Anaheim 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 Anaheim 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.

Anaheim is the county’s largest city, and more than half 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 colony of vintners

Anaheim began in 1857 as a colony of German farmers and vintners. Its name joins “Ana,” from the Santa Ana River, with heim, German for home. When the city incorporated in 1876, it had 881 residents.

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.

Anaheim at a glance

• Population: 346,824 (2020 Census); 341,008 (2025 estimate)
• Residents 65 and older: 13.0%
• Median home value: $831,200
• Owner-occupied homes: 46.2%

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 Anaheim are heard in the probate department of Orange County Superior Court, Costa Mesa Justice Complex, 3390 Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa, California 92626, approximately 17 driving miles from Anaheim. Actual distance varies by starting point and route. Hackard Law’s office is in Sacramento County. The firm handles matters in Orange 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.