Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 31 > Chapter 39 - Adult Protective Services

• Abuse: means :

  a. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902

• adult person: means a person of the age of 18 years or older. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Adult who is impaired: shall mean any person 18 years of age or over who, because of physical or mental disability, is substantially impaired in the ability to provide adequately for the person's own care and custody. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Alleged victim: shall mean any adult who is impaired, incapacitated, elderly or vulnerable that may have been abused, neglected or exploited based on a report to Adult Protective Services. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Caregiver: means any adult who has assumed the permanent or temporary care, custody or responsibility for the supervision of an adult who is impaired. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Court: means the Court of Chancery of the State. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the Department of Health and Social Services of the State. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Emergency: means that a person is living in conditions which present a substantial risk of serious harm and includes, but is not limited to, problems which cannot be managed by a person who is impaired, such as insufficient food supply, inadequate shelter, threatened or actual abuse or utility shut-off. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• 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.
• Exploitation: means an act of forcing, compelling, or exerting undue influence over a vulnerable adult causing the vulnerable adult to act in a way that is inconsistent with relevant past behavior, or causing the vulnerable adult to perform services for the benefit of another. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Financial exploitation: includes , but is not limited to:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902

• Financial institution: means any of the following:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902

• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Independent living arrangement: means a mode of life pursued by a person capable of providing for the person's own care or who, while impaired, nevertheless is able to live outside an institution with assistance in obtaining essential services. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Interested person: means any adult relative or friend of a person who is impaired; an official or representative of the protective services agency or of any public or nonpublic private agency; or any corporation, board, organization or person designated by the Court to act in the interest of the person who is impaired. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Mistreatment: means the failure to provide appropriate physical or emotional care to an adult who is impaired, including the inappropriate use of medications, isolation or physical or chemical restraints on or of an adult who is impaired. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Neglect: means :

  a. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902

• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Person who is incapacitated: means a person for whom a guardian of person or property, or both, shall be appointed, under § 3901 of Title 12. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Physical or mental disability: shall include any physical or mental disability and shall include, but not be limited to, intellectual and developmental disabilities, brain damage, physical degeneration, deterioration, senility, disease, habitual drunkenness or addiction to drugs, and mental or physical impairment. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Vulnerable adult: means an adult who meets the criteria set forth in § 1105(c) of Title 11. See Delaware Code Title 31 Sec. 3902
• Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302