Stenger

In this case we are called upon to construe for the first time certain statutes which seek to protect *972 the health and welfare of aged persons in California when they enter into contractual relationships with those who would proffer life care in return for the receipt of property. We deal here with legislation designed to prevent the infliction cf harm to the elderly by those who are not fully qualified to care for them under proper conditions and on reasonable terms. Specifically, we must decide whether the laws regulating prepaid life care for the aged 1 extend protection to persons who purchase life care on an individual rather than an institutional basis; we hold that the provisions in question protect such persons and conclude that the trial court properly cancelled the instant life care agreement on the ground that it violated the controlling sections of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

We then examine another aspect of the transaction: We consider the trial court’s finding that the defendants exploited their confidential relationship with the decedent and thereby obtained her property. We sustain the court’s conclusion and hold that its ruling on the contract…