A recent California Court of Appeal decision discusses what happens to the balance left in a jointly held bank account after one co-owner passes away.  (Estate of O'Connor (2017) 16 Cal.App.5th 159.)

When an elderly person with a joint bank account dies, do the funds belong to the decedent’s estate or do they belong to the additional signer as a co-owner of the account?  Under Califo...

Churning: (1) Where an insurance broker or agent encourages clients to trade existing policies or purchase new ones with the selfish purpose and intent of earning large sales commissions and under the guise of acting in the best interests of the client; (2) excessive or inappropriate trading for a client's account by an insurance broker or agent who has control over the account with...

The California Court of Appeal recently ruled, in Hilliard v. Harbour (2017, Case No. A146330), that an elderly person whose companies had borrowed money from Wells Fargo Bank and whose companies had allegedly been defrauded and otherwise wronged by the bank did not himself have standing to sue for financial elder abuse.

Stated otherwise, where the "victim" of the wrongdoing is an en...

California law prohibits any person from taking the property of an elderly or causing an elderly person to part with her money or assets through the use of "undue influence." 

What exactly is undue influence and how does California law define it? 

Civil Code Section 1575 defines the term undue influence in several ways, any one of which can work alone or in combination with other defi...

Be on the lookout for these five common scams that con artists direct against the elderly:

No. 1: "Virtual Kidnapping." This is an extortion play often directed against senior citizens and depends in part on the natural decline in hearing ability of the elderly. Here's how it works. An elderly person receives an unexpected phone call from an unknown number and is told that their gran...

Welcome back for the last of this three part blog series on best practices to avoid becoming victimized by elder financial abuse. Let's get started where we left off last time.

No. 7: Never pay anyone up front in furtherance of collecting on a sweepstakes or lottery "winning." Sometimes scam artists will call seniors and tell them that they have won and all they need to do is wire ov...

Welcome back for Part 2 of the blog series: Top 10 Ways to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Elder Financial Exploitation. Without further adieu, let's jump right back in where we left off.

No. 4: Never allow anyone, including family members, caregivers or strangers, to rush you into any transaction. Insist that the person provide you with all relevant details in writing and for the opportu...

The unfortunate reality is that there are many people out there that would love nothing more than to rip you or your elderly loved ones off. The good news is that there are simple, practical ways to defend against financial exploitation.

This blog entry is the first in a series designed to provide you with practical advice on this important topic. The first blog post will cover the...

"The Elder Abuse Act ... authorizes an action to be brought not only by the elder, but also by the elder's 'personal representative' when the elder is alive but 'lacks capacity under section 812 of the Probate Code, or is of unsound mind, but not entirely without understanding, pursuant to [section 38] of the Civil Code . . . .' Under those circumstances the elder's personal represe...

California Code of Civil Procedure section 36(a) provides that where a person over the age of 70, has a substantial interest in the outcome of a pending lawsuit and suffers from a health condition that may prejudice his/her interest in the action, he or she may petition the court for a trial preference. The motion must be supported by an affidavit, which affidavit may be prepared an...