## Facts

- Louis Stroll, an elderly man, lived alone and had little contact with his adult children.
- In 1992, Stroll hired Rosario Rios as his housekeeper. She initially worked once a week, but over time worked daily.
- As Rios’s role expanded, she obtained broad access to Stroll’s keys, mail, checkbook, and bank accounts.
- In 1999, Stroll executed a change-of-beneficiary form naming Rios as the beneficiary of his Veterans Affairs life insurance policy.
- Rios prepared the change-of-beneficiary form, and Rios’s babysitter served as a witness to Stroll’s execution.
- In 2000, Stroll was hospitalized and was found to be suffering from a fungal infection and rotten teeth.
- Soon after the hospitalization, Stroll’s children found his apartment filthy, smelling strongly of urine, and with an empty refrigerator.
- After reviewing Stroll’s finances, the children discovered that Rios had withdrawn $67,500 from Stroll’s accounts during the preceding seven months by writing checks to herself, including some checks written after Stroll was admitted to the hospital.
- When asked, Rios did not produce the check register.
- Margaret Blevins sued Rios after Stroll’s death, seeking recovery of the $67,500 and an order voiding the change-of-beneficiary form.
- Blevins presented evidence that Stroll’s monthly expenses were approximately $1,400.
- Rios asserted that Stroll authorized the withdrawals for (1) Stroll’s care expenses and (2) an approximately $16,000 cash gift to Rios, but Rios presented no evidence supporting those claims.
- Rios admitted she had a fiduciary and confidential relationship with Stroll.
- The trial court ordered Rios to reimburse the estate for the withdrawals, reduced by $13,000 in salary to which Rios was entitled, and voided the change-of-beneficiary form. Rios appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence supported the trial court’s finding that Rios, while in a fiduciary and confidential relationship with Stroll, wrongfully took or misappropriated Stroll’s funds by writing $67,500 in checks to herself without proof of authorization.
2. Whether the trial court properly voided the change-of-beneficiary form naming Rios as beneficiary of Stroll’s Veterans Affairs life insurance policy where Rios prepared the form, benefited from it, and stood in a fiduciary and confidential relationship with Stroll.
3. Whether the trial court properly reduced the reimbursement amount by offsetting $13,000 for salary owed to Rios.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment.
- The court upheld the order requiring Rios to reimburse the estate for the $67,500 withdrawn from Stroll’s accounts, minus a $13,000 offset for wages.
- The court upheld the order voiding the change-of-beneficiary form that named Rios as beneficiary of Stroll’s Veterans Affairs life insurance policy.

## Legal Principles

- When a caregiver stands in a fiduciary and confidential relationship with an elderly person, transactions that benefit the caregiver are subject to close judicial review.
- A fiduciary who takes the elder’s money for the fiduciary’s own benefit must be able to account for the transfers and show that they were authorized and proper; unsupported explanations may be rejected.
- Evidence that withdrawals were large in amount, inconsistent with the elder’s regular expenses, and continued even after the elder’s hospitalization may support a finding of wrongful taking or financial elder abuse.
- A beneficiary designation arranged by a fiduciary for the fiduciary’s own benefit—especially where the fiduciary prepares the paperwork and supplies the witness—may be set aside when the fiduciary cannot show it was the product of valid, informed consent.
- In ordering restitution, a court may credit the defendant for proven compensation legitimately earned, while still requiring repayment of amounts taken without proper basis.

## Conclusion

Blevins v. Rios affirmed a trial court judgment against a housekeeper/caregiver who, while in a fiduciary and confidential relationship with an elderly man, wrote substantial checks to herself and arranged a life-insurance beneficiary change in her favor without evidentiary support that either transfer was authorized; the court ordered restitution of the funds (less earned wages) and voided the beneficiary designation.


Blevins v. Rios, 2003 WL 463555 (2003)