Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 33-19.1 - Financial Exploitation of Elders and Dependent Persons Act

• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Care custodian: means a person who provides health or social services to a dependent adult, except that "care custodian" does not include a person who provided services without remuneration if the person had a personal relationship with the dependent adult: (i) At least ninety (90) days before providing those services; (ii) At least six (6) months before the dependent adult's death; and (iii) Before the dependent adult was admitted to hospice care, if the dependent adult was admitted to hospice care. See Rhode Island General Laws 33-19.1-2
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dependent adult: means a person who, at the time of executing the instrument at issue under this section, was a person described in either of the following:

  (i)  The person was sixty-five (65) years of age or older and satisfied one or both of the following criteria:

  (A)  The person was unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter;

  (B)  Due to one or more deficits in the mental functions listed in §?11-5-12(b)(2), the person had difficulty managing his or her own financial resources or resisting fraud or undue influences. See Rhode Island General Laws 33-19.1-2

• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Independent attorney: means an attorney who has no legal, business, financial, professional, or personal relationship with the beneficiary of a donative transfer at issue under this chapter, and who would not be appointed as a fiduciary or receive any pecuniary benefit as a result of the operation of the instrument containing the donative transfer at issue under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 33-19.1-2
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Probate: Proving a will
• spouse or domestic partner: includes a predeceased spouse or predeceased domestic partner. See Rhode Island General Laws 33-19.1-2