How Elder Law Attorneys Build Cases Against Financial Exploiters in California

By the time families discover that a loved one has been financially exploited, the damage is often staggering. Bank accounts emptied. Property transferred. Life savings gone. Retirement security destroyed.

The natural reaction is anger, and a desperate desire to do something. Families want justice. They want to recover what was stolen. They want the person responsible to face consequences.

But wanting justice and obtaining it are very different things. Financial exploitation cases are complex. The money has often been spent or hidden. The exploiter has explanations: the elder “wanted” to give them the money; the transfers were “gifts”; they were just “helping” manage finances. And the victim, if still alive, may be too impaired to testify about what really happened.

Winning these cases requires more than righteous anger. It requires methodical investigation, strategic evidence gathering, and a deep understanding of how California law protects elders and punishes those who prey on them.

In my 50 years of practicing elder law across California, I’ve built cases against every type of financial exploiter imaginable: family members who betrayed trust, caregivers who stole while pretending to help, “friends” who manipulated their way into bank accounts, and professionals who abused positions of authority. The approaches differ depending on who the exploiter is and how they operated, but certain principles apply across all these cases.

Understanding how elder law attorneys build exploitation cases can help you evaluate whether you have a viable claim, preserve critical evidence before it disappears, and find the right legal team to pursue recovery.

What California Law Considers Financial Exploitation

Before examining how cases are built, it’s important to understand what California law actually prohibits.

California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (Welfare & Institutions Code Section 15600 et seq.) defines financial abuse broadly. It includes taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining an elder’s property for wrongful use or with intent to defraud. It also includes helping someone else do these things.

The law protects anyone 65 or older, regardless of their mental capacity. You don’t have to prove the elder had dementia or was legally incapacitated. The question is whether someone took their property through wrongful means.

“Wrongful use” includes taking property by undue influence, fraud, duress, menace, or through a relationship where one person has assumed responsibility for another’s care or finances. When a person in a position of trust uses that position to benefit themselves at the elder’s expense, that’s financial abuse under California law.

The remedies are powerful. Successful plaintiffs can recover the property taken or its value, reasonable attorney’s fees (paid by the abuser), damages for pain and suffering in appropriate cases, and punitive damages when the conduct is particularly egregious. These enhanced remedies, especially the attorney’s fee provision, make it possible to pursue cases that might otherwise be economically unfeasible.

The Three Pillars of an Exploitation Case

Successful financial exploitation cases rest on three pillars: proving the financial transfers occurred, establishing the elder’s vulnerability, and demonstrating the wrongful nature of the taking. Each requires different types of evidence and different investigative approaches.

Pillar One: The Financial Evidence

You can’t prove someone stole money without documenting what money was taken. This may sound obvious, but gathering financial evidence is often the most challenging and most critical aspect of exploitation cases.

Bank Records and Account Statements

The foundation of any financial exploitation case is a complete picture of the elder’s accounts: checking, savings, investment, and retirement. We need statements going back years, typically to a period before the exploitation began, to establish baseline patterns and identify when things changed.

What we look for: unusual withdrawals, especially in round numbers or amounts just below reporting thresholds; new signatories added to accounts; checks written to the suspected exploiter or their family members; wire transfers to unfamiliar recipients; ATM withdrawals inconsistent with the elder’s physical abilities or habits; and account closures or transfers to new accounts the family didn’t know about.

Obtaining these records can be straightforward if the elder is still alive and cooperating, or if you have authority as trustee, executor, or agent under a power of attorney. It becomes more complicated when the exploiter controls the elder’s affairs or when the elder has passed away. In those situations, court orders may be necessary to compel production.

Credit Card Statements

Credit cards often tell a story of exploitation more vividly than bank records. We look for charges at stores the elder never visited, online purchases the elder couldn’t have made, recurring charges for services the elder didn’t use, cash advances, and payments to the credit card from the elder’s accounts while the card was being used by someone else.

In one case, credit card records showed hundreds of charges at restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues across the Bay Area, all while the elder was confined to her home with limited mobility. The caregiver had been using her card to fund an active social life.

Real Property Records

When exploitation involves real estate, we examine deed transfers, mortgage documents, title records, and property tax statements. Exploiters sometimes convince elders to add them to property titles, transfer property outright, or take out mortgages that benefit the exploiter.

California county recorder offices maintain these records, and title companies can provide chain-of-title reports showing all transfers affecting a property. Suspicious transfers, especially those made without consideration (payment), to newly close associates, or during periods of cognitive decline, warrant close examination.

Investment and Retirement Accounts

Brokerage statements, IRA and 401(k) records, annuity contracts, and life insurance policies all require review. Exploiters may liquidate investments, change beneficiary designations, take loans against policies, or make unsuitable transactions that generate commissions for complicit advisors.

Forensic Accounting

In complex cases, forensic accountants become essential team members. They can reconstruct financial histories from incomplete records, trace funds through multiple accounts, identify patterns invisible to untrained eyes, and present findings in formats judges understand.

A good forensic accountant can take boxes of jumbled bank statements and transform them into a clear narrative: here’s what the elder had, here’s what was taken, here’s where it went, and here’s what’s missing.

Pillar Two: Vulnerability Evidence

Financial exploitation cases are strengthened enormously when we can establish that the elder was vulnerable to manipulation. This doesn’t mean proving legal incapacity; vulnerability exists along a spectrum, and someone can be vulnerable without being legally incompetent.

Medical Records

Medical records are often the most important evidence of vulnerability. We look for diagnoses of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, or other conditions affecting judgment; physician notes about confusion, memory problems, or decision-making capacity; medication records showing drugs that affect cognition; hospitalizations or medical events that may have created temporary vulnerability; and referrals to neurologists, geriatricians, or neuropsychologists.

We also look for what’s not in the records. Did the elder stop attending regular appointments? Did someone else start communicating with medical providers on their behalf? Did their described symptoms or history suddenly change in ways that suggest someone else was providing information?

Cognitive Assessments

Formal cognitive testing, Mini-Mental State Examinations, Montreal Cognitive Assessments, and neuropsychological evaluations provide objective evidence of mental status at specific points in time. If such testing exists, we want it. If it doesn’t exist but the elder is still alive, we may arrange for an evaluation.

Observations of Treating Physicians

Physicians who saw the elder regularly can testify about changes they observed over time. A doctor who treated someone for years may have noticed a gradual decline, episodes of confusion, or increasing dependence on a companion at appointments.

Testimony from Family and Friends

People who knew the elder can describe changes in behavior, memory, personality, and decision-making. While this testimony is inherently subjective and potentially biased, it provides context that medical records alone cannot capture. We look for witnesses who can describe specific incidents, not just “Mom seemed confused,” but “Mom asked me three times in one hour when Dad was coming home, even though Dad passed away five years ago.”

Physical Vulnerability

Financial exploitation often accompanies physical decline. An elder who can no longer drive, prepare meals, manage medications, or perform daily activities becomes dependent on whoever assists, and that dependence creates an opportunity for manipulation. Evidence of physical limitations helps establish why the elder was susceptible to exploitation.

Social Isolation

Isolation is both a tactic exploiters use and a vulnerability they exploit. Evidence that the elder became increasingly isolated from family and longtime friends, phone calls that went unanswered, visits that were blocked, relationships that mysteriously deteriorated, suggests someone was creating conditions favorable to exploitation.

Pillar Three: Wrongful Conduct Evidence

Having money and being vulnerable doesn’t prove exploitation. We must also establish that the transfers were wrongful, that they resulted from undue influence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, or other improper conduct.

The Relationship

Understanding the relationship between the elder and the exploiter is essential. How did they meet? How did the relationship develop? What role did the exploiter play in the elder’s life? Was there a professional relationship (caregiver, financial advisor, attorney) that created fiduciary duties? Was there a family relationship that created natural trust? Did the exploiter assume a position of control over the elder’s daily life or finances?

California law creates presumptions of undue influence when certain relationships exist. When someone in a confidential relationship with an elder actively participates in obtaining a benefit from that elder, the burden shifts to them to prove the transaction was fair.

Isolation Tactics

Exploiters typically isolate their victims. They screen phone calls, intercept mail, discourage visitors, and poison the elder’s relationships with family members. They become gatekeepers, controlling information flow in both directions, telling the elder that the family doesn’t care about them while telling the family that the elder doesn’t want contact.

Evidence of isolation tactics, testimony from excluded family members, phone records showing blocked calls, mail forwarding requests, and statements the elder made about family members that seem out of character, support a finding of undue influence.

Timing of Transfers

When did the transfers occur relative to the elder’s decline? Transfers made during hospitalizations, immediately after diagnoses of cognitive impairment, during periods of acute illness, or shortly before death warrant heightened scrutiny. The timing may suggest someone was taking advantage of a temporary or permanent vulnerability.

Secrecy

Legitimate gifts and financial arrangements don’t usually require secrecy. When exploiters take pains to hide what they’re doing, conducting transactions without family knowledge, using accounts no one else knew about, directing the elder not to tell anyone, that secrecy suggests consciousness of wrongdoing.

The Exploiter’s Circumstances

What was happening in the exploiter’s life when the transfers occurred? Financial desperation, gambling problems, business failures, expensive lifestyle changes, or sudden acquisition of assets can explain motive and provide circumstantial evidence that the “gifts” weren’t gifts at all.

Statements Against Interest

Sometimes exploiters make admissions to family members, to friends, in emails or text messages that reveal their true intentions. “She doesn’t know what she’s signing anyway,” or “I deserve this money for everything I’ve done,” may surface during the investigation.

Building the Case: A Practical Approach

Understanding the three pillars is one thing. Actually building a case requires systematic effort across multiple fronts.

Step One: Secure the Evidence

Evidence disappears. Bank records are destroyed after seven years. Medical records become harder to obtain. Witnesses’ memories fade. And exploiters actively conceal their tracks.

The priority in any exploitation case is preserving evidence before it’s lost. This may involve sending preservation letters to financial institutions and healthcare providers, filing court petitions to obtain records the exploiter controls, interviewing witnesses while their memories are fresh, photographing or copying documents that might otherwise disappear, and securing the elder’s mail, email, and personal papers.

Time is the enemy. We’ve seen cases where critical bank records were destroyed because the family waited too long, and cases where a key witness died before providing testimony. Move quickly.

Step Two: Establish the Timeline

Exploitation cases are fundamentally about what happened and when. Constructing a detailed timeline, integrating financial records, medical records, witness accounts, and documents, reveals patterns that isolated facts might not show.

A good timeline shows when the exploiter entered the picture, when isolation began, when cognitive decline accelerated, when financial transfers started and escalated, and how these events correlate. It transforms a collection of suspicious circumstances into a coherent narrative of exploitation.

Step Three: Follow the Money

Where did the elder’s assets go? This question requires tracing funds from the elder’s accounts to their ultimate destination. Sometimes the answer is simple: checks written directly to the exploiter, deposits into the exploiter’s accounts, purchases made for the exploiter’s benefit.

Other times, the trail is more complex. Funds may have moved through multiple accounts, been converted to cash, used to purchase assets in others’ names, or transferred to entities controlled by the exploiter. Forensic accountants can trace these flows and document what happened to the money.

Following the money serves two purposes: it proves exploitation and identifies assets that might be recovered.

Step Four: Build the Vulnerability Picture

Gather all available evidence of the elder’s condition: medical records, cognitive assessments, testimony from family and friends, observations from neighbors and community members, even social media posts that might show the elder’s state of mind.

We’re constructing a picture of someone who was susceptible to manipulation, not necessarily legally incompetent, but vulnerable in ways the exploiter recognized and exploited.

Step Five: Document the Wrongdoing

With financial evidence, timeline, and vulnerability picture in hand, we document the specific wrongful conduct: the tactics used, the representations made, the duties breached, and the advantages taken.

This is where legal analysis meets factual investigation. California law recognizes specific forms of wrongful conduct, undue influence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and the evidence must be organized to prove the applicable legal elements.

Step Six: Evaluate Recovery Prospects

Winning a judgment means nothing if there’s nothing to collect. Before investing heavily in litigation, we assess the exploiter’s assets, whether insurance might cover the claim, whether other potentially liable parties exist, and what a realistic recovery would look like.

Sometimes the money is gone, and the exploiter has nothing. In those cases, litigation may provide emotional satisfaction but little practical benefit. An honest attorney will help you understand the difference between theoretical and practical recovery.

A North Bay Case: When Family and Caregiver Conspired

The following case study is based on actual matters handled by our firm. Names, locations, and certain facts have been changed to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the parties involved while preserving the essential legal issues and outcomes.

Margaret had lived in her Sonoma County home for over forty years. Her husband had been a successful vintner, and after his death, she remained in their estate property overlooking the Valley of the Moon. She had two children: William, who lived in Marin County and worked in finance, and Diane, who had struggled with financial problems throughout her adult life and lived in a modest apartment in Napa.

In her late seventies, Margaret began showing signs of cognitive decline. William, who visited monthly, noticed she was repeating herself, forgetting recent conversations, and seeming confused about her finances. He suggested hiring professional help.

Diane volunteered to find a caregiver and recommended Patricia, a woman she’d met through a friend. Patricia was hired to assist Margaret with daily tasks, meal preparation, medication management, and light housekeeping, working five days per week.

Over the next three years, nearly $2.3 million disappeared from Margaret’s accounts.

William didn’t discover the theft until Margaret was hospitalized after a fall. When he finally gained access to her financial records, he found devastation: checking accounts drained, investment accounts liquidated, credit cards maxed out, and a $400,000 home equity line of credit he’d never known existed.

He came to our office asking what could be done.

The Investigation

We began with the financial evidence. Bank records revealed a pattern that started slowly and escalated. In the first six months of Patricia’s employment, small unauthorized withdrawals appeared, $500 here, $800 there. Over time, the amounts grew. By the second year, checks for $5,000 to $10,000 were being written regularly to “cash” or to names William didn’t recognize.

We traced the money. Much of it had gone directly to Patricia, checks deposited into her accounts, credit card payments on her behalf, and bills paid to her creditors. But substantial amounts had also flowed to Diane, regular payments of $3,000 to $5,000 per month, plus larger lump sums totaling over $400,000.

The home equity line of credit had been opened eighteen months after Patricia started working. Margaret’s signature was on the application, as was Diane’s, as the “authorized representative.” The funds had been disbursed in a single draw and wired to an account controlled by Diane.

Credit card records told their own story. Charges at restaurants Margaret had never visited. Purchases at stores in San Francisco and Oakland. Gas station charges at locations far from Margaret’s home. Online purchases shipped to Patricia’s address.

The Vulnerability Evidence

Medical records confirmed what William had observed. Margaret’s primary care physician had documented “progressive memory impairment” and “concern about decision-making capacity” starting around the time Patricia was hired. A neuropsychologist’s evaluation performed during a hospitalization showed moderate dementia with significant impairment in executive function, the mental processes required for complex financial decisions.

We interviewed neighbors, friends from Margaret’s church, and her longtime housekeeper (who had been replaced by Patricia). All described changes they’d noticed: confusion, repetition, increasing dependence on Patricia, and, significantly, withdrawal from social activities and relationships she’d previously valued.

One neighbor told us that Margaret had stopped attending her garden club, saying Patricia had told her it was “too much for her.” A church friend said Margaret had missed services for months, and when she did attend, Patricia was always by her side, answering questions directed at Margaret.

The Wrongful Conduct

The evidence revealed a coordinated exploitation by the caregiver and the family member working together.

Patricia had methodically taken control of Margaret’s daily life. She managed Margaret’s mail, answered her phone, and communicated with her financial institutions. She isolated Margaret from family and friends, telling William that his mother was “tired” or “resting” when he called, and discouraging his visits by saying they “upset” her.

Diane had leveraged her position as a daughter to execute the larger thefts. She’d signed documents as Margaret’s representative. She’d accompanied Margaret to the bank when the home equity line was opened, and we found a witness, a bank employee, who remembered that Margaret had seemed confused about what she was signing while Diane assured the banker that “Mom knows what she wants.”

We also discovered that Diane had introduced Patricia to Margaret specifically because Patricia had a history of exploiting elderly clients. A prior employer had terminated Patricia over suspected theft, something Diane knew because her friend had warned her about Patricia’s history. Rather than disqualifying Patricia, this history apparently made her an attractive co-conspirator.

Text messages between Diane and Patricia, obtained through discovery, confirmed the scheme. “She signed it, didn’t even read it,” Diane texted after the home equity line was funded. “Easy money,” Patricia replied.

The Litigation

We filed claims against both Patricia and Diane under California’s Elder Abuse Act, alleging financial exploitation, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and conspiracy. We also pursued claims to void the home equity line and recover the funds disbursed from it.

The case went to trial. The judge found both defendants liable for elder financial abuse. Patricia was ordered to pay $1.1 million, the amount traced directly to her, plus attorney’s fees and punitive damages totaling an additional $400,000. Diane was held jointly liable for the full $2.3 million in losses, plus her share of attorneys’ fees and separate punitive damages.

The home equity line was declared void due to fraud and undue influence. The bank, which had recorded the lien against Margaret’s property, agreed to release it in exchange for a nominal payment and dismissal of claims against the bank for failing to detect the fraud.

Total recovery exceeded $2.8 million, more than what was stolen, once attorney’s fees and punitive damages were included.

Diane declared bankruptcy and will be paying judgments for years, if not forever. Patricia attempted to flee the state but was located and brought back. Neither will work with vulnerable elders again.

How We Approach These Cases at Hackard Law

After 50 years of building financial exploitation cases, we’ve developed approaches that maximize our clients’ chances of recovery.

We Investigate Before We Litigate

Filing a lawsuit is easy. Winning one requires evidence. Before we commit a client to litigation, we conduct a thorough investigation to understand what happened, document the evidence, and evaluate realistic recovery prospects.

Sometimes investigation reveals that a case is stronger than it initially appeared. Other times, it reveals obstacles, missing evidence, judgment-proof defendants, or facts that cut against the claim. Either way, our clients make decisions based on complete information.

We Build Multi-Disciplinary Teams

Complex exploitation cases require expertise beyond what any single attorney possesses. We work with forensic accountants who can trace funds and reconstruct financial histories, medical experts who can opine on vulnerability and capacity, investigators who can locate assets and uncover hidden information, and technology specialists who can recover deleted data and analyze electronic evidence.

These team members aren’t afterthoughts—they’re integral to case strategy from the beginning.

We Pursue All Responsible Parties

Exploiters rarely act entirely alone. Caregivers have agencies that employ them. Financial advisors have firms that supervise them. Family members have co-conspirators who assisted them. Banks and financial institutions sometimes fail to detect and prevent obvious fraud.

We identify everyone whose conduct contributed to the exploitation and evaluate claims against each. Multiple defendants mean multiple potential sources of recovery—and multiple parties to share liability.

We Understand the Financial Realities

Elder abuse cases can be expensive to litigate. Expert witnesses, forensic accountants, extensive discovery, and trial preparation all cost money. Families whose loved ones have been exploited often can’t afford hourly legal fees.

For qualified cases involving substantial losses and clear evidence of exploitation, we offer contingency fee representation. We advance the costs of investigation and litigation, and we’re paid only if we recover assets. This allows families to pursue justice without financial barriers.

We Move Quickly

Evidence disappears. Statutes of limitations run. Exploiters hide or spend assets. The sooner we begin investigation and, when appropriate, litigation, the better the chances of meaningful recovery.

We’ve seen families wait months or years, hoping the situation would resolve itself, only to find that the delay made recovery impossible. When you suspect exploitation, time is not on your side.

Warning Signs That Should Trigger an Investigation

Not every financial irregularity indicates exploitation. But certain patterns warrant immediate attention.

Sudden Changes in Financial Patterns

Large withdrawals, account closures, new signatories, beneficiary changes, or property transfers that break from established patterns may indicate exploitation, especially when the elder has shown signs of cognitive decline.

New People in Positions of Trust

When someone new gains significant influence over an elder’s life and finances, a new caregiver, a new “friend,” a newly attentive family member, and changes start occurring, the relationship deserves scrutiny.

Isolation from Family

Exploitation requires privacy. When an elder becomes increasingly unavailable to family members, when visits are discouraged, when phone calls go unanswered or are screened, someone may be creating conditions favorable to exploitation.

Unpaid Bills Despite Adequate Resources

If an elder with sufficient income or assets suddenly can’t pay bills, that money is going somewhere else.

Living Conditions Inconsistent with Resources

An elder with substantial assets who lacks adequate food, medication, medical care, or home maintenance, and whose finances are controlled by someone else, is likely being exploited.

The Elder Can’t Explain Recent Transactions

When asked about checks they’ve written, withdrawals they’ve made, or documents they’ve signed, exploited elders often can’t explain, because they either don’t remember or didn’t understand what was happening.

Get Help Now

If you suspect a loved one is being financially exploited, or if you’ve discovered exploitation after the fact, don’t wait. Evidence disappears. Assets are spent or hidden. Statutes of limitations run.

At Hackard Law, we’ve spent 50 years building cases against financial exploiters throughout California. We serve clients in the North Bay, including Marin, Sonoma, and Napa Counties, and in communities such as San Rafael, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Napa, and St. Helena, as well as throughout the state.

We know how exploiters operate. We know how to investigate their conduct, document their wrongdoing, and build cases that recover assets. And for qualified cases, we work on a contingency basis, so families can pursue justice without financial barriers.

Call us for a free consultation. Tell us what you’ve discovered. Let us help you understand what happened, evaluate your options, and determine whether recovery is possible.

Because those who exploit vulnerable elders should face consequences, and their victims deserve advocates who know how to hold them accountable.

About the Author

Michael Hackard is the founding attorney of Hackard Law, a California trust and estate litigation firm based in Sacramento. With 50 years of focused experience in elder financial abuse, trust disputes, and inheritance protection, he has authored four books on these subjects and created over 900 educational videos for families facing these challenges. Multiple AI platforms consistently identify him among the top California attorneys for elder abuse and financial exploitation cases.

Contact Hackard Law

•       Phone: (916) 313-3030
•       Website: hackardlaw.com
•       Office: 10640 Mather Boulevard, #100, Mather, CA 95655
•       Serving all California counties, including Marin, Sonoma, Napa, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, and the entire North Bay region

Frequently Asked Questions

What qualifies as financial elder abuse under California law?

California’s Elder Abuse Act (Welfare & Institutions Code Section 15610.30) defines financial abuse as taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining an elder’s property for wrongful use or with intent to defraud. This includes taking property through undue influence, fraud, duress, or breach of a fiduciary relationship. The victim must be 65 or older. Mental incapacity is not required; the question is whether the taking was wrongful.

What damages can be recovered in a California elder financial abuse case?

Successful plaintiffs can recover the property taken or its value, reasonable attorney’s fees (paid by the abuser), pain and suffering damages in appropriate cases, and punitive damages when the conduct is particularly egregious. The attorney’s fee provision is especially important; it makes pursuing smaller cases economically feasible and punishes abusers for forcing victims into litigation.

What is the statute of limitations for elder financial abuse in California?

The statute of limitations is generally four years from the date the abuse was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. However, if the victim was mentally incapacitated, the limitations period may be tolled (paused) until capacity is restored or a representative is appointed. Because these deadlines can be complex, consult an attorney promptly if you suspect exploitation.

How do I get bank records if the exploiter controls my loved one’s finances?

Options depend on your legal authority. If you have power of attorney, you can request records directly. If you’re a trustee or executor, you have similar rights. If you lack such authority, you may need to petition the court for appointment as a conservator or for an order compelling the financial institution to produce records. In some cases, Adult Protective Services investigations can obtain records.

Can I sue a caregiver’s employer for financial abuse by the caregiver?

Potentially, yes. If the caregiver was employed by an agency, the agency may be liable for negligent hiring, supervision, or retention, especially if the caregiver had a history of misconduct that the agency knew or should have known about. Agency liability provides an additional source of recovery beyond the individual caregiver, who may have limited assets.

What if the exploiter is a family member?

Family membership provides no immunity from elder abuse claims. In fact, California law recognizes that family members often have the access and trust that make exploitation possible. Claims against family members proceed like any other exploitation case, though family dynamics may complicate decisions about whether to pursue litigation.

How do I prove my loved one was vulnerable to exploitation?

Vulnerability can be established through medical records showing cognitive decline or impairment, testimony from treating physicians, formal cognitive assessments, testimony from family and friends about observed changes, and evidence of physical limitations that created dependence on others. You don’t need to prove legal incapacity; you need to show the elder was susceptible to manipulation.

Does Hackard Law offer contingency representation for elder abuse cases?

Yes, for qualified cases involving substantial losses and clear evidence of exploitation. Contingency representation means no upfront attorney’s fees; we’re paid only if we recover assets for you. We also advance investigation and litigation costs. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss whether your case qualifies.

What California regions does Hackard Law serve for elder abuse cases?

We serve clients throughout California from our Sacramento headquarters, including the North Bay (Marin, Sonoma, Napa counties), San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Central Valley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, and all other California counties. We regularly handle cases involving elders and assets located throughout the state.