You might hear a lot about financial elder abuse. But how, exactly, is it defined under existing California law? The laws financial elder abuse, as well as other types of elder abuse is located within California’s Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.07 and § 15610.30. You will find that under the law, “financial elder abuse” involves many different forms. For convenience, we have provided below the relevant financial elder abuse statutes:
Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.07: Abuse of an Elder or a Dependent Adult
“Abuse of an elder or a dependent adult” means either of the following:
- Physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, abduction, or other treatment with resulting harm or pain or mental suffering.
- The deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering
Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.30: Financial abuse
- “Financial abuse” of an elder or dependent adult occurs when a person or entity does any of the following:
- Takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both.
- Assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both.
- Takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains, or assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining, real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult by undue influence, as defined in section 15610.70.
- A person or entity shall be deemed to have taken, secreted, appropriated, obtained, or retained property for a wrongful use if, among other things, the person or entity takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains the property and the person or entity knew or should have known that this conduct is likely to be harmful to the elder or dependent adult.
- For purposes of this section, a person or entity takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property when an elder or dependent adult is deprived of any property right, including by means of an agreement, donative transfer, or testamentary bequest, regardless of whether the property is held directly or by a representative of an elder or dependent adult.
- For purposes of this section, “representative” means a person or entity that is either of the following:
- A conservator, trustee, or other representative of the estate of an elder or dependent adult.
- An attorney-in-fact of an elder or dependent adult who acts within the authority of the power of attorney.
The Evans Law Firm, Inc. handles all types of financial elder abuse. Call or email us for a free and confidential consultation at 888-503-8267 (toll free) or via email at info@evanslaw.com if you or someone you know has been a victim.
