SB 1302, as amended, Wyland. Elder abuse.
Existing law imposes restrictions upon a person’s or beneficiary’s entitlement to the estate of a decedent who was an elder or dependent adult if the person or beneficiary has committed certain acts against the decedent, including, but not limited to, physical abuse, neglect, or financial abuse.
This bill would recast those provisions to instead provide that a person shall be deemed to have predeceased a decedent if he or she is liable for physical abuse, neglect, or financial abuse of the decedent pursuant to the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, or if that person has been convicted of a violation of provisions prohibiting willfully causing or permitting any elder or dependent adult to suffer, or inflicting thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any elder or dependent
adult, willfully causing or permitting the person or health of the elder or dependent adult to be injured, or willfully causing or permitting the elder or dependent adult to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is endangered, as specified, in which the decedent was the victim. The bill would provide that any person who is deemed to have predeceased the decedent shall not receive any property, damages,begin delete or costsend deletebegin insert costs, or restitutionend insert that are awarded to the decedent’s estate whether that person’s entitlement is under a will, a trust, or the laws of intestacy, nor serve as a fiduciary on behalf of the decedent’s estate or trust.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 259 of the Probate Code is amended to
2read:
(a) Any person shall be deemed to have predeceased a
4decedent to the extent provided in subdivision (b) ifbegin delete allend deletebegin insert eitherend insert of
5the following apply:
6(1) The person is liable for physical abuse, neglect, or financial
7abuse of the decedent pursuant to the Elder Abuse and Dependent
8Adult Civil Protection Act (Chapter 11 (commencing with Section
915600) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
10Code).
11(2) The person has been convicted of a violation of
Section 368
12of the Penal Code in which the decedent was the victim.
13(b) Any person deemed to have predeceased a decedent to the
14extent provided in subdivision
(a) shall not do either of the
15following:
16(1) Receive any property, damages,begin delete or costsend deletebegin insert costs, or restitutionend insert
17 that are awarded to the decedent’s estate whether that person’s
18entitlement is under a will, a trust, or the laws of intestacy.
19(2) Serve as a fiduciary on behalf of the decedent’s estate or
20trust.
21(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
22apply:
23(1) “Physical abuse” has the same meaning as defined in Section
2415610.63 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.
25(2) “Neglect” has the same meaning as defined in Section
2615610.57 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
27(3) “Financial abuse” has the same meaning as defined in
28Section 15610.30 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
P3 1(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
2severance and transfer of an action or proceeding to a separate
3civil action pursuant to Section 801.
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