Tag Archives: estate

What is Elder and Dependent Adult Self Abuse or Neglect?

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This is a significant category of elder and dependent adult abuse or neglect that generally isn’t discussed or defined. When thinking about elder and dependent adult abuse most of us tend to first think about abuse committed by persons other than the victim, and those perpetrators are typically classified either as outside third party or family perpetrators. Statistically, I have read that approximately 1/3 of the perpetrators are outside third party perpetrators, and about 2/3 of the perpetrators are family members.

But what about self abuse or self neglect. The following is a definition of self neglect from the National Center on Elder Abuse – and then below that definition I have added one area to that description:

“Tragically, sometimes elders neglect their own care, which can lead to illness or injury. Self-neglect can include behaviors such as:

  • Hoarding of objects, newspapers/magazines, mail/paperwork, etc., and/or animal hoarding to the extent that the safety of the individual (and/or other household or community members) is threatened or compromised.
  • Failure to provide adequate food and nutrition for oneself.
  • Failure to take essential medications or refusal to seek medical treatment for serious illness
  • Leaving a burning stove unattended
  • Poor hygiene
  • Not wearing suitable clothing for the weather
  • Confusion
  • Inability to attend to housekeeping
  • Dehydration

Self-neglect is one of the most frequently reported concerns brought to adult protective services. Oftentimes, the problem is paired with declining health, isolation, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, or drug and alcohol dependency.

In some of these cases, elders will be connected to supports in the community that can allow them to continue living on their own. Some conditions like depression and malnutrition may be successfully treated through medical intervention. If the problems are severe enough, a guardian may be appointed.”

See also the discussion about self neglect by the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life at Click Here.

The area that I would add is financial elder and dependent adult self abuse or neglect – i.e., difficulty or the inability to make sound financial management decisions or choices, also including (1) lack of or difficulty with mental capacity and ability to understand the issues and choices at hand, (2) delay, procrastination or simply not making decisions that need to be made, and (3) also including an already recognized area of abuse by a third party which is the inability to resist the efforts or activities by a perpetrator of financial abuse.

I am seeing an already not insignificant, and an increasing number of materials and articles about elder and dependent adult situations that fit the financial elder and dependent adult self abuse or neglect definition.

These situations can raise a whole host of issues to address, such as how to protect the elder or dependent adult without violating his or her rights, in addition to satisfying personal third party duties and avoiding personal third party liability.  A scenario, for example, where you might see this type of situation in the financial category is when the elder or dependent adult goes to consult with his or her banker, investment advisor or financial advisor and the banker or advisor sees or gets a feeling that there are or might be actions or occurrences by the elder or dependent adult that evidence financial elder or dependent adult self abuse or neglect.

Please do pass information about self abuse, this blog and this blog post to other people who would be interested.

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco), Civil Litigation; Trust, Estate, Conservatorship and Elder Abuse Litigation; Trust, Estate and Conservatorship Administration; Representing Fiduciaries and Beneficiaries.

Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse and My PowerPoint Presentation Slides

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This blog post includes a video about elder and dependent adult abuse, and below the video you will find a link to my PowerPoint slides from a recent elder and dependent adult presentation for an attorney bar association section. Please pass this blog post to everyone who would be interested in these materials. Thank you. Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco and California).

Click on the following link for the PowerPoint slides from my elder and dependent adult abuse presentation, ELDER AND DEPENDENT ADULT ABUSE AND PROTECTION PRESENTATION SLIDES

Attended the Silent Trusts Presentation – San Mateo Co. Bar Estate Planning

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Yesterday I attended the monthly San Mateo County Estate Planning and Probate Section lunch presentation. This presentation was on silent trusts, presented by attorneys Paul Barulich and Matthew Matiasevich. An interesting discussion about the planning, although rather limited planning, that parents can do in California to keep an irrevocable trust private from the beneficiaries, i.e., so that the beneficiaries don’t even know the trust exists. When might trustors desire this type of privacy from beneficiaries? One scenario could be when parents want their children to strive and achieve at least into their twenties without the certain knowledge that they will be receiving substantial trust assets.  At least based on responses by attendees, not many estate planning attorneys are preparing silent trusts.

One noted tidbit of information: even if the trust is drafted as a silent trust, trustee/trust duties under California Probate Code sections 16060.7, 16061 and 16061.5 are not waivable. Thus, for example, in some situations the trustee must still provide the terms of the trust and report to the beneficiary by providing information relating to the administration of the trust relevant to the beneficiary’s interest, if the beneficiary requests the trustee to do so.  Accordingly, even if a prospective beneficiary does not know that a trust exists, i.e., because the trust is silent, a prospective beneficiary should always ask a suspected trustee to provide information about any trust in which the prospective beneficiary is a beneficiary. Upon that request the trustee must provide some information.

Enjoy.

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco / California) – Civil and Estate, Trust, Conservatorship and Elder Abuse Litigation – member of the Estate Planning and Probate Section Executive Committee.

My other blog, http://directorofficernews.com.

Funeral taxes: California takes its cut from the dead – taxing “memory” DVDs

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California Board of Equalization proposes to tax death or “memory DVDs” 8.25%, for the discussion click on the following link, Click Here. Enjoy. Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco/California) My other blog, director, officer, audit committee, board, risk, governance and compliance, http://directorofficernews.com.

Alzheimer’s Cause Might Be Tau Protein – But At Law The Issues Are Mental Capacity, Natural Wishes, Fraud and Undue Influence

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The following is an article about a new Mayo Clinic study, that the primary cause of Alzheimer’s might not be what has generally been thought:

“Amyloid – a sticky, toxic protein found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients — has been the focus of research and diagnosis for decades. But a new Mayo Clinic study published in the journal Brain shows that another toxic protein, called tau, may be a bigger culprit in cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s over the lifetime of the disease.”

Click on the following link for the article: Click Here.

Many of my cases involve cognitive impairment or decline, whether it be diagnosed or called Alzheimer’s, or dementia, or traumatic brain injury, or lack of mental capacity, or cognitive impairment, or otherwise.

In conservatorships the issue isn’t the diagnosis, but whether the prospective conservatee has the ability to take care of and understand financial and/or daily living tasks and to resist fraud and undue influence?

And in will and trust contests or disputes, the issue is whether the decedent understood his or her assets and the effect of the provisions in the will or trust, and whether the will or trust provisions are what the decedent would have naturally wanted if the decedent had the mental capacity to understand his or her actions and the will or trust provisions, and to resist fraud and undue influence?  One additional comment: there is case law that you might not need to wait until after someone dies to contest or seek to invalidate a will or trust – this is an area of law that is developing and that is a positive development.

Dave Tate (San Francisco and California), http://californiaestatetrust.com

Top 10 List of Trust and Estate Beneficiary Rights

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Click on the below video for my Top 10 List of Trust and Estate Beneficiary Rights.  I have also posted below the video the text of the discussion.  And feel free to forward this blog post to anyone who would be interested, including beneficiaries, and trustee and executor fiduciaries.  Thank you.  Dave Tate (San Francisco and California)

Text:

Hello, I’m Dave Tate. I’m a San Francisco, California civil, trust, estate, conservatorship and elder abuse litigation attorney.

After years of practice, the following is my top 10 list of trust and estate beneficiary rights in most situations.

And correspondingly, if you are a trustee or executor with fiduciary duties, satisfying these responsibilities will help put you on a good path. The following list is not in any particular order.

Here are the top 10 trust and estate beneficiary rights.

1st. To have the trustee or executor follow the terms of the trust or will.

2nd. To have the trustee or executor act and interact in the best interests of the beneficiaries.

3rd. For the trustee or executor not to self-deal.

4th. To have the assets go to the people who the Decedent would have intended if the trust or will isn’t clear or doesn’t reflect the Decedent’s true wishes.

5th. For the trustee or executor to prudently invest, spend and maximize the trust or estate assets.

6th. For the trustee or executor to take possession of and safeguard the assets.

7th. For the trustee or executor to timely and prudently manage and administer the trust or estate.

8th. For the trustee or executor to make timely distributions in accord with the terms of the trust or will.

9th. For the trustee or executor to reasonably provide timely information about the trust or estate, the assets and its management, as required. Note, as a beneficiary your requests must be reasonable and appropriate.

And 10th. For the trustee or executor to provide timely and proper accountings, as required.

If you are a trust or estate beneficiary you need to know your rights. Similarly, if you are a trustee or executor, you need to know and satisfy your duties and responsibilities to complete your tasks and avoid problems and possible liability. That’s it for now. Thanks for listening.

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco and California), http://californiaestatetrust.com

Upcoming Presentations – (1) Probate Court Litigation; (2) Elder Abuse and Protection

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Upcoming presentations:

(1) Probate Court litigation, for a group of estate planning attorneys, caregivers and fiduciaries, March 26, 2015.

(2) Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse and Protection, for the Riverside estate planning bar, April 16, 2015.

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco and California)

California Trustee – What Would Keep Me Up At Night – February 2015

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Please also forward this blog post to anyone else who would be interested. At the request of friends I have also posted below the video the text of the discussion.  Thank you.  Dave Tate

Text:

California Trustees – What Would Keep Me Up At Night – February 2015

Hello I’m Dave Tate. I’m a San Francisco litigation attorney and I also represent trustees in trust administrations. This discussion is for California trustees, and what would keep me up at night February 2015.

Trustee responsibilities are extensive and they arise from different sources including the wording of the trust itself, statutes and case law. Of course you have to cover all areas of your trustee responsibility, but here is my list of primary issues that would keep me up at night as a trustee. This list is not in any particular order.

First, do you understand what the trust says and requires?

Second, have you marshalled and safeguarded the assets that are in or that are supposed to be in the trust? Are they in the trust and under your control?

Third, do you really understand your legal responsibilities including the wording and requirements in the trust, what the probate code and case law require of you? As a trustee you are a fiduciary. You have one of the highest standards of care, responsibility, liability and unbiased fairness and good faith required by law.

Fourth, are the trust assets being invested, managed and recorded properly and prudently? You need to evaluate and manage the returns and the risks, in accord with the wording of the trust and your fiduciary duties. So, for example, the stock market goes up and down. If the market goes down, is your approach to the portfolio management designed to help you avoid liability for losses?

Next, do you have the proper fiduciary demeanor and decision making approach required of a trustee?

Sixth, is the trust cash flow prudently managed? You might, for example, through no fault of your own have a trust with declining asset values or liquidity issues.

Next, do you know what to do if you have beneficiaries who are disagreeing with your decisions, or who are threatening litigation?

Eighth do you know what information you must or possibly should provide to the beneficiaries?

Ninth, do you understand that you have personal liability exposure for the actions that you take or don’t take as the trustee? You are required to be prudent with risk management. Also consider possible fiduciary insurance coverage although in most situations it isn’t required.

And last on this list, when necessary do you consult with professionals to advise you on your fiduciary duties and trust administration management?

That’s it for now. You can find more information at http://californiaestatetrust.com Thanks for listening.

TRUST, ESTATE, CONSERVATORSHIP AND OTHER ORDERS CAN BE APPEALED

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Many types of trust, estate, conservatorship, power of attorney and advance health care directive orders and non-orders can be appealed.

Appeal should be evaluated and taken in appropriate cases, i.e., when appeal is warranted in light of the costs of appeal, the likelihood of success, and the issues or amounts at issue.

And in circumstances where appeal cannot be taken, it might still be possible to obtain appellate court review by writ.

For example, and to help you out, the following are some but not all of the situations where trust orders or non-orders can be appealed, and these also apply to many similar estate related orders:

● Authorizing or approving the sale, lease, encumbrance, purchase, or exchange of property.

● Settling an account of a fiduciary.

● Authorizing or approving the acts of a fiduciary.

● Directing or allowing payment of a debt, claim, or cost.

● Authorizing the payment of compensation or expenses of an attorney.

● Authorizing the payment of the compensation or expenses of a fiduciary.

● Surcharging, removing, or discharging a fiduciary.

● Allowing or denying a petition of the fiduciary to resign.

● Discharging a surety on the bond of a fiduciary.

● An adjudication under Section 850 relating to ownership of property or contract obligations.

● Many orders under Section 17200 relating to the existence and administration of the trust.

● An adjudication of the apportionment of generation skipping transfer tax under Section 20200.

Anyway, and more types of orders can be appealed, but this list will give you an idea of the many types of orders and non-orders that might be appealable in trust and estate proceedings.

Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco / California)

Donations to Hospital and Allegations of Coercion and Contested Will

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The following is a link to an interesting New York Times article dated May 29, 2013, Huguette Clark’s will and estate, and allegations that she was coerced by the hospital where she had been staying for the last 20 years of her lift to donate money and assets to the hospital and to leave the hospital $1 million in her will.  Click here for article.

My initial thoughts, based on the information provided by the article.  The article does refer to information provided in papers that have been filed with the court, and of course we don’t have those papers which presumably do contain significant information that will be admissible as evidence at the scheduled September trial.  Ms. Clark was extremely wealth.  Living in a hospital for the last 20 years of her life certainly is unusual.  However, the article doesn’t indicate that she lacked capacity to make that decision at least early in her 20-year stay.  Ms. Clark had the money to live anywhere that she wanted.  Ms. Clark was in bad shape when she first entered the hospital and they treated her back to health.  Apparently she felt safe and well-cared for in the hospital.

If Ms. Clark’s family members or friends were concerned about her mental capacity and decision making, or if they were concerned that the hospital was unduly influencing her, the article doesn’t indicate that Ms. Clark was ever conserved by her family members or that there was any attempt to conserve her during the 20 year hospital stay.

Ms. Clark did pay for the cost of her stay at the hospital.  The article doesn’t provide information about those costs.  The article indicates that Ms. Clark left $1 million to the hospital in her will, that she had donated to the hospital an additional $4 million during the 20 years, and that her estate was worth $300 million on her death.  The article also indicates or suggests that the hospital did try to get Ms. Clark to donate additional funds to the hospital.  The attorney for the parties who are contesting the will in part stated: “What this is about is not just a will contest, it’s about the accountability of professionals.”

My initial take away based on the information provided in the article (but of course additional information could indicate otherwise): inadequate evidence that Ms. Clark lacked mental capacity, or that she was coerced, and given the amount of her wealth it is arguable that she really wasn’t generous to the hospital but was instead generous to the people and entities who do inherit the majority of her wealth.  Given that Ms. Clark had lived at the hospital for 20 years, it would not have surprised me if she had left more to the hospital.