Is it legal for an employee of an Independent Living Facility to keep a woman's check book and take care of her finances?

I think all of us on this post need a little more background information about the situation before we can reply; starting with how did this employee get a hold of the check book in the first place and why does she have it.

The simple answer is No it is not illegal IF she asked them to do it for her. But would need more info to provide a better opinion.

There are no laws in any state, as far as I know, that prohibit this kind of activity (assuming, of course, that the resident gave permission for the caregiver to perofrm this services). Many retirement communities, however, have employment policies that prohibit this sort of activity because of the obvious potential for abuse -- or the appearance of abuse.

A much better alternative is to hire a Daily Money Manager, who is a professional that specializes in exactly this sort of thing. You can find a DMM in your area through the American Association of Daily Money Managers (www.aadmm.com).