What counts as financial elder abuse in California?

Financial elder abuse under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.30 is taking, hiding, appropriating, or retaining the property of anyone 65 or older for a wrongful use, with intent to defraud, or by undue influence, by anyone, including family and caregivers. Remedies include compensatory damages and mandatory attorney fees, with claims running four years from discovery.

Taking, hiding, appropriating, or retaining the property of anyone 65 or older for a wrongful use, with intent to defraud, or by undue influence, by anyone, including family members, caregivers, and "helpful" new friends. Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.30 defines the claim broadly, and assisting in the taking creates liability too. Undue influence is defined by statute (Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.70) through factors like the victim's vulnerability, the influencer's apparent authority, and tactics such as isolation and control of necessities. Civil remedies are unusually strong: compensatory damages plus, on clear and convincing proof of recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice, mandatory attorney fees and costs (section 15657.5), and wrongdoers can be disinherited as statutory abusers under Probate Code section 259. Claims run four years from discovery (section 15657.7). Criminal prosecution proceeds separately under Penal Code section 368. Banks and many professionals are mandated reporters of suspected financial abuse (section 15630.1).

Authority: Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30