Judges, court staff, attorneys and others who work with elderly persons should be familiar with three important concepts relevant to identifying and responding to elder abuse: capacity, consent, and undue influence.
Elder persons can be more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation if they lack capacity to make every day decisions, to give meaningful consent based on their ability to understand the meaning of transactions, or are subject to the undue influence of trusted people in their lives.
Assessing whether a person has capacity, gave consent or was under undue influence can be critical to determining whether a person is victim of elder abuse.