Scoring on Senility : Lawyers now will be barred from accepting money from estates of clients

Financial abuse of the elderly is a problem that should cause as much concern as physical abuse. That’s why it was good that Gov. Pete Wilson signed a bill, taking effect next Jan. 1, that essentially bars lawyers from accepting money from the estates of their clients.

Allegations of these abuses have been highlighted by Orange County cases reported by The Times that involve lawyer James D. Gunderson of Laguna Hills, who later came under investigation by the State Bar, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County Bar Assn.

In one case he got a judge to name him legal guardian of a senile woman and then drafted a new will giving him much of her estate, worth nearly $250,000. In another case, he allegedly arranged for a bedridden 98-year-old man, described as blind and deteriorating mentally, to sign a will and a trust that together bequeathed the attorney stock worth $3.5 million. Gunderson has denied all wrongdoing.

The new measure belatedly brings California into line with 38 other states that already have similar prohibitions against attorneys inheriting from their clients. On its way to passage in Sacramento, one attorney testified that “many, many attorneys engage in predatory practices” against the elderly. And a judge warned that the new law is not a cure-all, that unscrupulous lawyers can try to find friendly attorneys to draw up wills and trusts that benefit them both.

The extent of the abuses and the loophole that apparently will remain suggest the need for continued vigilance by the State Bar of California, and, if warranted, further legislation. But this is a start. And, to its credit, the Bar supported the reform and is moving toward a rule prohibiting lawyers, under threat of disbarment, from preparing wills or trusts that grant gifts to themselves. The California Supreme Court ruled 31 years ago that lawyers must not receive anything more than a “modest” gift from a client’s estate, but obviously the problem remains.

Senior citizens who saved for years for retirement should not be exploited. The law is necessary to stop the outrageous abuse by the minority of lawyers who have no scruples.