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What this bill didAB 140 (Dickinson) gave California a statutory definition of undue influence for the first time. It added Welf. & Inst. Code section 15610.70, defining undue influence as excessive persuasion that overcomes another person’s free will and results in inequity, and setting out four factors a court must consider: the victim’s vulnerability, the influencer’s apparent authority, the actions or tactics used, and the equity of the result. It added Probate Code section 86 to carry that same definition into wills, trusts and conservatorship matters, and amended Welf. & Inst. Code section 15610.30 so that financial elder abuse expressly reaches property taken by undue influence as newly defined.
Current statusChaptered as Stats. 2013, Ch. 668, approved by the Governor October 9, 2013, effective January 1, 2014. Neither Probate Code section 86 nor Welf. & Inst. Code section 15610.70 has been amended since — both remain exactly as AB 140 enacted them. Welf. & Inst. Code section 15610.30 has likewise not been amended since this bill. Current codified text appears on the Relevant Statutes and Statutory Definitions pages, which should be treated as controlling over the historical bill text below.
Why it matters in practiceSection 86 states expressly that the definition supplements the common law of undue influence without superseding or interfering with it. Both frameworks therefore remain available, and the statutory factors have not displaced the older judicial indicia. The four factors in section 15610.70(a) are worth reading as a checklist when building or defending a case: subdivision (a)(3) in particular itemizes the tactics that recur in these matters — controlling access to information or to other people, controlling medication or sleep, use of affection or intimidation, and haste or secrecy in effecting changes to personal or property rights. Note also subdivision (b): an inequitable result, standing alone, does not prove undue influence.
Enrolled Bill Text
Assembly Bill No. 140 — Chapter 668
Introduced by Assembly Member Dickinson (Coauthor: Assembly Member Gatto), January 17, 2013
Approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State, October 9, 2013
An act to add Section 86 to the Probate Code, and to amend Section 15610.30 of, and to add Section 15610.70 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to undue influence.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest
AB 140, Dickinson. Undue influence.
Existing law provides that financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult occurs when, among other instances, a person or entity takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains, or assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining, real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult by undue influence, as defined.
Existing law makes failing to report, or impeding or inhibiting a report of, among other things, financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult, in violation of certain reporting requirements a misdemeanor. Existing law also makes it a misdemeanor for any caretaker of an elder or dependent adult to violate any provision of law proscribing theft or embezzlement, with respect to the property of that elder or dependent adult.
This bill would change the definition of undue influence to mean excessive persuasion that causes another person to act or refrain from acting by overcoming that person’s free will and results in inequity. The bill would require, in determining whether the result was produced by undue influence, the vulnerability of the victim, the influencer’s apparent authority, the actions or tactics used by the influencer, and the equity of the result to be considered. The bill would specify that an inequitable result, without more, is not sufficient to prove undue influence.
By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law prohibits the use of undue influence and establishes protections for individuals unable to resist undue influence in various areas of the law, including wills, trusts, and conservatorships.
This bill would define undue influence for those purposes without superseding or interfering with the common law of undue influence.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The People of the State of California Do Enact As Follows
SECTION 1. Section 86 is added to the Probate Code, to read:
86. “Undue influence” has the same meaning as defined in Section 15610.70 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. It is the intent of the Legislature that this section supplement the common law meaning of undue influence without superseding or interfering with the operation of that law.
SEC. 2. Section 15610.30 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
15610.30. (a) “Financial abuse” of an elder or dependent adult occurs when a person or entity does any of the following:
(1) Takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both.
(2) Assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both.
(3) Takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains, or assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining, real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult by undue influence, as defined in Section 15610.70.
(b) A person or entity shall be deemed to have taken, secreted, appropriated, obtained, or retained property for a wrongful use if, among other things, the person or entity takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains the property and the person or entity knew or should have known that this conduct is likely to be harmful to the elder or dependent adult.
(c) For purposes of this section, a person or entity takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property when an elder or dependent adult is deprived of any property right, including by means of an agreement, donative transfer, or testamentary bequest, regardless of whether the property is held directly or by a representative of an elder or dependent adult.
(d) For purposes of this section, “representative” means a person or entity that is either of the following:
(1) A conservator, trustee, or other representative of the estate of an elder or dependent adult.
(2) An attorney-in-fact of an elder or dependent adult who acts within the authority of the power of attorney.
SEC. 3. Section 15610.70 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
15610.70. (a) “Undue influence” means excessive persuasion that causes another person to act or refrain from acting by overcoming that person’s free will and results in inequity. In determining whether a result was produced by undue influence, all of the following shall be considered:
(1) The vulnerability of the victim. Evidence of vulnerability may include, but is not limited to, incapacity, illness, disability, injury, age, education, impaired cognitive function, emotional distress, isolation, or dependency, and whether the influencer knew or should have known of the alleged victim’s vulnerability.
(2) The influencer’s apparent authority. Evidence of apparent authority may include, but is not limited to, status as a fiduciary, family member, care provider, health care professional, legal professional, spiritual adviser, expert, or other qualification.
(3) The actions or tactics used by the influencer. Evidence of actions or tactics used may include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Controlling necessaries of life, medication, the victim’s interactions with others, access to information, or sleep.
(B) Use of affection, intimidation, or coercion.
(C) Initiation of changes in personal or property rights, use of haste or secrecy in effecting those changes, effecting changes at inappropriate times and places, and claims of expertise in effecting changes.
(4) The equity of the result. Evidence of the equity of the result may include, but is not limited to, the economic consequences to the victim, any divergence from the victim’s prior intent or course of conduct or dealing, the relationship of the value conveyed to the value of any services or consideration received, or the appropriateness of the change in light of the length and nature of the relationship.
(b) Evidence of an inequitable result, without more, is not sufficient to prove undue influence.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
Bill text is a public record of the California Legislature, reproduced here as a convenience and for historical reference. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for the current codified statute. Verify the operative text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov before relying on it.