An Act to protect the property of elder or disabled persons

Lead Sponsor: Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian

Impetus
An 86-year-old woman, a widow with no children, lay in a nursing home bed near death. She was confused and was no longer able to recognize the family friend who served as her healthcare proxy. While heavily medicated, the woman was duped by her neighbor into signing over a quitclaim deed of her property.

The neighbor was charged and convicted in the Middlesex Superior Court with larceny of property valued over $250 from an elderly person. On appeal, the SJC reversed the conviction, determining that in order to be found guilty, the defendant himself — rather than a reasonable person in his position — must be shown to have known the victim lacked capacity to consent.  Commonwealth v. St. Hilaire, 470 Mass. 338 (2015).

Need

• Given that elder and disabled persons may be especially vulnerable to fraud, the focus of the analysis should be on whether there is a showing that they gave their consent to the transfer of property.
• Financial exploitation of an elder or disabled person is frequently committed by people with close access to them, including: family members, friends, neighbors or caretakers.
• Legal protections should exist to protect the state's senior population, especially considering the projected population growth of this demographic. It is estimated that nearly 15 million Massachusetts residents (about 21%) will be 65 years or older by 2030.

Legislative Fix

• Creates a chargeable offense where an elderly or disabled person does not give consent to the conveyance of their property.
• Provides elderly and disabled victims with restitution commensurate with the value of the property.
• Requires a caretaker, where there is one, to be present when property is conveyed to a third party to verify that the transfer was voluntary and lawful.