California Financial Elder Abuse Attorneys
California law treats financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult as a distinct civil wrong. Under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, anyone who takes, secretes, or retains the property of a person 65 or older by wrongful use, by fraud, or through undue influence is liable for the loss. The statute authorizes compensatory damages and mandatory attorney’s fees to the prevailing plaintiff. On clear and convincing evidence of recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice, the plaintiff can also recover punitive damages and, where the elder has died, pre-death pain and suffering that would otherwise be barred.
We represent elders and their families in civil actions against stockbrokers, investment advisers, insurance agents, and other licensed professionals who use a position of trust to take a senior’s money. Most of our financial elder abuse cases involve licensed financial professionals who recommended investments or products the client never should have been sold: variable annuities swapped into qualified retirement accounts, non-traded REITs sold to retirees living on fixed income, private placements, boiler-room pitches, and accounts churned for commissions after the broker knew the client had cognitive decline.
What Financial Elder Abuse Looks Like in California
The statutory definition in Welfare and Institutions Code § 15610.30 is broad. It reaches outright theft (forged signatures on trade tickets, unauthorized trades, new-account paperwork the elder never completed) along with less obvious conduct: a financial adviser who parks an 82-year-old’s IRA in a 20-year surrender-charge annuity so the broker can collect an 8% commission, or an insurance agent who talks a retiree into replacing a paid-up life policy through a 1035 exchange that strips most of the cash value. Either of those, on the right facts, is actionable.
The statute also covers undue influence, which the Legislature defined in 2014 as excessive persuasion that overcomes the victim’s free will and produces an inequitable result. Courts weigh four factors: the victim’s vulnerability, the influencer’s apparent authority, the tactics used (isolation, secrecy, haste), and the fairness of the outcome. Cognitive decline, recent widowhood, long-standing reliance on a single adviser, and isolation from family are the fact patterns we see most often.
How We Pursue These Claims
We investigate the money. That means trading records, account statements, new-account forms, the broker’s CRD, and the compensation structure behind every recommendation: commission grids, wholesaler incentives, and the product’s own prospectus and sales literature. In insurance cases, we pull the illustrations, replacement forms, and the agent’s commission schedule. The question we are answering: who sold what, what did the seller know about the client’s financial situation, risk tolerance, and cognitive state, and how much did they make on the transaction.
Financial elder abuse claims can be filed in California Superior Court. Claims against FINRA-registered broker-dealers and investment advisers are typically arbitrated in FINRA forum, where the same EADACPA causes of action, including the fee-shifting provision, can be asserted. We handle both.
FAQs
How do you prove financial elder abuse in California?
You establish three things: the victim was 65 or older (or a dependent adult under Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.23), the defendant took or retained the victim’s property, and the taking was for wrongful use, with intent to defraud, or by undue influence. The civil standard is preponderance of the evidence. For punitive damages and decedent pain-and-suffering damages, the plaintiff must also prove recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice by clear and convincing evidence.
What are examples of elder financial abuse in California?
The most common fact patterns we see: brokers recommending unsuitable investments (variable annuities, non-traded REITs, structured products, options, private placements), unauthorized or excessive trading in senior accounts, Ponzi schemes and boiler-room solicitations, insurance agents replacing suitable policies with commission-generating ones, trustees self-dealing, caregivers or family members draining accounts, and misuse of a power of attorney. Forgery, identity theft, and unauthorized credit-card use fall within the statute as well.
What can I recover in a financial elder abuse case?
Compensatory damages: the money the defendant took, plus related losses. Attorney’s fees and costs are mandatory for a prevailing plaintiff under Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.5, which is what makes these cases economically viable even where the loss is modest. On proof of recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice, punitive damages are available, and if the elder has died, pre-death pain and suffering can be recovered without the usual statutory limit.
Who can sue for elder abuse in California?
The elder can sue directly. If the elder lacks capacity, a conservator, a holder of the elder’s durable power of attorney, or another proper representative can bring the action. After the elder’s death, the personal representative of the estate, successor-in-interest under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.32, or in some cases an heir can pursue the claim.
Talk to a California Financial Elder Abuse Lawyer
If an elderly parent, spouse, or client has lost money to a broker, adviser, insurance agent, or any other licensed professional who exploited a position of trust, contact Rosenberger + Kawabata. Call (310) 894-6921 or submit an inquiry through our contact form.