Source: https://battelaw.com/resources
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 14:52:10+00:00

Document:
More than 450,000 persons over 60 are victims of elder abuse in the U.S. each year.
Most common kinds of elder abuse: 1) Neglect, 2) Emotional/psychological abuse, 3) Financial/material exploitation, 4) Physical abuse, 5) Abandonment, 6) Sexual abuse.
One out of 20 elders experiences elder abuse, but only one in four reports it.
The most likely victim of elder abuse is a woman between 60 and 70 years of age who is being mistreated by her child or spouse. Family members constitute 65% of the offenders.
Friends and neighbors are the most frequent reporters of elder abuse.
Elders fail to report their abuse for many reasons: fear, embarrassment, loyalty, ignorance of their options.
California works to prevent and punish elder abuse. Adult Protective Services (APS) provides counseling, education, nutrition services, and home health care.
California is the only state to have an Elder Abuse Act, which protects residents of California over 65 from abuse.
In California, elder abuse is a crime. California punishes abusers with up to four years in prison and fines of $1000.
Another California statute prevents an elder abuser from inheriting from the victim by considering him or her to have predeceased the elder.
The Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST), made up of police, prosecutors, paramedics, and social workers, follows up on reports they receive and prosecutes abusers of the elderly.
Adult Protective Services. Call for help or for mandated reporting. (408) 928-3860 or 1-800-414-2002.
Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST). Call APS at (408) 928-3860 or 1-800-414-2002.
Senior Adults Legal Assistance. 160 E. Virginia St. Suite 260, San Jose, CA 95112. (408) 295-5991. South Count: (408) 847-7252.
California’s overarching statute is the California Welfare & Institutions Code § 15670 (a)-(d), known as the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (EADACP), which declares it the state’s responsibility to protect the elderly and disabled because they are a disadvantaged class.Adding strength to enforcement of the EADACP, Cal. Welf. & Ins. Code § 15610.30 (b)(1) imposes a system of mandated reporters who must report the known or suspected instance of abuse by telephone immediately. In Santa Clara County, the number is 1-800-414-2002.Since predators assume they can keep whatever property they take from an elder, California enacted a statute that forms a resulting trust when “(o)ne who wrongfully detains a thing (is) an involuntary trustee thereof, for the benefit of the owner.”Similarly, a constructive trust, rather than ownership, results when the elder’s property is appropriated wrongfully. Cal. Civ. Code § 2224 requires the wrongful taker of an elder’s property to give it back; it still belongs to the elder.Undue influence, in relation to § 2224, is explicitly defined in Cal. Civ. Code § 1575 as “use by one in whom a confidence is reposed by another, or who holds a real or apparent authority over him, of such confidence or authority for the purpose of obtaining an unfair advantage over him . . .taking an unfair advantage of another’s weakness of mind; or . . .taking a grossly oppressive and unfair advantage of another’s necessities or distress.”Another law, designed to be a significant deterrent to predators hoping to gain the elder’s estate, is Cal. Probate Code § 259. It effectively cuts off the elder abuser from inheriting by considering him or her to have predeceased the elder.One recent law is of great interest to attorneys. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657 encourages lawyers to take cases of elder abuse, because it provides costs and reasonable attorney’s fees to the successful plaintiff.Cal. Welf. & Ins. Code § 15657(b) offers further incentives to lawyers, because it guarantees that survivors or the estate of the elder who passes away can recover damages for pain and suffering with the words, “The limitations imposed by section 337.34 of the Code of Civil Procedure on the damages recoverable shall not apply.” Even if an elderly client should die before the trial is over, the case continues and recovery can be significant.Further, punitive damages are recoverable under Cal. Civ. Code § 3294.
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References: § 15670
 § 15610
 § 2224
 § 2224
 § 1575
 § 259
 § 15657
 § 15657
 § 3294