Just when you think there is insurance for everything, Commemorative Life Insurance has come out with, "AfterThoughts Birthday Insurance" which will provide birthday cards and cash to your lovely little grandchildren even after you have left this world. The program is a whole life insurance policy with premiums ranging from $141 to $725 depending on age and tobacco use. While the thought of providing a birthday greeting for the rest of your grandkid's life may be appealing, providing them a gift directly is likely to make more financial sense.

Imagine for a minute that you are a 60-year-old non-smoking female and you want to make sure your grandchild receives a $100 check and a birthday card for the rest of his life beginning when you die. If you live another 20 years and pay in $141.26 each year you will have paid AfterThoughts just shy of $3,000. At a payout rate of $100 per year for his life your grandson the investment wouldn't pay out any profit until his 49th birthday, assuming you bought the insurance the day he was born.

A piece in today's New York Times looks at Robert J. Pyle, a 73-year old retired aerospace engineer who lost everything giving gifts to people he thought were his friends and then sold his house at a steep discount to its value to the first person who made an offer when he needed money.

Now he's suing, charging that because he is old, he should not have to bear full responsibility for his mistakes. What makes the lawsuit and others like it unique is that Pyle is not accusing those who have his money of fraud per se -- he just says they took advantage of an old man.

What the courts will do with his lawsuits remains to be seen -- But the bottom line is that, for better or for worse, elders can't rely on the government to protect them from opportunists.

If you have elderly parents or friends, offer to help them sort through their financial affairs. Many if not most will be resistant, not wanting to be patronized, but at least they'll know they have someone to turn to if they find themselves in a pickle.

Here are a few sites that have some tips for preventing elder fraud against loved ones: Fraud.org's elder fraud site, the Department of Justice's publications on elder fraud, and perhaps Barry Minkow's DVD Protecting yourself from elder abuse.