2018 Tennessee Code
Title 39 - Criminal Offenses
Chapter 15 - Offenses Against the Family
Part 5 - Elderly and Vulnerable Adults
§ 39-15-501. Part definitions. [Effective until January 1, 2019. See the version effective on January 1, 2019.]
- As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Caregiver":
(A) Means a relative or a person who has a legal duty to provide care, or who has assumed such duty by contract or conduct that a reasonable person would interpret as an assumption of the responsibility for an elderly or vulnerable adult's care; and
(B) Does not include a financial institution as a caregiver of property, funds, or other assets unless the financial institution has entered into an agreement, or has been appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, to act as a trustee with regard to the property of the adult;
(2) "Elderly adult" means a person seventy (70) years of age or older;
(3) "Financial exploitation" means:
(A) The use of deception, intimidation, undue influence, force, or threat of force to obtain or exert unauthorized control over an elderly or vulnerable adult's property with the intent to deprive the elderly or vulnerable adult of property;
(B) The breach of a fiduciary duty to an elderly or vulnerable adult by the person's guardian, conservator, or agent under a power of attorney which results in an appropriation, sale, or transfer of the elderly or vulnerable adult's property; or
(C) The act of obtaining or exercising control over an elderly or vulnerable adult's property by a caregiver committed with intent to benefit the caregiver or other third party;
(4) "Relative" means a spouse; child, including stepchild, adopted child, or foster child; parent, including stepparent, adoptive parent, or foster parent; sibling of the whole or half-blood; step-sibling; grandparent, of any degree; grandchild, of any degree; and aunt, uncle, niece, and nephew, of any degree, who:
(A) Resides with or has frequent or prolonged contact with the elderly or vulnerable adult; and
(B) Knows or reasonably should know that the elderly or vulnerable adult is unable to adequately provide for the adult's own care or financial resources; and
(5) "Vulnerable adult" means a person eighteen (18) years of age or older who, because of intellectual disability or physical dysfunction, is unable to fully manage the person's own resources, carry out all or a portion of the activities of daily living, or fully protect against neglect, exploitation, or hazardous or abusive situations without assistance from others.
