MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - On May 21st, the Michigan legislature passed House Bill #4264. In summary the bill states that no person shall obtain or use a vulnerable adults money or property for personal gain. There are also strict penalties if the law is broken including a misdemeanor or a small fine, but it could result in a 50,000 dollar fine or 20 years in jail. As Ron Tatro vice president of elder law states sometimes elder abuse is an overlooked topic.

"For many years we have been a culture that has focused on our youth, and our seniors really become invisible," Tatro said. "This focus has begun to change as the baby boomers begin to age."

Elder abuse doesn't always involve money or a bank account. While this is one form of elder abuse, there are signals that could count to other even physical signs of elder abuse. First look for changes in the persons appearance. If their appearance has recently changed that might be a sign.

One may also notice that an individual may be missing special or important events that they may never have missed in the past.

"While there's many things people can look for, the loss of financial assets or physical bruising, or other signs of neglect," Tatro stated. "The first rule is just look at them and see if they have always looked the way they have and if they don't inquire why.

Michigan is one of the nations leaders in elder abuse prevention. There are 40 to 50 prevention groups throughout the state and in April a statewide program called "No excuse for Elder Abuse was Launched."