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1. When does the County Attorney’s Office become involved with adult protection matters?

The County Attorney’s Office becomes involved when there has been a finding of financial exploitation, neglect and/or physical or emotional abuse of a vulnerable adult, and legal action initiated by the county is necessary to protect the vulnerable adult from further exploitation, neglect or abuse.

2. What is a vulnerable adult?

A vulnerable adult is a person 18 years of age or older who has a physical, mental or emotional dysfunction that impairs the individual’s ability to provide adequately for the individual’s own care without assistance, including the provision of food, shelter, clothing, health care or supervision; and because of the dysfunction and the need for assistance, the individual has an impaired ability to protect the individual from maltreatment.

3. What kind of judicial action can be taken to protect vulnerable adults?

If the vulnerable adult is incompetent to take care of personal needs such as provision of reasonable housing, medical care, or food, a petition to appoint a guardian of the person may be brought. If the vulnerable adult is incompetent to make decisions regarding financial affairs, a petition to appoint a conservator of the person’s estate can be brought. If a guardian or conservator is appointed, that person has the obligation to assist the individual with management of the individual’s affairs, whether it be managing the person’s bank account, or finding the person a safe place to live, and arranging for the person’s admission and move to the new residence.

Another legal remedy that does not result in the vulnerable adult being placed under guardianship or conservatorship is an action for injunctive relief, where the petitioner requests a court order requiring a party to do or refrain from doing a particular action that is harmful to the vulnerable adult. These legal actions may be brought by attorneys in the County Attorney’s Office’s Protective Services Unit, as part if their responsibility under the Vulnerable Adults Act.

If a finding is made of maltreatment of a vulnerable adult, the perpetrator of the maltreatment will be disqualified from employment working with vulnerable adults or children. The perpetrator could be liable for civil damages in a private lawsuit.

In a criminal proceeding, action can be taken by the State against a person charged with financial exploitation, criminal neglect, or abuse of a vulnerable adult. These matters would be handled in the Criminal Division of the County Attorney’s Office.

4. Can private individuals file their own guardianship/conservatorship petitions, without the involvement of the County Attorney’s Office?

Yes. In fact, the great majority of guardianship and conservatorship petitions are filed by private individuals, without any involvement by the County Attorney’s Office. Private lawyers who practice in the areas of probate, elder law and estate planning often bring guardianship/conservatorship proceedings on behalf of their clients. Petitioners can and often do represent themselves, as well. Forms and instructions for filing a guardianship or conservatorship petition can be found on the Minnesota Courts Web site at www.courts.state.mn.us/forms.

Regardless of whether the petition is filed by the County Attorney’s Office, a private attorney or a pro se party, the county Social Services department becomes involved, since the court is required to appoint a court visitor, usually a county social worker, to visit the proposed ward/conservatee and file a report and recommendation with the court.

5. What can private citizens do to assist with the protection of vulnerable adults?

It is often said that the quality of a society can be judged by the way it protects its most vulnerable citizens. Financial exploitation, abuse and/or neglect of a vulnerable adult is a crime, just as child abuse or neglect is a crime. Similar to children who are subjected to abuse and neglect, vulnerable adults are often not able to report the crime or extricate themselves from the situation they are in.
Citizens who suspect that a vulnerable adult is being neglected, abused, or financially exploited should report the matter to law enforcement and make a report to Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center at 844-880-1574.
Abuse or neglect may be at the hands of a family member who has accepted the responsibility to provide care for the vulnerable adult, or at the hands of a professional caregiver who cares for the vulnerable adult. A not uncommon example of financial exploitation involves an unemployed adult child living with an elderly, mentally or physically impaired parent, who uses the parent’s money for the child’s own purposes, such as to feed a drug or alcohol addiction, while failing to pay the necessary expenses of the parent.