When you think of a family “freeloader”, generally what comes to mind is an adult child who makes no efforts to be on their own. The parents foot the bill and allow the adult child to remain in the home. But what happens when the parents’ health goes bad or when they become elderly? This scenario becomes particularly painful when the parents become elderly, especially when the adult child “freeloader” continues to mooch off of the aging parents and even begins to abuse the aging parents. The responsible adult children, who have lives of their own, may come to their wit’s end. Ultimately, everything comes to a head when the elderly parents need care and can no longer care for the adult child. What then? This is an increasingly common problem, given the recent economic unpleasantries and the expanding retirement bubble of aging baby-boomers. Fortunately, Forbes recently explored this conundrum in an article titled “What Siblings Need to Do About Aging Parents and The Family Freeloader.” So, what can you do? While it’s still hard to say for certain, since every family is different, you need to deal with it. In most instances an Elder Law Attorney should be consulted to ensure the protection of the elder parents, especially if financial elder abuse is suspected.
Reference: Forbes (September 16, 2012) “What Siblings Need to Do About Aging Parents and The Family Freeloader”
Comments