Trusted Contact
According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), up to five million older Americans are abused each year. One type of elder abuse is elder financial abuse, the misuse or withholding of an older adult’s resources by another person. First State Bank is implementing a process to assist with identifying elder abuse and providing next-level protection for its customers.
Customers may designate someone as a “Trusted Contact Person.” The trusted contact person is intended to be a resource for First State Bank in administering inquiries to an individual’s accounts and protecting their assets and responding to possible financial exploitation.
Examples of reasons that the trusted contact person may be contacted:
- To address concerns that the individual might be a victim of financial exploitation which could include fraud, coercion, or unauthorized transactions
- To address a temporary hold and/or delay on a disbursement of funds pertaining to possible financial exploitation or other concerns
- To confirm the individual’s current contact information
- To confirm and address the individual’s whereabouts and health status, and/or
- To confirm the identity of any legal guardian, executor, trustee, holder of a power of attorney, or another person who may be acting on the individual’s behalf (such as an attorney or accountant).
A Trusted Contact Person Authorization Form must be completed to give First State Bank and its associated persons permission to contact the stated trusted contact person. This form does not authorize in any way, the trusted contact or other individuals’ permission to conduct transactions in said accounts. Visit a First State Bank branch near you to complete a Trusted Contact Person Authorization Form.
