Long Beach Trust and Estate Disputes

In brief: An agent under a power of attorney must act solely in the parent’s interest and cannot make gifts, including to themselves, unless the document expressly allows it (Probate Code §§ 4232, 4264). When a Long Beach family suspects the agent helped themselves, the transfers can be recovered. Hackard Law handles these cases on contingency: no fee and no costs if there is no recovery, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.

By Michael Hackard, California trust and estate litigation attorney. Last reviewed October 26, 2026. Updated November 3, 2026.

Long Beach is the county’s second-largest city, and most of its homes are rented. For many older residents, the estate is a bank account, a pension, and a checkbook someone else now controls. Most power-of-attorney cases are discovered after the death, when the statements are finally opened.

A port city by the long, wide beach

Willmore City was renamed Long Beach for its long, wide beaches. The city first incorporated in 1888 and reincorporated in 1897. The Port of Long Beach, established in 1911, is now the nation’s second-busiest container port, and the city bought the Queen Mary in 1967.

The agent who helped himself

An agent under a power of attorney is a fiduciary who must act solely in the principal’s interest and avoid conflicts (Probate Code § 4232). Gifts, including gifts to the agent, require express authority in the document (Probate Code § 4264).

If the agent does not account within 60 days of a written request, family members can petition the court to compel an accounting (Probate Code §§ 4540, 4541). Money the agent took for themselves can be recovered, and taking an elder’s property for a wrongful use is financial elder abuse (Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.30).

Warning signs

• Checks written to the agent, or to cash, under a power of attorney.
• The agent’s own bills paid from the parent’s account.
• Refusal to show bank statements to siblings.
• Property sold or refinanced by the agent during the parent’s decline.

Long Beach at a glance

• Population: 466,742 (2020 Census); 450,469 (2025 estimate)
• Residents 65 and older: 13.5%
• Median home value: $806,600
• Owner-occupied homes: 41.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census, 2025 population estimates, and American Community Survey 2020–2024.

Where your case is heard

Trust and probate cases for Long Beach are heard in the probate departments of Los Angeles County Superior Court, Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, approximately 25 driving miles from Long Beach. Actual distance varies by starting point and route. Hackard Law’s office is in Sacramento County. The firm handles matters in Los Angeles County Superior Court and throughout California.

How fees work

Hackard Law represents families on a contingency basis. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, stated in a written agreement before work begins. The firm advances the costs of the case, which are repaid from the recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no costs, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.