Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes > Adult Protective Services Act

• Abuse: means any knowing or intentional act on the part of a caregiver or any other person which results in physical injury, unreasonable confinement, cruel punishment, sexual abuse, or sexual exploitation of a vulnerable adult. See Nebraska Statutes 28-351
• Acquire: when used in connection with a grant of power or property right to any person shall include the purchase, grant, gift, devise, bequest, and obtaining by eminent domain. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Adult protective services: means those services provided by the department for the prevention, correction, or discontinuance of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. See Nebraska Statutes 28-352
• 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.
• 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
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attorney: shall mean attorney at law. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Caregiver: shall mean any person or entity which has assumed the responsibility for the care of a vulnerable adult voluntarily, by express or implied contract, or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction. See Nebraska Statutes 28-353
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Company: shall include any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, joint venture, or association. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Company shall: include any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, joint venture, or association. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Cruel punishment: shall mean punishment which intentionally causes physical injury to a vulnerable adult. See Nebraska Statutes 28-354
• Department: shall mean the Department of Health and Human Services. See Nebraska Statutes 28-356
• Domestic: when applied to corporations shall mean all those created by authority of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Essential services: shall mean those services necessary to safeguard the person or property of a vulnerable adult. See Nebraska Statutes 28-357
• 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.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Exploitation: means the wrongful or unauthorized taking, withholding, appropriation, conversion, control, or use of money, funds, securities, assets, or any other property of a vulnerable adult or senior adult by any person by means of undue influence, breach of a fiduciary relationship, deception, extortion, intimidation, force or threat of force, isolation, or any unlawful means or by the breach of a fiduciary duty by the guardian, conservator, agent under a power of attorney, trustee, or any other fiduciary of a vulnerable adult or senior adult. See Nebraska Statutes 28-358
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Foreign: when applied to corporations shall include all those created by authority other than that of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• 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.
• 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.
• Isolation: means intentional acts (a) committed for the purpose of preventing, and which do prevent, a vulnerable adult or senior adult from having contact with family, friends, or concerned persons, (b) committed to prevent a vulnerable adult or senior adult from receiving his or her mail or telephone calls, (c) of physical or chemical restraint of a vulnerable adult or senior adult committed for purposes of preventing contact with visitors, family, friends, or other concerned persons, or (d) which restrict, place, or confine a vulnerable adult or senior adult in a restricted area for purposes of social deprivation or preventing contact with family, friends, visitors, or other concerned persons. See Nebraska Statutes 28-358.01
• Isolation does not: include (a) medical isolation prescribed by a licensed physician caring for the vulnerable adult or senior adult, (b) action taken in compliance with a harassment protection order issued pursuant to section 28-311. See Nebraska Statutes 28-358.01
• 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.
• Law enforcement agency: shall mean the police department or the town marshal in incorporated municipalities, the office of the sheriff in unincorporated areas, and the Nebraska State Patrol. See Nebraska Statutes 28-359
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Least restrictive alternative: shall mean adult protective services provided in a manner no more restrictive of a vulnerable adult's liberty and no more intrusive than necessary to achieve and ensure essential services. See Nebraska Statutes 28-360
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Neglect: means any knowing or intentional act or omission on the part of a caregiver to provide essential services or the failure of a vulnerable adult, due to physical or mental impairments, to perform self-care or obtain essential services to such an extent that there is actual physical injury to a vulnerable adult or imminent danger of the vulnerable adult suffering physical injury or death. See Nebraska Statutes 28-361.01
• Permit: shall mean to allow a vulnerable adult over whom one has a proximate or direct degree of control to perform an act or acts or be in a situation which the controlling person could have prevented by the reasonable exercise of such control. See Nebraska Statutes 28-362
• Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Person shall: include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Physical injury: shall mean damage to bodily tissue caused by nontherapeutic conduct, including, but not limited to, fractures, bruises, lacerations, internal injuries, or dislocations, and shall include, but not be limited to, physical pain, illness, or impairment of physical function. See Nebraska Statutes 28-363
• 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.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Proper supervision: shall mean care and control of a vulnerable adult which a reasonable and prudent person would exercise under similar facts and circumstances. See Nebraska Statutes 28-364
• Registry: shall mean the Adult Protective Services Central Registry established by section 28-376. See Nebraska Statutes 28-365
• Senior adult: means any person sixty-five years of age or older. See Nebraska Statutes 28-366.01
• Sexual abuse: shall include sexual assault as described in section 28-319 or 28-320 and incest as described in section 28-703. See Nebraska Statutes 28-367
• State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Substantial functional impairment: shall mean a substantial incapability, because of physical limitations, of living independently or providing self-care as determined through observation, diagnosis, investigation, or evaluation. See Nebraska Statutes 28-368
• Substantial mental impairment: shall mean a substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behavior, or ability to live independently or provide self-care as revealed by observation, diagnosis, investigation, or evaluation. See Nebraska Statutes 28-369
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: shall include territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Vulnerable adult: means any person eighteen years of age or older who has a substantial mental or functional impairment or for whom a guardian or conservator has been appointed under the Nebraska Probate Code. See Nebraska Statutes 28-371
• Year: shall mean calendar year. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801