In brief: One in three Sausalito residents is 65 or older. When an older resident’s money or property is taken through isolation or undue influence, California’s elder financial abuse law allows recovery, and when abuse is proven the court must award attorney’s fees and costs. 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. Published November 2, 2026.
One Sausalito resident in three is 65 or older. That is the highest share of any Marin town the Census Bureau reports. An older town is not a more vulnerable one. But where more people live alone, isolation becomes the most common doorway to financial abuse.
Sausalito incorporated in 1893. Between 1942 and 1945 the Marinship yard on Richardson Bay built 93 ships, including Liberty ships and tankers. The waterfront’s industrial history is part of the setting for the floating-home communities that families know today.
California defines elder financial abuse as taking, hiding, appropriating, or keeping the property of a person 65 or older for a wrongful use, with intent to defraud, or by undue influence (Welfare & Institutions Code §§ 15610.27, 15610.30). When it is proven, the court awards attorney’s fees and costs (§ 15657.5).
The pattern usually begins with distance. Calls go unanswered. One person becomes the only one who sees the parent. Then the documents change.
A floating home passes at death like other property: through the owner’s trust, will, or joint title. But a qualifying floating home is taxed like real property while its ownership is registered with the state housing department rather than by recorded deed (Revenue & Taxation Code § 229; Health & Safety Code § 18075.5). Some Sausalito houseboats are legally vessels, registered differently again. The berth is usually a separate lease with its own transfer rules. Families should confirm that both the home and the berth were actually placed in the trust, and that no one changed title or the berth assignment in the owner’s last years.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, including the 2020 Census, 2025 population estimates, and American Community Survey 2020–2024.
Trust and probate cases for Sausalito are heard in the probate department of Marin County Superior Court, Hall of Justice, Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903, about 11 miles by road from Sausalito City Hall, depending on the route. Hackard Law’s office is in Sacramento County. The firm handles matters in Marin County Superior Court and throughout California.
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.
It passes like other property, through the owner’s trust, will, or joint title. But a qualifying floating home is registered with the state housing department rather than by recorded deed, and the berth is usually a separate lease. Confirm that both were placed in the trust and that no one changed the registration or the berth assignment before death.
A California resident age 65 or older (Welfare & Institutions Code § 15610.27). Financial abuse includes taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining an elder’s property for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, helping someone else do so, or doing so by undue influence (§ 15610.30).
When financial abuse is proven by a preponderance of the evidence, the court must award the plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, in addition to compensatory damages (Welfare & Institutions Code § 15657.5(a)).
The first conversation is about what happened and when.
Call the Sage: (916) 313-3030
Hackard Law’s office is in Sacramento County.
Hackard Law represents families throughout California. hackardlaw.com
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(916) 313-3030