Financial Elder Abuse in California Inheritance Disputes
California financial elder abuse is taking, hiding, appropriating, obtaining, or keeping an elder's property for a wrongful use, with intent to defraud, or by undue influence. It reaches inheritance disputes directly, because depriving someone of a property right includes doing so by donative transfer or testamentary bequest.
What the statute actually covers
Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.30 defines financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult as taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, assisting another in doing so, or doing so by undue influence as defined in section 15610.70. Two features make it matter in inheritance disputes. First, the statute defines taking property broadly: it includes depriving a person of any property right, including by means of an agreement, donative transfer, or testamentary bequest, whether the property is held directly or through a representative such as a conservator, trustee, or attorney-in-fact acting within their authority. Second, the mental element is not limited to proven bad intent — property is taken for a wrongful use where the person knew or should have known that the conduct is likely to be harmful to the elder or dependent adult.
Sources: Welfare and Institutions Code s.15610.30 - Financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult · Welfare and Institutions Code s.15610.70 - Undue influence · Verified 2026-08-04.
Why it is often pleaded alongside a contest
A trust contest asks whether a document is valid. An elder abuse claim asks whether someone wrongfully took property from a vulnerable person. They frequently arise from the same facts — a late amendment, a transferred deed, an emptied account — but they are different claims, with different defendants, different remedies, and different timing.
| Trust or will contest | Financial elder abuse | |
|---|---|---|
| Question | Is the document valid? | Was property wrongfully taken? |
| Target | The instrument | The person who took it |
| Reaches lifetime transfers | Generally no | Yes — deeds, accounts, gifts made before death |
| Typical deadline | Often 120 days from notice | Longer, but fact-dependent |
That third row is the one people miss. If assets were moved while the person was alive, setting aside the trust may not recover them, because they were never in the trust to begin with. A contest alone can win the document and lose the money.
Who can be liable
The statute expressly contemplates representatives — conservators, trustees, and attorneys-in-fact acting within their authority. A trustee who takes for themselves is not only in breach of fiduciary duty and exposed to removal; they may also be squarely inside this statute.
Related: how California defines undue influence, recovering property that has already been transferred.
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How contingency fees work in California
A contingency fee means the attorney is paid from what is recovered rather than by the hour, so a beneficiary who cannot fund litigation out of pocket can still bring a claim. California regulates these agreements closely. Under Business and Professions Code section 6147, the agreement must be in writing and the attorney must give the client a duplicate copy, signed by both, when the contract is made. It must state the agreed contingency rate; how disbursements and costs incurred in prosecuting or settling the claim will affect that fee; and to what extent the client could be required to pay for related matters. Unless the matter falls under section 6146, the agreement must also state that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable. These are not formalities: failure to comply with any provision of section 6147 makes the agreement voidable at the client’s option, leaving the attorney entitled only to a reasonable fee.
Sources: Business and Professions Code s.6147 - Contingency fee contracts · Verified 2026-08-03.
Not every matter suits a contingency arrangement, and the firm does not take every case on one. Whether yours qualifies depends on the facts, the likely recovery, and the assets actually available to satisfy a judgment. Ask when you call.
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