WASHINGTON (10/21/15)--The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has followed up its release of two state-specific guides for financial caretakers with tools meant to adapt the guides in other states.
In August the bureau released guides tailored to Virginia and Florida state laws. CFPB plans further releases for Arizona, Georgia, Illinois and Oregon.
The tips and templates made available this week are meant for key state professionals to develop guides for states that don’t have them.
“Our tips and templates will make it easy for experts to create state guides with specific information that financial caregivers need to know,” wrote Naomi Karp, a senior policy adviser with the CFPB’s Office of Older Americans, in a blog post. “The tips tool explains how to adapt the guides in 10 easy steps. The templates highlight the parts of our guides where experts can add information about your state’s laws, practices and resources.”
In 2013, the CFPB offered Managing Someone Else’s Money guides, designed for financial caregivers around the country. The guides cover agents under a power of attorney; court-appointed guardians of property and conservators; trustees and government-benefit fiduciaries.
The guides are designed to walk caregivers through their duties; alert caregivers to financial exploitation and scams; and tell them where help can be found.
The August releases, as well as future ones, are meant to account for the fact that powers and duties of those overseeing another person’s finances vary from state to state.