Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 235F - Elder Abuse

• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attorney in fact: means an agent under a power of attorney pursuant to chapter 633B or an attorney in fact under a durable power of attorney for health care pursuant to chapter 144B. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Caretaker: means a related or nonrelated person who has the responsibility for the protection, care, or custody of a vulnerable elder as a result of assuming the responsibility voluntarily, by contract, through employment, or by order of the court. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Child: includes but shall not be limited to a stepchild, foster child, or legally adopted child and means a child actually or apparently under eighteen years of age, and a dependent person eighteen years of age or over who is unable to maintain the person's self and is likely to become a public charge. See Iowa Code 252A.2
• clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Coercion: means communication or conduct which unduly compels a vulnerable elder to act or refrain from acting against the vulnerable elder's will and against the vulnerable elder's best interests. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conservator: means the same as defined in section 633. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Court: shall mean and include any court upon which jurisdiction has been conferred to determine the liability of persons for the support of dependents. See Iowa Code 252A.2
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of human services. See Iowa Code 249L.2
• Elder abuse: means any of the following:
   (1) Physical injury to, or injury which is at a variance with the history given of the injury, or unreasonable confinement, unreasonable punishment, or assault of a vulnerable elder by a person not otherwise governed by chapter 235E. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• 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.
• Family or household member: means a spouse, a person cohabiting with the vulnerable elder, a parent, or a person related to the vulnerable elder by consanguinity or affinity, but does not include children of the vulnerable elder who are less than eighteen years of age. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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.
• Guardian: means the same as defined in section 633. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• 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.
• Party: means a petitioner, a respondent, or a person who intervenes in a proceeding instituted under this chapter. See Iowa Code 252A.2
• Peace officer: means the same as defined in section 801. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Petitioner: includes each dependent person for whom support is sought in a proceeding instituted pursuant to this chapter or a mother or putative father of a dependent. See Iowa Code 252A.2
• Plaintiff: means a vulnerable elder who files a petition under this chapter and includes a substitute petitioner who files a petition on behalf of a vulnerable elder under this chapter. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• 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}
• Present danger of elder abuse: means a situation in which the defendant has recently threatened the vulnerable elder with initial or additional elder abuse, or the potential exists for misappropriation, misuse, or removal of the funds, benefits, property, resources, belongings, or assets of the vulnerable elder combined with reasonable grounds to believe that elder abuse is likely to occur. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Pro se: means a person proceeding on the person's own behalf without legal representation. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
• real property: include lands, tenements, hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Stands in a position of trust or confidence: means the person has any of the following relationships relative to the vulnerable elder:
   a. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Substitute petitioner: means a family or household member, guardian, conservator, attorney in fact, or guardian ad litem for a vulnerable elder, or other interested person who files a petition under this chapter. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Undue influence: means taking advantage of a person's role, relationship, or authority to improperly change or obtain control over the actions or decision making of a vulnerable elder against the vulnerable elder's best interests. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Vulnerable elder: means a person sixty years of age or older who is unable to protect himself or herself from elder abuse as a result of a mental or physical condition or because of a personal circumstance which results in an increased risk of harm to the person. See Iowa Code 235F.1
• week: means seven consecutive days. See Iowa Code 4.1
• year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1