licensed or credentialed financial professional BEFORE they give money to anyone they do not know.
3. Repeatedly tell them to call any financial company mentioned in an email before sharing any financial information.
4. If someone asks for money over the phone, tell the senior to hang up immediately, without sharing any personal data.
5. Be an available resource for the senior to ask you questions before acting on request for money, including donating to charities.
6. When they have to sign or update official documents, offer to go with them as an extra set of eyes and ears to witness the signing. If you cannot attend, encourage them to bring a trusted friend or family member with them.
7. Teach the senior to always request whoever is asking for money to leave their call back information. If they refuse, the business is probably fake.
8. Leave instructions near their computer and phone about how to verify businesses are real prior to making any payments or sharing personal information.
9. Talk with Baker DMM about how we can help guard your aging parents’ financial welfare.

Assigning power of attorney is a private way to decide who will have the legal authority to carry out your wishes if you can no longer speak or act for yourself. It is less costly than a guardianship, which is a public proceeding and the person appointed as your guardian may not be the person you would have chosen.

Yes, elder financial fraud is very real! Studies show elderly people are tricked out of at least $2.9 billion every year although experts say this figure could be as high as $40 billion because 43 out of every 44 cases of elder financial fraud are unreported. Read this report on financial fraud and elder abuse.

The answer to this question illustrates the critical role adult children play in establishing and providing financial caregiving for aging parents. Parents trust their children far more than they do strangers, even strangers with professional degrees and licenses. Adult children are best suited not only to present the idea of working with a daily money manager but introducing that individual to their parent(s), as well as quickly orienting the daily money manager to the family’s situation. The way one raises the subject of bringing in financial help has a lot to do with how well the idea is received. Call Baker DMM, we’ll help you help them embrace the benefits of daily money management assistance.

You’ll know what’s happening with your mother’s financial welfare because we maintain continuous contact via email, phone, or text as you prefer. We can share weekly, monthly, and/or quarterly reports, as you prefer. And you can always call us. Sure, time zones can complicate things a little so if it’s after hours, you’ll hear back from us the next business day!

Baker DMM secures your sensitive electronic information with highly unique passwords and backed up to a separate online system. Hard copy documents in stored in locked cabinets and the entire office is alarmed. More important, your private data is secure because Baker DMM adheres to strict industry and personal ethical standards regarding privacy and security. Chris Baker, CPA is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Georgia Society of CPAs, and the National Aging in Place Council, all of which demand adherence the highest ethical standards as a condition of membership. Unless legally required to do so, Baker DMM will never share your personal information without your direct authorization.