Understanding and Combating Elder Abuse with Senior Adults Legal Assistance (SALA)

Senior Adults Legal Assistance (SALA) is a non-profit agency dedicated to offering free legal services to older adults (60 years and older) residing in Santa Clara County. Their mission is to support elders in their efforts to live safely, independently, and with dignity and choice. Unlike many legal aid organizations, SALA does not use an income test for eligibility, recognizing that older adults are often presumptively in need.

While SALA is specific to Santa Clara County, similar services, often funded through the federal Older Americans Act, are available nationwide. These may be standalone non-profits like SALA or part of larger legal aid organizations.

SALA’s Key Service Areas

SALA, though a small organization with a dedicated team of attorneys, elder law advocates, support staff, and volunteers, covers a wide range of legal issues crucial to seniors:

Public Benefits: Assisting with issues related to Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicare, Medi-Cal, and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). This includes eligibility problems, overpayments, benefit cessation, and claims issues.
Planning for Incapacity: Helping seniors prepare Advance Healthcare Directives and Powers of Attorney, enabling them to appoint an agent for healthcare and financial decisions if they become unable to make them independently.
Elder Abuse Prevention and Intervention: A significant part of SALA’s work, focusing on various forms of abuse. (More on this below).
Housing Issues: Addressing tenants’ rights, fair housing, and seeking reasonable accommodations for seniors with disabilities to remain in their chosen housing. This can involve negotiating with landlords or addressing eviction concerns.

A Deep Dive into Elder Abuse Prevention

Elder abuse is a serious and unfortunately common issue. It can manifest in several ways:

Physical Abuse: Hitting, kicking, shoving, or even threats of violence.
Psychological/Emotional Abuse: Intimidation, insults, isolation, or threats to pets.
Financial Abuse: Stealing money or property, identity theft, or misuse of Powers of Attorney.

SALA’s typical elder abuse case involves an older adult being abused by a younger relative living with them. However, abuse can also be perpetrated by unrelated caregivers, lodgers, neighbors, or even spouses.

How SALA Addresses Elder Abuse

Community Education: Raising awareness through presentations for seniors and professionals.
One-on-One Counsel: Providing advice and exploring options with victims.
Brief Services: Writing warning letters to abusers or revoking misused Powers of Attorney.
Court Representation: Filing petitions for restraining orders, including:
- Residence Exclusion Orders: Removing the abuser from the home.
- Personal Conduct Orders: Prohibiting specific harassing behaviors.
- Stay-Away Orders: Requiring the abuser to maintain a certain distance.

SALA evaluates cases based on the client’s desire and capacity, the necessity of a court order, the merits of the case (evidence), and their existing caseload.

Focus on Financial Elder Abuse: A Pervasive Threat

Financial elder abuse is a particularly insidious problem, with older adults losing an estimated $3 billion annually to reported scams alone. Tragically, over 90% of reported financial abuse is committed by family members. Seniors who own their homes are often prime targets.

Forms of Financial Elder Abuse

Outright Theft & Identity Theft
Scams & Fraud: Tricking elders into giving away property through lies.
Misrepresentation & Undue Influence: Using excessive persuasion or exploiting a relationship of trust to gain control of assets.
Misuse of Power of Attorney: Agents improperly using their authority for personal gain.
Forgery: Especially on important documents like property deeds.
Exploiting Lack of Knowledge: Taking advantage of a senior’s misunderstanding of legal documents, such as deeds.

Case Examples Highlight the Devastation

A stroke victim was convinced by her granddaughter to sign a Power of Attorney, purportedly to finance home repairs and assisted living. Instead, the granddaughter used it to transfer the home to her own mother, leaving the recovering senior without her home.
A grieving widower was unduly influenced by his son to sell his long-time San Jose home and buy a new property in another county with the son on the title, effectively disinheriting other children. The father was later placed in a memory care facility despite not having dementia.

SALA’s Role in Financial Abuse Cases

While restraining orders are not typically the best remedy for financial abuse (as the goal is often property recovery), SALA can:

Revoke Powers of Attorney to stop ongoing abuse.
Advocate with financial institutions in cases of identity theft or fraud.
Educate seniors to prevent abuse from happening.
Important Note: SALA does not have the resources to litigate complex financial abuse cases requiring property recovery; these usually require referral to private attorneys.

Preventative Planning: A Shield Against Abuse

Proactive planning is a key strategy in preventing elder abuse. By appointing trusted agents through legal documents, seniors can create a safeguard against exploitation:

Advance Healthcare Directives: Appoint an agent for healthcare decisions and specify healthcare wishes, including life support.
Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney (Financial POA): Appoints an agent for financial, business, and personal care transactions.

It’s crucial that individuals have the capacity (understanding the risks and benefits) to sign these documents. Once capacity is lost, it’s too late. SALA screens clients to ensure these documents are appropriate and that there’s no undue influence or potential conflict.

Responding to Elder Abuse: Key Agencies and Actions

Adult Protective Services (APS):
- Each county has an APS agency that investigates reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of elders and dependent adults who are unable to meet their own needs.
- Mandated Reporters: Many professionals (health practitioners, law enforcement, financial institution employees, clergy, and real estate agents) are legally required to report suspected elder abuse to APS. Attorneys are a notable exception, to preserve attorney-client confidentiality.
- Reporting Process: For mandated reporters, this involves an immediate phone call to APS, followed by a written report within two days.
Long-Term Care Ombudsman:
- Reports of abuse in nursing homes or residential care facilities (assisted living) should go to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program (in Santa Clara County, this is operated by Catholic Charities).
Law Enforcement:
- Elder abuse (physical, financial, etc.) is a crime and should be reported to the police. The District Attorney can prosecute, and courts can order restitution in financial abuse cases. However, the burden of proof (“beyond a reasonable doubt”) is high.
Civil Remedies:
- SALA provides civil restraining orders.
- Private attorneys can file civil lawsuits under acts like California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, which can include recovery of assets and attorney’s fees. SALA can provide referrals to certified lawyer referral services.

Conclusion

Awareness, prevention, and swift response are crucial in the fight against elder abuse. Organizations like SALA play a vital role in providing legal assistance and advocating for the rights of seniors. If you or someone you know in Santa Clara County is an older adult needing legal help or facing potential abuse, reaching out to SALA or other appropriate resources is a critical first step. By understanding the signs of abuse and knowing where to turn for help, we can all contribute to a safer environment for our elders.