My Mom has been scammed, maxed out her credit cards, sent money to other states etc. Any advice?

Get an estate planner and/or eldercare attorney to look at this mess. You implied that her doctor did not find this as evidence of mild cogntive impairment or dementia, but I'd have to suspect strongly that's the case. Maybe she won't really resist your taking over the finances if she can partially understand what has happened. There are some debt consolidation and credit counseling services that are not scams, but be very careful! I once got a contract canceled for someone who had bad judgement and a math learning disability, but getting money back is not as likely. You can try takling to the attorney general and Better Business Bureau to at least report what has happened.

All good advice above. Get rid of the cards, take control of any funds that are left and if she's still in her home do something about the phone. If you have an I phone there are ways to screen her calls through your phone. You can also use call blocking devices. Check out hqtelecom on line. I'm going to try one of their blockers on my parents phone before my dad gives all his many to scam charities.

My husband and I discussed this because he got suckered into spending $$$ on the internet for computer services thinking he needed them. Not only did he give out his credit card number but he also gave them access to his computer. I have POA and have now removed him from everything at our bank, closed his credit card and he now carries a pre-paid card that I got at the bank. I keep it full of $200. That way he can feel good about have some control of how he spends some money and our exposure is limited to the $200.00 Good luck!

What is her source of income? If she only has income from SS, VA, or a federal pension she may be collection proof. Please post about her income. These ordinary creditors may not be able to collect from her and you might be able to brush them off with a letter. DO NOT take over responsibility for paying her bills with your money.

You can call her credit card companies and ask them if there is any recourse. Then gather all her credit cards, cut up all but one, and on that one credit card have a max limit of $300 [or whatever].

For the other bills, call those vendors and ask if you can pay a little each month until your Mom is caught up with the amount.

Since your profile says your Mom had age related decline, she should still be able to understand that she threw her money away on the scam and now she can't pay her utilities or misc bills.

If one of the utilities is her cellphone or her cable, take it away from her. Again stress the fact that she doesn't have the money to pay for it. She'll get the phone/cable back once she has saved up enough money to pay the bill. Sometimes one has to use tough love in situations like this.