I came across the following US News article (see link below) – Ohio (my birth state) has a new elder abuse reporting law which expands the categories of people who are required to report elder abuse – as reported in the article:

Section 15630 identifies mandatory reporters of elder and dependent adult abuse (as defined at Section 15630(b)(1)) as follows:

(a) Any person who has assumed full or intermittent responsibility for the care or custody of an elder or dependent adult, whether or not he or she receives compensation, including administrators, supervisors, and any licensed staff of a public or private facility that provides care or services for elder or dependent adults, or any elder or dependent adult care custodian, health practitioner, clergy member, or employee of a county adult protective services agency or a local law enforcement agency, is a mandated reporter.

(b) (1) Any mandated reporter who, in his or her professional capacity, or within the scope of his or her employment, has observed or has knowledge of an incident that reasonably appears to be physical abuse, as defined in Section 15610.63, abandonment, abduction, isolation, financial abuse, or neglect, or is told by an elder or dependent adult that he or she has experienced behavior, including an act or omission, constituting physical abuse, as defined in Section 15610.63, abandonment, abduction, isolation, financial abuse, or neglect, or reasonably suspects that abuse, shall report the known or suspected instance of abuse by telephone or through a confidential Internet reporting tool, as authorized by Section 15658, immediately or as soon as practicably possible. If reported by telephone, a written report shall be sent, or an Internet report shall be made through the confidential Internet reporting tool established in Section 15658, within two working days.

California Welfare & Institutions Code Section 15630.1 identifies mandatory reporters of suspected elder and dependent adult financial abuse as follows:

(a) As used in this section, “mandated reporter of suspected financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult” means all officers and employees of financial institutions.

(b) As used in this section, the term “financial institution” means any of the following:

(1) A depository institution, as defined in Section 3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1813(c)).

(2) An institution-affiliated party, as defined in Section 3(u) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1813(u)).

(3) A federal credit union or state credit union, as defined in Section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1752), including, but not limited to, an institution-affiliated party of a credit union, as defined in Section 206(r) of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1786(r)).

It has long been written that elder abuse is an epidemic. And yet, it goes on year after year. In California we are past due for expanded and improved mandatory reporting and mandatory reporter requirements, requirements that financial and investment, and similar businesses be required to have an elder client provide the name and information of a trusted family member or friend that the institution must contact in situations where the institution reasonably believes that there is a possibility that abuse is occurring or that the client lacks mental capacity to understand the issues presented or to make decisions or to resist abuse including possible undue influence or persuasion.

I have written and given presentations about elder abuse prevention, remedial actions and remedies, mandatory reporting requirements, and other related topics for years, and I have handled many cases involving financial, trust/will, deed and other elder abuse cases including undue influence or persuasion, lack of mental capacity or related mental limitations, forgery, fraud, etc.

I have also written that it is simply impossible for and people should not expect governmental agencies (such as adult protective services, police, district attorneys, etc.) to handle the multitude of reported (and unreported) cases of abuse – it is simply impossible for the agencies to handle the numbers of cases, the agencies do not have the staff to litigate these cases during the year or more that each case can take, and the agencies should coordinate more with other people outside of the agency or government who can also provide help and representation (qualified private lawyers, CPAs, financial and investment advisors, banks, mental and physical health professionals, etc.) .

So . . . the abuse, and situations in which a person lacks sufficient mental capacity understand or evaluate the issues at hand or the ability to resist undue influence, go on and on without adequate resources or attention . . . and now Ohio with its mandatory reporting requirements also has passed and bested California.

Best to you, David Tate, Esq. (and inactive California CPA), Royse Law Firm, Menlo Park, California office, with offices in northern and southern California.  My blogs: trust, estate, elder abuse and conservatorship litigation http://californiaestatetrust.com, D&O, boards, audit committees, governance, etc. http://auditcommitteeupdate.com, workplace http://workplacelawreport.com

David Tate, Esq., Overview of My Practice Areas (Royse Law Firm, Menlo Park, California office, with offices in northern and southern California. http://rroyselaw.com)

• Civil Litigation: business, commercial, real estate, D&O, board and committee, founder, owner, investor, creditor, shareholder, M&A, and other disputes and litigation
• Probate Court Litigation: trust, estate, elder abuse, and conservatorship disputes and litigation
• Administration: trust and estate administration and contentious administrations representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries
• Workplace (including discrimination) litigation and consulting
• Board, director, committee and audit committee, and executive officer responsibilities and rights

Royse Law Firm – Overview of Firm Practice Areas – San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles Basin

• Corporate and Securities, Financing and Formation
• Corporate Governance, D&O, Boards and Committees, Audit Committees, Etc.
• Intellectual Property – Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets
• International
• Immigration
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Labor and Employment
• Litigation (I broke out the litigation as this is my primary area of practice)
•             Business & Commercial
•             IP – Patent, Trademark, Copyright, Trade Secret, NDA
•             Accountings, Fraud, Lost Income/Royalties, Etc.
•             Internet Privacy, Hacking, Speech, Etc.
•             Labor and Employment
•             Mergers & Acquisitions
•             Real Estate
•             Owner, Founder, Investor, D&O, Board/Committee, Shareholder
•             Lender/Debtor
•             Investigations
•             Trust, Estate, Conservatorship, Elder Abuse, and Administrations
• Real Estate
• Tax (US and International) and Tax Litigation
• Technology Companies and Transactions, Including AgTech and HealthTech, Etc.
• Wealth and Estate Planning, Trust and Estate Administration, and Disputes and Litigation

Disclaimer. This post is not a solicitation for legal or other services inside or outside of California, and also does not provide legal or other professional advice to you or to anyone else, or about a specific situation – remember that laws are always changing – and also remember and be aware that you need to consult with an appropriate lawyer or other professional about your situation. This post also is not intended to and does not apply to any particular situation or person, nor does it provide and is not intended to provide any opinion or any other comments that in any manner state, suggest or imply that anyone or any entity has done anything unlawful, wrong or wrongful – instead, each situation must be fully evaluated with all of the evidence, whereas this post only includes summary comments about information that may or may not be accurate and that most likely will change over time.