Recovering Assets After Elder Financial Abuse in CA

How do you recover assets from financial elder abuse in California?

You can sue under California's Elder Abuse Act to recover the stolen assets plus mandatory attorney's fees, and a Probate Code section 850 petition can return the property with double damages when the taking was in bad faith.

By Lisa Tan, Senior Partner, Trust Law Partners, LLP

The hardest part is often who did it. Financial elder abuse in California is frequently committed by the people closest to an aging parent, a sibling who took over the finances, a caregiver who became indispensable, or an agent under a power of elder financial abuse attorney who quietly moved money.

When a sibling is stealing from an elderly parent, families tend to freeze, unsure whether raising it will tear everyone apart.

You can act without waiting for certainty, and California law is built to help you get the money back. Recovering assets from elder financial abuse runs through specific civil remedies and a court process designed to return property and hold the person who took it responsible.

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How the Money Comes Back

California's Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act lets victims of financial elder abuse recover stolen assets, and it requires the court to award attorney's fees and costs under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5.
Financial elder abuse is defined broadly under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.30, and it includes taking property through undue influence, as defined in section 15610.70.
A Probate Code section 850 petition can recover property that ended up in the wrong hands, and section 859 allows twice its value, plus possible attorney's fees, when the taking was in bad faith or by elder financial abuse.
Courts can freeze assets while a case is pending and impose a constructive trust so specific property is held for the elder or their estate.
Financial elder abuse claims in California generally must be filed within four years of discovery under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.7.

What Counts as Financial Elder Abuse in California?

Financial elder abuse in California is the wrongful taking, hiding, or keeping of an elder's money or property, including when it is done through undue influence. The law defines it broadly on purpose, so it reaches quiet, gradual exploitation as well as outright theft. Knowing what qualifies is the first step toward knowing whether you can recover.

The Legal Definition

California treats a wide range of conduct as financial elder abuse. Under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.30, a person commits financial abuse when they take, hide, appropriate, obtain, or keep an elder's property for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or when they assist someone else in doing so.

It also covers taking property through undue influence. A person acts wrongfully when they knew or should have known their conduct was likely to harm the elder, so a court does not need a signed confession to find abuse.

Common Sibling, Caregiver, and Agent Fact Patterns

The same abuse tends to show up in a few familiar shapes. A sibling who moves in to help Mom slowly drains her accounts or retitles the house into their own name. A caregiver becomes the gatekeeper and steers gifts, checks, or a new will toward themselves.

Sometimes an agent under a power of attorney treats the elder's money as their own, well beyond what the document allows. Each of these can be financial elder abuse, and a family member holding a title like agent or trustee is not placed above the law by it.

The Role of Undue Influence

Undue influence is the pressure that turns an elder's own signature into someone else's theft. California defines it in Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.70 as excessive persuasion that overcomes a person's free will and produces an unfair result.

Courts weigh the elder's vulnerability, the influencer's position of trust, the tactics used such as isolation or secrecy, and how lopsided the outcome was. Proving undue influence is how families undo transfers that looked voluntary on paper but were anything but.

If conduct fits this definition, the question shifts from whether something wrong happened to how the assets come back.

How Do You Recover Assets Taken From an Elder?

Deed of Trust document on desk with glasses, pen, and envelope.

California gives families several ways to recover, and the strongest cases often use more than one. You can bring a civil claim under the Elder Abuse Act, petition to recover specific property, ask the court to protect what remains, and pursue the wrongdoer's own assets. The remedies below are built to make the elder whole and to make abuse expensive for the person who committed it.

Sue Under the Elder Abuse Act

The Elder Abuse Act is the centerpiece of most recovery cases. When financial abuse is proven by a preponderance of the evidence, Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5 requires the court to award the victim reasonable attorney's fees and costs on top of compensatory damages.

If clear and convincing evidence shows the abuse involved recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice, further damages become available. That fee-shifting matters, because pursuing recovery does not have to be swallowed up by the cost of the case.

Recover Property With an 850 Petition and Double Damages

When a specific asset has been taken, a targeted petition can order it back with a penalty attached. A Probate Code section 850 petition asks the court to return property that belongs to the elder or their estate but sits in someone else's hands.

Under section 859, a person who took that property in bad faith, by undue influence, or through elder financial abuse can be held liable for twice its value, and the court may award attorney's fees as well. For a house transferred by a manipulated deed or accounts drained by a caregiver, that double exposure is a strong lever.

Freeze Assets and Impose a Constructive Trust

Recovery only helps if the money is still there to collect, so preserving assets early is often decisive. Courts can issue orders that freeze accounts or block the sale of property while a case moves forward, and a lis pendens can cloud title to real estate that was wrongly transferred.

A court can also impose a constructive trust, treating the wrongdoer as holding the property for its rightful owner, so specific assets are earmarked to return to the elder or their estate rather than vanishing mid-case.

Recover From a Sibling, Caregiver, or Agent Personally

The person who committed the abuse can be made to pay from their own pocket. Damages, the double damages under section 859, and attorney's fees attach to the wrongdoer personally, not to the elder's remaining assets. If a sibling already spent the money, the claim can reach other assets they own, and tracing can follow the funds into whatever they were converted into.

Holding the individual responsible is often what actually restores a family's finances.

These tools work best in combination, and which mix fits depends on what was taken and where it went.

Probate Court or Civil Court: Which Path Fits Your Case?

Financial elder abuse cases can proceed in probate court or in civil court, and the right forum depends on the facts. Both can award damages and order recovery, but each suits different situations. Knowing where a case belongs helps set the strategy from the start.

When the Case Belongs in Probate Court

Probate court is the natural home when the abuse is tangled up with a trust, an estate, or a conservatorship. If the disputed assets flow through a trust, or the elder has died and the fight is over the estate, the probate department can hear an 850 petition to recover property, address a trustee's conduct, and decide who the assets belong to. Probate judges handle these fiduciary questions routinely.

When the Case Belongs in Civil Court

A civil action often fits when the claim is a direct financial elder abuse case against an individual, such as a caregiver or an agent under a power of attorney, without a trust at its center. A civil suit under the Elder Abuse Act can pursue compensatory damages, the mandatory attorney's fees, and, where the facts support it, additional damages for reckless or malicious conduct.

How the Two Paths Can Overlap

Many cases do not fall neatly into one lane. An elder can have both a drained bank account and a manipulated trust amendment, which may call for coordinated action in both forums or a deliberate choice about where to concentrate. An attorney who handles both probate and civil elder abuse litigation can line the claims up rather than letting them work against each other.

Choosing the forum is a legal judgment worth making on purpose rather than by default.

What You Can Do Now to Protect an Elder's Assets

If you suspect financial elder abuse, a few early moves can protect both the elder and any future case. The aim is to preserve evidence and stop further losses while you get advice. Consider the following steps.

Secure copies of financial records, deeds, account statements, and any recent estate planning documents, since these show what changed and when.
Alert the bank or financial institution to the suspected abuse, and ask about holds or fraud protections on the accounts.
Write down the elder's condition, living situation, and who has access to them, because isolation and dependency are central to an undue influence claim.
Note when you first noticed something wrong, as that date can affect your filing deadline.

Where an elder faces ongoing danger of financial harm, an elder abuse protective order under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.03 is another tool a court can use to restrain an abuser.

Mind the Four-Year Deadline

Waiting too long can bar even a strong claim. Financial elder abuse actions in California generally must be filed within four years, running from when the plaintiff discovered or reasonably should have discovered the abuse, under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.7. That clock can be affected by an elder's incapacity or by a wrongdoer's concealment, which is why confirming your own deadline early matters. Records also get harder to obtain as time passes.

Acting promptly protects the assets and keeps your legal options open.

Financial Elder Abuse in California: Questions Answered by Our Probate Litigation Attorneys

A few questions come up often once a family decides to act.

Can we still recover if the elder has already passed away?

Yes. When an elder dies, a claim for financial abuse does not die with them, and it can be pursued by the successor in interest or the estate's representative. California law also allows certain damages to survive death in financial abuse cases involving egregious conduct. Recovering assets after a death is common, and it often runs through probate court alongside administration of the estate.

My sibling had power of attorney, so is it still abuse?

It can be. A power of attorney authorizes an agent to act for the elder's benefit, not to enrich themselves. When a sibling uses that authority to move money into their own accounts, make gifts to themselves, or change ownership of property without proper authority, that can be financial elder abuse despite the document. The power of attorney is frequently the very instrument the abuse was carried out with.

Can the elder bring a case if they have dementia?

Yes, through a representative. An elder who cannot manage litigation can still pursue a claim, with a guardian ad litem, a conservator, or an authorized agent acting on their behalf. Diminished capacity is also directly relevant to proving undue influence, since vulnerability is one of the factors courts weigh. A lack of capacity is a reason the law steps in, not a barrier to recovery.

How much does it cost to sue for financial elder abuse?

Cost is less of a barrier here than in many cases, because the Elder Abuse Act shifts attorney's fees and costs onto a defendant found liable for financial abuse. Many of these matters can also be handled without paying by the hour. During a consultation, we explain the fee arrangement plainly, so you know what to expect before deciding to move forward.

Bringing What Was Taken Back Home

Confronting a sibling or a trusted caregiver is one of the hardest things a family can face, and doing nothing often feels easier in the moment. Yet protecting a parent's savings and standing up for someone who cannot fight for themselves are the same act.

Trust Law Partners represents families and elders across California in financial abuse cases, working to recover assets, undo transfers obtained by undue influence, and hold the responsible person accountable. We handle many of these matters on a contingency fee basis, an arrangement very few probate litigation firms offer, so you can pursue recovery without paying by the hour.

Call (833) 878-7852 for a free consultation.