Starting September 8th, New Hampshire is enacting a bill that lets advisers and broker-dealers halt account disbursements when they think it’s an act of “financial exploitation,” according to Financial Planning.
The origins of the bill is the North American Securities Administrators Association’s Model Act to Protect Vulnerable Adults, a model act to prevent financial exploitation. An iteration of the model act has found its way into 23 states’ legislations. Financial elder abuse is a serious problem in the US. A 2016 New York State study reports elders lose between $352M-1.5B a year because of financial exploitation. Over one third of the time, the abuser lives with the elder.
One thing to keep in mind is that the act is a model act, so each state can provide its own spin on how to tackle the elder abuse problem.
The model act is another move in the US states’ ongoing battle toward higher fiduciary standards, or obligating financial services professionals to work in the best interests of their clients.
Read the full story on Financial Planning.
