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Dad always balanced his checkbook to the penny, and he took few chances with his nest egg. Now he’s forgetting to pay bills and has lost thousands of dollars to fraudsters who’ve called with get-rich-quick schemes.
If that sounds like your parent or spouse, don’t ignore it. A decline in the ability to handle financial matters is one of the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Even if your loved one is showing only mild symptoms, seek a diagnosis.
If your worries are confirmed, your family member should move quickly to get his or her finances and estate plans in order.
“By the time you receive a diagnosis, almost all financial skills have been impaired,” says Daniel Marson, a professor of neurology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who’s conducted extensive research on the relationship between dementia and the decline in financial capabilities.
In one federally funded study, Marson compared 23 healthy seniors to 30 people who had early-stage Alzheimer’s. He found that the patients with mild symptoms scored significantly below the healthy seniors on such tasks as understanding a bank statement and verifying the correct change in a one-item purchase.
Patients with mild symptoms were also unable to explain the risks of mail and telephone solicitations. Even seniors in the early stages are prey for financial predators, says Marson, director of the university’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Continue to read: buffalonews.com & alzheimers-symptom
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