SYDNEY, NSW - Specialty risk advice firm Sapience Financial has submitted a formal policy response to the Attorney-General's Department addressing systemic financial elder abuse, covert domestic coercion, and structural risks within estate planning frameworks.

The submission, titled The Predator on the Couch, details how vulnerable older Australians face financial extraction and identity lockdown within immediate family households - often perpetrated under the guise of informal caregiving or filial duty.

'Financial elder abuse inside the family home is one of the most covert and devastating risks facing older Australians today. When an adult child or co-habitating relative uses informal caregiving as a cover for financial extraction and identity lockdown, it is not a private family squabble: it is deliberate economic exploitation.'

- Drew Browne, CEO & Senior Financial Adviser, Sapience Financial

Sapience Financial's submission outlines three critical policy recommendations to close estate planning loopholes and establish systemic protections:

• Power of Attorney Overhaul: Mandatory independent legal verification for enduring powers of attorney where financial management is transferred to a co-habitating relative.
• Financial Red Flag Screening: Mandating financial institutions to screen for joint-account salary or pension diversions where an elderly account holder displays signs of administrative lockdown.
• Succession Act Protections: Amending family provision frameworks to prevent perpetrators of verified financial elder abuse from lodging civil claims against victim estates.

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