Case type Personal Injury
Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation
An older adult in your life was hurt, ignored, pressured or stripped of savings by someone they trusted, and you want to understand what can be done. Tell us your story.
We hear from older adults and their families about abuse, neglect and money taken by caregivers, relatives, facilities and advisers. CBW Law reviews what happened, what records exist and whether a civil claim may be available. Tell Us Your Story. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Elder abuse is harm to an older adult by a caregiver or another trusted person, whether through force, threats, neglect or the misuse of money and property1. It happens in private homes, assisted living, nursing homes and professional relationships. Arizona law gives vulnerable adults and their representatives a civil claim against caregivers and against people in a position of trust who misuse an older adult's assets56. An elder abuse lawyer looks at what happened, who was responsible and what the older adult wants, because their choices still count.
What elder abuse and financial exploitation can look like
The CDC defines elder abuse as an intentional act or failure to act by a caregiver or other trusted person that harms an older adult or creates a risk of harm1. Arizona's protective services law covers adults 18 and older who cannot protect themselves because of a physical or mental impairment3. The main forms are:
- Physical abuse: hitting, kicking, pushing or unreasonable confinement13
- Emotional abuse: a pattern of ridicule, insults, harassment or threats3
- Neglect: withholding food, water, medicine, medical care, supervision, heating or cooling3
- Financial exploitation: the illegal or improper use of an older adult's money or property for someone else's gain3
- Sexual abuse: forced or unwanted sexual contact1
These harms can happen anywhere an older adult depends on others:
- Family members or partners at home
- Paid in-home caregivers
- Assisted living or group homes
- Nursing homes and rehab centers
- Guardians, conservators or agents
- Financial advisers, brokers or other professionals
Care failures inside a facility are covered in more depth on our nursing home neglect page.
Financial exploitation: accounts, powers of attorney and estate documents
Financial institutions reported about $27 billion in suspected elder financial exploitation between June 2022 and June 2023, according to a 2024 analysis by the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)10. About 80% of those reports involved scams by strangers or impostors. About 20% involved theft by a trusted person, and adult children were the most frequent suspects in that group10. Patterns that come up in claim reviews include:
- Withdrawals, transfers or card charges the older adult did not approve
- A caregiver or relative added to a bank account shortly before money moved
- Pressure, isolation or threats used to get a signature or a gift
- An agent under a power of attorney paying personal bills from the older adult's funds
- New deeds, wills, trusts or beneficiary designations that favor a helper
- Investment changes that do not fit the person's long-held goals
A financial power of attorney gives an agent legal authority to make money decisions, and a durable one stays in effect if the person later loses capacity9. It is not a license to take. In Arizona, a person in a position of trust and confidence must use a vulnerable adult's assets only for that adult's benefit, unless a court approved the transaction in advance, a valid durable power of attorney or trust signed by the older adult specifically authorized it, it was needed to qualify for Arizona's Medicaid long-term care program, or it was a spouse acting for the marital community6. A position of trust can include a caregiver, a joint owner of property, a fiduciary, someone in a relationship of special trust, or a beneficiary under the older adult's documents6.
Warning signs are reasons to ask, not proof
Families often notice something small first: an unpaid bill, missing money, a new person handling finances, or an older adult who seems afraid of a caregiver. Each of these can have an innocent explanation. The CDC encourages people to learn how signs of abuse differ from normal aging1. The CFPB notes that multiple or unusual payments can be a sign of exploitation, but that it can be hard to tell confusion from exploitation, so it suggests looking into them rather than ruling either out9.
What research shows
- How common
- About 1 in 10 older adults living at home experience abuse, including neglect and exploitation, according to the CDC1.
- National survey
- In a national study of 5,777 adults age 60 and older, published in 2010, 5.2% reported current financial abuse by a family member, and 1 in 10 reported emotional, physical or sexual mistreatment or potential neglect in the past year2.
- Underreporting
- Many cases go unreported because the older adult is afraid or unable to tell anyone1.
- Lasting effects
- People who are abused may become fearful and anxious and have trouble trusting others1.
Getting help now and reporting suspected abuse
If someone is in immediate danger, call 9118. In Arizona, you can report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult to Adult Protective Services at 1-877-SOS-ADULT (1-877-767-2385), or through its online form at any hour8. Outside Arizona, the federal Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 can connect you with local services111. Because elder financial abuse often breaks criminal laws, the CFPB also suggests reporting it to local police or the sheriff9.
Certain people must report. Arizona requires health professionals, long-term care providers, social workers, guardians, conservators and others responsible for a vulnerable adult's care to report a reasonable belief of abuse, neglect or exploitation right away to police or APS4. Attorneys, accountants, trustees and others who handle the person's property or tax records have the same duty if they find signs of abuse while doing that work, and anyone else may report4.
Civil claims, criminal cases, APS and guardianship
Several systems may respond to the same events. They have different goals, and one does not replace another5.
Separate processes in Arizona
- APS investigation
- Adult Protective Services investigates reports of abuse, exploitation and neglect of vulnerable adults8. Its programs aim to keep the adult in a familiar setting where possible3.
- Criminal case
- Prosecutors decide whether to charge a crime. Caregiver neglect that endangers a vulnerable adult can be a felony, and a criminal conviction can be used against the defendant in a later civil case5.
- Civil claim
- An elder abuse lawsuit seeks money damages and court orders for the person harmed. The court may award actual and consequential damages, and punitive damages under ordinary rules5.
- Exploitation remedies
- For misuse of assets, the court may award actual damages, costs and legal fees, plus up to two times the actual damages. It may also strip the wrongdoer of gifts or roles under the older adult's will, trust or other documents6.
Who may file matters. In an exploitation case, the vulnerable adult, a court-appointed conservator or the personal representative of the estate has priority to sue; other interested people must ask the court for permission6. Other states set different rules for who may bring a claim, what duties apply and who must report.
Who may be responsible in an elder abuse lawsuit
Responsibility depends on the facts and is never presumed. Depending on what happened, a claim may involve:
- A family member, friend or partner who controlled care or money
- An agent under a power of attorney, a trustee, guardian or conservator
- A paid caregiver, and the home care agency that employed or supervised that person
- An assisted living facility or nursing home that was responsible for care
- A person who received transfers or property and knew how they were obtained
Arizona's caregiver claim reaches any person or business that was employed to provide care, assumed a legal duty to provide care, or was appointed by a court to provide care5. Arizona's exploitation statute excludes banks, licensed securities dealers, insurers and licensed health care institutions when their agents act within their normal duties6.
Records that can help, while respecting privacy
Gathering records should not mean taking over someone's life. Ask the older adult first when you can, and use only the access you are legally allowed. If a person has capacity, the decision to pursue a claim is theirs.
Records that may help
Money and property
- Bank, credit card and brokerage statements
- Checks, wire records and online banking logs
- Deeds, titles and beneficiary forms
- Powers of attorney, trusts and wills, with dates
Health and care
- Medical and hospital records, including photos of injuries
- Facility or home care notes and incident reports
- Medication lists and pharmacy records
- Notes on memory or decision-making from the doctor
People and communications
- Texts, emails, letters and voicemails
- APS or police report numbers
- Names of witnesses, neighbors and bank staff
- A dated timeline of what you noticed
Investigators can also get records directly. Arizona requires anyone holding a vulnerable adult's medical or financial records to share them with police or APS investigators on written request4.
When to talk to an elder abuse attorney
You do not need proof before you call. An elder abuse claim review usually considers:
- Injuries from rough handling, restraint or untreated conditions
- Money missing from accounts, or large transfers to a caregiver or relative
- A power of attorney, deed or will signed under pressure or without understanding
- Changes to an estate plan made while the older adult was isolated or ill
- A financial professional's handling of a senior's investments
For concerns about a brokerage account, the CFPB lists the SEC at 800-732-0330 and FINRA's Securities Helpline for Seniors at 844-574-35779. When an injury is part of the picture, our Arizona personal injury page describes how injury claims generally work, and our wrongful death page covers claims after a death.
Filing deadlines for elder abuse and exploitation claims in Arizona
A civil action under Arizona's Adult Protective Services Act must begin within two years after actual discovery of the cause of action5, and the same limit applies to financial exploitation claims under § 46-4566. A claim filed under § 46-455 must also be served on the Arizona attorney general within thirty days of filing5. Other claims, such as an ordinary injury claim or a claim for property that was taken, generally have a two-year limit12. The right to bring an Adult Protective Services Act claim is not lost if the older adult dies5. Other states use different deadlines.
What happens after you contact CBW Law
How a review works
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We listen
Tell us what happened, who was involved and what you have already reported. Dates can be approximate.
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We confirm who can act
We find out whether the older adult can direct the matter or who holds legal authority, so their wishes and privacy are respected.
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We review the records
With proper authorization, we look at financial, medical and care records and the documents that moved money or property.
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We explain what we found
We tell you whether the facts suggest a civil claim, what remains unclear and which deadlines apply.
Older adults have the right to be safe and to make their own choices, and a claim should protect both.
Plain English
Medical, Health & Insurance
Elder abuse cases use legal and financial terms that overlap with health care. These are some you may hear.
Capacity and care
- Incapacitated person
- In Arizona, someone whose impairment leaves them without enough understanding or capacity to make or communicate responsible decisions7.
- Vulnerable adult
- An adult who cannot protect themselves from abuse, neglect or exploitation because of a physical or mental impairment3.
- Diminished financial capacity
- A decline in a person's ability to manage money and assets in their own best interest9.
- Neglect
- Depriving a vulnerable adult of food, water, medicine, medical care, shelter, supervision, heating or cooling needed for basic health3.
Money and documents
- Durable financial power of attorney
- A document naming an agent to handle money decisions that stays in effect if the person loses capacity9.
- Trusted contact person
- Someone a brokerage may call about possible exploitation. A trusted contact has no access to the money9.
- Position of trust and confidence
- In Arizona, a relationship such as caregiver, joint owner, fiduciary or beneficiary that carries a duty to use a vulnerable adult's assets only for that adult6.
- Governing instrument
- A deed, will, trust, power of attorney, beneficiary designation or similar document that controls property6.
Legal and reporting
- Adult Protective Services (APS)
- The state program that investigates reports of abuse, exploitation and neglect of vulnerable adults8.
- Mandated reporter
- A person Arizona law requires to report a reasonable belief of abuse, neglect or exploitation right away4.
- Conservator
- A court-appointed manager of another person's property, who has priority to bring an exploitation claim in Arizona6.
- Suspicious activity report
- A report banks file with FinCEN, including reports of suspected elder financial exploitation10.
Questions
Frequently asked elder abuse questions
Short answers to questions older adults and families ask about abuse and exploitation.
What should I do if I think an older adult is in danger?
Is it exploitation if my father gives money to a new friend?
Not necessarily. Adults can spend and give away their own money. Arizona law treats a transaction as being for the older adult's benefit when it matches clearly stated wishes made without coercion while of sound mind6. Pressure, isolation, deception or impaired understanding change the picture.
Can an agent under a power of attorney pay themselves?
Only within the limits of the document and the law. In Arizona, a person in a position of trust must use a vulnerable adult's assets solely for that adult's benefit unless a valid durable power of attorney or trust specifically authorizes the transaction, a court approves it in advance, or another narrow exception applies6.
Does getting older mean someone can't make their own decisions?
Is an APS report the same as filing a lawsuit?
Who can file an elder financial exploitation lawsuit in Arizona?
The vulnerable adult, a court-appointed conservator or the personal representative of the estate has priority. Another interested person may ask the court for permission to file on the adult's behalf6. A claim review can help sort out who has standing in your situation.
Can money that was taken be recovered?
Sometimes, but no recovery can be promised. Arizona courts may award actual damages, costs and legal fees, and up to two times the actual damages in an exploitation case6. Whether money can be collected depends on what the wrongdoer still has and other facts.
How long do we have to bring an elder abuse claim?
Will the older adult have a say in what happens?
They should. If the older adult can make decisions, the choice to sue or do nothing is generally theirs, although some people, such as health professionals and caregivers, must report suspected abuse by law4. Arizona's protective services programs aim to keep adults in familiar surroundings and strengthen their ability to care for themselves3.
Tell Us Your Story
Elder abuse and financial exploitation can come from people an older adult trusts most. Arizona law offers civil remedies, separate from APS and criminal cases, while respecting the older adult's own choices.
If you or someone you care about was harmed or lost money to a caregiver, relative, facility or adviser, tell us what happened. We will listen and explain what a claim review involves.
Tell Us Your Story Call (800) 476-2416
This page is general information about elder abuse and financial exploitation. It is not legal or medical advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. An accident, an injury or a loss does not, by itself, establish that anyone was negligent or legally responsible, and the law differs from state to state. No outcome can be promised in any case.