Hackard Law 2019: Fighting Elder Financial Abuse and Protecting Beneficiary Rights Across California

Looking Ahead: A Message from Michael Hackard

I am Michael Hackard, founder of Hackard Law. Over five decades of practice, I have stood with families across California  –  in Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles  –  fighting to protect what rightfully belongs to them. My firm handles estate and trust litigation, elder financial abuse cases, and contested inheritance matters for clients who have been wrongly cut out, manipulated, or defrauded. I have authored four published books on inheritance protection, and our team has produced more than 1,000 educational videos that have reached over seven million viewers. Every one of those videos is made for the one person who truly needs the information.

As we stepped into 2019, I wanted to share what drives Hackard Law forward  –  the cases, the clients, the books, and the commitment to speaking up for families who have been silenced by undue influence and financial exploitation. This post reflects where we have been and where we are headed.

Hackard Law takes qualified cases on a contingency fee basis  –  no upfront costs to you. If you believe your family has been harmed by elder financial abuse or a wrongful disinheritance, call us at (916) 313-3030.

Quick Summary

Hackard Law enters 2019 with a sharp focus on elder financial abuse litigation, beneficiary rights, and public education through books and video content across California.

• Hackard Law litigates estate and trust disputes throughout California, including Sacramento, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area.
• Elder financial abuse cases are a growing priority, with civil remedies including double damages available under California law.
• Michael Hackard’s books and video library provide free public education for families navigating inheritance disputes.
• Mediation is pursued whenever it serves the client’s best interest and can reduce family conflict.
• Contingency fee representation is available for qualified cases  –  no upfront legal costs.

A Year in the Trenches: What 2018 Taught Us

The year before had been unrelenting. Attorneys from Hackard Law traveled throughout California to represent beneficiaries whose rights had been disregarded, weakened, or outright stolen, from Sacramento County courtrooms to Los Angeles probate procedures. The examples included family members who exploited a power of attorney for their own benefit, caretakers who had tricked elderly clients into altering their estate plans, and trustees who refused to account for missing funds.

Hackard Law pursued mediation as a means of settlement whenever the chance presented itself. For families, litigation is expensive and emotionally taxing. When a negotiated solution truly benefits the customer, it is frequently the better course of action. But justice resides in the courtroom when the opposing side refuses to take responsibility.

For families in Sacramento dealing with contested estates, our Sacramento County probate litigation practice reflects years of hard-won experience in exactly these disputes.

Elder Financial Abuse: California’s Hidden Epidemic

Of all the cases Hackard Law handles, elder financial abuse cases carry the heaviest emotional weight. An older adult  –  often isolated, cognitively vulnerable, or dependent on a caregiver  –  is manipulated into transferring assets, changing beneficiary designations, or rewriting a trust in ways that benefit the abuser at the expense of the family.

California law provides meaningful civil remedies for proven elder financial abuse, including the recovery of double damages and attorney fees. These tools exist because the legislature recognized how devastating this exploitation can be  –  not just financially, but for entire family legacies. You can learn more about civil remedies for elder financial abuse, including double damages and asset recovery, on our website.

Our Sacramento elder financial abuse attorney practice is built around identifying these patterns early and acting before assets are further dissipated.

Case Pattern: Caregiver Isolation and Trust Amendment

In the last year of her life, a family learned that their elderly mother had made three changes to her trust, each of which increased the bequest of a live-in caregiver while decreasing the children’s shares. Cognitive decline was progressing, according to medical documents. Hackard Law pursued a trust contest in addition to a financial elder abuse claim, and the case was settled with a sizable settlement for the family.

The Wolf at the Door  –  and What Comes Next

In 2018, I published The Wolf at the Door: Undue Influence and Elder Financial Abuse, which reached the top of Amazon’s elder abuse category. The book grew directly out of the cases I have litigated  –  the patterns of manipulation, the warning signs families miss, and the legal strategies that can reverse the damage. I had the chance to discuss its themes in radio, television, and print interviews, including a KUSI interview on undue influence and elder financial abuse.

In 2019, I turned to a subject that comes up in case after case: the intersection of Alzheimer’s disease, widowed stepmothers, and estate crimes. My new book, Alzheimer’s, Widowed Stepmothers and Estate Crimes, addresses what happens when a surviving spouse with cognitive decline becomes the target of manipulation  –  and how families can fight back. These are not hypothetical scenarios. They are the reality for thousands of California families every year.

For families who suspect that cognitive decline made a loved one vulnerable to manipulation, our resource on why seniors with cognitive decline are prime targets offers important context.

Case Pattern: Widowed Stepmother and Disinherited Children

An adult child contacted Hackard Law after learning that their father’s entire estate  –  accumulated over decades  –  had been redirected to a stepmother who had married the father late in life, shortly before his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The original estate plan had provided equally for all children. A thorough investigation into the circumstances of the plan’s revision revealed the hallmarks of undue influence. The case proceeded toward litigation.

Video, Public Outreach, and the One Person Who Needs It

By the start of 2019, Hackard Law had published more than 400 videos on YouTube, with a goal of surpassing 500 by year’s end. Some videos draw large audiences. Others reach a handful of viewers. But the measure of success is not the view count  –  it is whether the one person who truly needs the information finds it.

This philosophy mirrors something I believe deeply about legal practice. When you give information freely, without expectation, you create trust. You reach the family in Sacramento who does not know they have a claim. You reach the adult child in the Bay Area who suspects something went wrong but does not know where to start. Our guide to what California trust beneficiaries must know is one example of the kind of resource we publish to serve that audience.

For decades, I have stood with families who felt outmatched  –  by a manipulative caregiver, a self-dealing trustee, or a sibling who rewrote the rules after a parent lost capacity. Discovery, forensic analysis, and the pursuit of justice are not just legal strategies  –  they are safeguards for families threatened by undue influence and financial exploitation. A steadfast commitment to truth restores what dishonesty tried to steal. The financial toll grows with every month of delay, and the fracture within a family often runs too deep for any judgment to fully mend. That is why acting early matters.

Key Definitions

• Elder financial abuse: The wrongful taking, concealment, or appropriation of an older adult’s property or assets, often by someone in a position of trust.
• Undue influence: Excessive pressure that overcomes a person’s free will and causes them to act against their own interests, particularly in estate planning.
• Contingency fee: A fee arrangement in which the attorney is paid only if the case is successful, with no upfront cost to the client.
• Trust contest: A legal challenge to the validity of a trust, typically based on grounds such as lack of capacity, undue influence, or fraud.
• Beneficiary rights: The legal entitlements of a person named to receive assets from a trust or estate, including the right to accountings and timely distributions.
• Double damages: A civil remedy available under California’s elder abuse statutes that allows a court to award twice the actual damages in proven cases of financial abuse.
• Mediation: A voluntary, confidential process in which a neutral third party helps disputing parties reach a negotiated resolution outside of court.
• Cognitive decline: A deterioration in mental function that can affect a person’s capacity to make informed decisions about their estate or finances.
• Probate litigation: Court proceedings to resolve disputes over a deceased person’s estate, including will contests and claims against executors or trustees.

What to Do Next

• Look for early warning signs of elder financial abuse: sudden changes to estate documents, new relationships with unusual influence, or unexplained asset transfers.
• Get copies of any trust, will, or power of attorney documents that may have been changed while a loved one was cognitively vulnerable.
• Try to avoid delay  –  California has strict statutes of limitations on trust contests and elder abuse claims.
• Look into whether a trustee has provided a proper accounting; if not, learn about trustee accountability when accounting requests fail.
• Gather medical records and financial statements from the period when documents were changed  –  these are often critical in litigation.
• Look for patterns of isolation, caregiver dependence, or sudden changes in a loved one’s estate plan that do not reflect their long-stated wishes.
• Consider whether early legal intervention in elder financial abuse cases could protect remaining assets before more are lost.
• Try to document communications with trustees, caregivers, or other parties who may have had access to the elder’s finances.
• Call Hackard Law at (916) 313-3030 to discuss your situation with an attorney who handles these cases across California.
• Visit our contact page to reach us online and schedule a consultation.

CALL THE SAGE | When Experience Matters, Families Listen

🏛️ We practice California trust & estate & elder financial abuse litigation

⚖️ We represent heirs, beneficiaries, and elder abuse victims

🎥 1,000+ educational videos | 7 million+ views | 4 published books

🎯 “After thousands of cases, I see the pattern others miss.”

CONTINGENCY REPRESENTATION – No Win, No Fee

Throughout California: Sacramento | Los Angeles | Bay Area

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