ANKENY, Iowa — An Ankeny woman is facing charges after police say she wrote checks to herself from the account of her ex-husband, who doctors had deemed unable to make decisions on financial matters or maintain his own basic needs.

Karen Jordan, 62, is charged with two counts of dependant adult abuse-exploitation for allegedly writing two $1,000 checks from her ex-husband’s account and cashing them, according to court records. One of the checks was written in June and the other in July.

Jordan’s ex-husband was found wandering around downtown Des Moines in April and has been in the VA hospital since. The criminal complaints filed against Jordan claim the victim was “deemed unable to make or understand decisions required to maintain his basic human needs.” He was also unable to sign his name or make financial decisions while hospitalized.

Police said Jordan admitted to writing and cashing the checks but told investigators she and her ex-husband had an understanding that they could do what needed to be done if something happened to one of them.

Jordan waived her preliminary hearing and has been granted pretrial release. She’ll be in court on November 10 for an arraignment hearing.