Matthew Keenan's Fight for Freedom Cost Him $120,766

Matthew Keenan, the man who fought for independence from his conservator after recovering from a coma, has been ordered to pay a portion of Colorado State Bank and Trust's court costs.

But the $120,766 awarded to the bank is less than half of what it spent in a four-year legal battle with Keenan.

The bank had sought more than $300,000 to recoup the costs of contesting Keenan's petition for independence, costs of an appeal, costs of litigating issues remanded by a Colorado appeals court and interest on its unpaid bills.

In February, the appeals court ruled the bank had reasonably contested Keenan's efforts to terminate its services as his conservator but left open the question of whether the bank could collect $217,466 in legal fees and costs. That issue was remanded to the Boulder district court.

In Boulder, the bank also requested $40,457 for appeal costs, $20,585 for litigating the remanded issue and $30,928 in interest.

Boulder District Court Judge Thom as Mulvahill ruled Oct. 21 that the bank "employed reasonable litigation tactics" because Keenan "was effectively challenging every transaction and expenditure involving the conservatorship" besides petitioning for independence.

But the judge rejected the bank's requests for interest and payment and reduced the payment on its fees.

In doing so, the judge found that Keenan should not have to pay for the bank's "protracted and expensive handling" of his requests for a new manual wheelchair and portable wheelchair charger.

Mulvahill also deducted a portion of the bank's expenses, ruling that the bank "is in a relatively better financial position to bear the attorney fees and costs resulting from the litigation than is Keenan."

Full Article and Source:
Recovered Patient's Tab to Break With Conservator $120,766

See Also:
Probate Loss Might Change Colorado Law

Need to Know: 'Lives on Hold'

The pentagon estimates that one in five American soldiers will return from battle with a traumatic brain injury. Need to Know checks in on three families that have had to deal with the effects of TBI.

Watch the Video: Need to Know - 'Lives on Hold'

State of CA Says 1,000 Care Facilities Match Sex Offender Addresses

The addresses for more than 1,000 state-licensed care facilities for vulnerable people in California matched addresses on the state sex offender registry, according to a newly released audit.

State Auditor Elaine M. Howle said the California Department of Social Services failed to check the sex offender registry even after her office advised it to do so in 2008.

The facilities matching the registry of sex offenders included foster homes, group homes and day-care facilities for children, as well as facilities for adults with special needs and the elderly.

The auditor informed state regulators of the 1,000 sex offender hits in July. Investigations are now complete and the state said eight licenses have been revoked or suspended and regulators issued 31 orders barring individuals from licensed facilities.

The audit was ordered earlier this year at the request of state Assemblyman Henry Perea (D-Fresno). The audit was also intended to compile data on deaths of children who were under the oversight of child protective services.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors balked at subpoenas for information and hired outside lawyers to fight the inquiry. The auditor's office has vowed to continue to press the county for records and to issue a second report in the coming months.

Full Article and Source:
State Says 1,000 Care Facilities Match Sex Offender Addresses

Elder Care Advocates Must Tell Congress to Protect Long-Term Care Programs for Seniors

[T]he Consumer Voice released an “Action Alert” this week calling on all advocate to send a message to Congress so that they do not cut important programs for seniors. As many readers know, the “Super Committee” made up of a group of Congress members are currently meeting to discuss ways to trim the federal deficit. Many different proposals have been brought forward upon which the committee may act, usually involving a combination of tax increases, loophole closures, and spending reductions. Clearly, some changes need to be made by lawmakers to ensure long-term national financial stability. Yet, it is important that those changes not result in cuts to programs upon which seniors depend. If that happens, the “cut” may actually be counterproductive, because it will result in more social, financial, and medical problems for the seniors—ultimately costing taxpayers more money to treat.

The Super Committee has been charged with coming forward with a deficit reduction plan by November 23rd. They must essentially cut $1.5 trillion, and so a wide range of essential program that seniors depend on are at risk. All senior advocacy groups are urging seniors and their loved ones to take time to contact members of this committee and urge them to take fair and reasonable steps to reduce the deficit that does not place the lives of our most vulnerable community at risk. There are many ways in which advocates can make their voices heard. The Consumer Voice has an online letter than can be signed urging the Super Committee not to force seniors and the disabled for carrying an unfair share of the deficit burden. In addition, everyone can contact these members on their own via postal mail, email, fax, or phone call. It is particularly important for those people who live in the districts of Super Committee members to take the time to contact their representative and urge fairness in the process.

Full Article and Source:
Elder Care Advocates Must Tell Congress to Protect Long-Term Care Programs for Seniors

Gov. Chris Christie: Elitist Judges Must be Stopped

State Superior Court Assignment Judge Linda Feinberg set off a furor last week when she ruled that increases in the cost of pensions and health care benefits for judges and justices were, in effect, pay cuts that are forbidden by the state Constitution.

Although [Governor Chris Christie] appealed the decision Tuesday, he is intent on seeking a constitutional amendment to bypass it.

As for Feinberg ruling in favor of the justices, [Mount Laurel Mayor Jim]Keenan dismissed the notion that Christie was "politicizing the judiciary.""It is simply common sense and fairness," he said.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver went on record last week opposing the constitutional amendment, which would require legislative approval before being put before voters.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney said he would wait for the case to make its way through the courts before deciding what to do.

Full Article and Source:
Gov. Chris Christie: Elitist Judges Must be Stopped

Tommy Thompson: Guilt-Ridden Children Are Spending Too Much On Grandma’s Health

Former Wisconsin governor and US health secretary Tommy Thompson offered up an intense psychoanalytic take on the thorny issue of end-of-life care this week, saying that “guilty” children who ignore their elders then overcompensate at their deathbed are responsible for spiraling costs.

“What happens? Mother or father or grandpa and grandma, you’ve been away, you haven’t done very much. Children come home, mother or father’s on their deathbed, they feel guilty because they haven’t being paying attention to mother or father,” Thompson said at a luncheon in Madison. He continued: “Let’s face it. So they say ‘let’s do everything we can for mother or father. Don’t spare the costs.’ I’m not talking about denying anybody anything. I’m just saying let’s let mother and father have their wishes. They may not want to be on a respirator the last six months of their life.”

According to Wisconsin Radio Network, Thompson, who is expected to run for Senate in Wisconsin, “said people need to have durable power of attorney to ensure their wishes are known, and he also said the nation’s medical schools need to start talking about death.”

Full Article and Source:
Tommy Thompson: Guilt-Ridden Children Are Spending Too Much On Grandma’s Health

91-Year-Old Who Can't Stand Unable to Get Voter ID in TN

If you’re trying to avoid being disenfranchised by your state’s voter ID law, it’s usually a good idea to avoid being a minority, a college student or poor. As it turns out you also probably shouldn’t be 91-years-old and have trouble standing for a long period of time.

Tennessee resident Virginia Lasater found out the hard way after she was unable to get the photo ID required to vote in her state because she wasn’t able to stand in a long line at a DMV:

Lasater told The Daily News Journal that she has voted and worked in campaigns for 70 years. She recently moved to Murfreesboro and on Wednesday registered to vote at the local election commission.

A new law requires voters to show a photo ID at the polls. Since Lasater doesn’t have a photo on her driver’s license, she went to get one. But the testing center was packed and there were no chairs available.

Her son says a clerk told them there was nothing they could do.

Since Tennessee isn’t covered under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, there’s not much the Justice Department can do about the law until after the 2012 elections.

Full Article and Source:
91-Year-Old Who Can't Stand Unable to Get Voter ID in Tennessee

Probate Sharks: Watch This Case Very Carefully

Editor's note:

Heard in the shark tank: This case in U.S. Federal Court, while not very great monetarily, is important for its content. Apparently, the Chicago FEDS are now moving against the fraudulent Medicaid, Medicare and Probate Cartels. We sharks have our suspicions as to the identity of "Individual A and Agency A". If our suspicions are true and correct, a turning point of monumental importance has been reached in the war against the Probate Court Terrorists.

United States of America vs. Jay Canastra

~Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

Source:
ProbateSharks

Press Release: NY Lawyer Comments on Unconscionable Abuse of Facilities in Brooklyn

Residents at the Garden of Eden Home in Brooklyn charge that they were abused mentally, emotionally, and financially by adult home administrators responsible for taking care of them.

In response to the allegations of the adult home abuse, legal action was filed against the New York State Department of Health (DOH), charging that the state Health Department failed to enforce the laws and regulations protecting adult homes residents from psychological abuse and financial exploitation.

"Thousands of individuals are abused each year in adult homes, nursing homes and other facilities responsible for their care," said New York nursing home abuse lawyer David Perecman. "This is a tragedy that needs to be stopped and, in a number of cases, legal action appears to be the most effective way to send the message."

According to Garden of Eden residents, head administrator Martin Amsel repeatedly bullied them into attending optional treatment meetings and would threaten them with eviction or unnecessary hospital visits if they didn't do as he dictated. They said they were also bullied for complaining about conditions and requesting help with medical problems, reported by the New York Daily News.

Adult abuse and nursing home abuse lawyers in New York understand unsanitary living conditions at the facility were significant issues for complaint.

As reported by the Daily News, the DOH noted that residents at the Garden of Eden Home complained they were served stale and moldy food.

Financial abuse was another major issue of complaint.

One resident complained she was forced into a $1,000 contract for the use of air conditioning in her room.

In another incident, the home illegally deducted money from a resident's monthly personal needs allowance, which residents receive to cover all expenses beyond room and board. These deductions are prohibited by law.

Incidents of adult home abuse and nursing home abuse often go unreported. Residents may be reluctant to complain for fear of retaliation or embarrassment, caretakers may cover up abuses, and family and friends of the abuse victim may be unaware of the warning signs of abuse, explained Perecman, a New York nursing home abuse lawyer with over 30 years of experience helping adult home abuse and nursing home neglect victims.

Full Article and Source:
New York Nursing Home Lawyer from The Perecman Firm Comments on the Unconscionable Abuse of Adult Home Residents in Brooklyn

Audits Show Alabama Conservator Zondra Hutto Mismanaged Ward's Cases

A former Tuscaloosa County conservator has been ordered to reimburse more than $100,000 of unwarranted and undocumented expenditures she made from the accounts of 17 people.

As the county's conservator, Zondra Hutto was responsible for the finances of elderly people who were unable to manage their affairs. Hutto resigned from her position after she pleaded guilty to a federal charge of not reporting the crimes of an employee.

Hutto's law clerk, Brian Lunceford, has been accused of using credit cards belonging to one of Hutto's wards to buy clothing, a designer purse, gas and a trip to Mexico. Hutto pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony because she knew about the charges Lunceford allegedly racked up. She is scheduled to begin a three-month federal prison sentence in January.

Since Hutto resigned as conservator for about 30 people in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court, the wards' newly- appointed guardians have scrutinized the final accounting she submitted in the cases. They have found that Hutto overcharged their accounts and kept sloppy records.

Circuit Judge Brad Almond has presided over court hearings in many of the cases and has ordered Hutto to reimburse $110,008 of unwarranted and undocumented expenditures to 17 wards. She will likely owe more once the remaining cases go before Almond in November.

Full Article and Source:
Audits Show Conservator Mismanaged Ward's Cases

CA: Elder Abuse Can Soon be Reported Confidentially

A new state law that takes effect on Jan. 1 allows California counties to offer a confidential internet system for reporting instances of elder abuse.

“This bill provides an important tool to ensure the safety of our seniors,” said Nick Macchione, director of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. “By providing our mandated reporters, such as law enforcement and financial institutions, the ability to submit prompt and complete reports online, SB 718 will enable our staff to quickly address situations that put our most vulnerable residents in danger.”

The secure internet system would require that mandated reporters provide the same information as required in writing or over the phone. This service would be made available at no additional cost to the State of California.

Full Article and Source:
Elder Abuse Can Soon be Reported Confidentially

Supreme Court Hears Case Of Man Committed Against His Will

Man's Daughter Can't Sue Probate Court, But Why Can't She Sue His Lawyer, Conservator?

I wanted to shout out, sitting in the dignified, ornate chambers of the state Supreme Court Monday morning, as a string of lawyers debated what should be a basic right.

If somebody you have hired absolutely ruins your life — shouldn't you be able to sue them?

And yet, the Supreme Court is being asked to grant immunity to lawyers and conservators appointed by the probate court, no matter what devastation they create.

The court Monday began considering this fundamental question because of the abuse that Daniel Gross, an elderly New York man, suffered during 2005 and 2006 at the hands of a Waterbury probate court after he became sick while visiting his daughter.

The long-running Gross case has become a battleground for probate court, Connecticut's separate judicial system that handles wills, estates, adoptions, name changes — but also very delicate and controversial questions such as whether an elderly or sick person can live independently.

After he was hospitalized and his children fought over his care, Gross was conserved by probate court in Waterbury, which meant all his rights were taken away. A lawyer, Jonathan Newman, was appointed to advocate for him. A conservator, Kathleen Donovan, was appointed to represent him.

Newman failed to object to the conservatorship, despite knowing Gross' opposition. Donovan made sure Gross was placed in a locked ward of a local nursing home for 10 months.

Donovan and Newman (supported by the state's probate judges, by the way) are looking for special treatment for the lawyers and conservators who make a living off the courts. We all know that if a physician seriously injures a patient, that person can sue. Yet in this case, the Supreme Court is being asked to protect the people who are appointed to work for the elderly and frail — even if they royally screw up.

A lawyer for Gross, Sally Zanger, reminded the justices that "people lose their freedom" when a conservator is appointed. "We really need to be concerned about frail and elderly people who are conserved,'' Zanger said.

Richard Roberts, a lawyer for Donovan, argued that a conservator "is but an agent of the court,'' merely carrying out the court's wishes. "You shouldn't have to look over your shoulder when you are making these judgment calls."

These judgment calls left Gross, a man who lived independently in his own home on Long Island, locked in a Waterbury nursing home for nearly a year.

These judgment calls meant that even when Gross fled home to New York at one point, his conservator pulled him out of a Long Island hospital and brought him back to Connecticut.

These judgment calls can destroy someone's life.

Full Article and Source:
Supreme Court Hears Case Of Man Committed Against His Will

Voting Vulnerable Adults at Issue

Last year, as a 35-year-old vulnerable adult, Jim [Stene]lived in the Clark Lake Home in Brainerd and voted in the 2010 election via absentee ballot on Oct. 29 in the Crow Wing County historic courthouse along with other group home residents.

Monty Jensen, Crow Wing Township resident, who was also in the courthouse at that time, said he was concerned by what he saw as voter fraud.

On Nov. 1, Jensen filed a complaint with Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan’s office.

In his affidavit, Jensen said he witnessed what appeared to be staff members from a group home filling out a client’s ballot and verbally instructing a client who to vote for during absentee balloting.

In March, Ryan said what Jensen observed was somewhat substantiated but he didn’t have evidence of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. It is legal for people in guardianship status to vote in Minnesota and be assisted if needed.

Lynn Peterson, owner of Clark Lake Home, did not return a call seeking comment for this story.

On April 26, Al Stene testified before the House of Representative’s Civil Law Committee along with Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, who authored a bill this spring regarding changes to voter eligibility requirements, including those directed at people placed in guardianships.

The allegations of voter fraud were taken by some as a partisan issue. Stene has maintained that is not his focus.

Full Article and Source:
Vulnerable Adults as Voters at Issue

ImpeachRandyKennedy: Fifth Third Bank, Co-Conspirator in the Probate Racket

It’s a well-established fact that banks conspire with the crooked probate courts to loot estates and facilitate the looting thereof.

Such is the case with Fifth Third Bank in The Conservatorship of John Daniel Tate.
The atrocious and criminal conduct of this banking institution is an example of how our government has become corrupt within itself at a level never before in the history of the United States.

As the economy went south, Uncle Sam bailed out the banks, but where has he been for “we, the people”?

The nineties created an era of greed and, with the historic downturn in our economy during the new millennium, it has morphed into an era of thievery. The banking institutions are no longer a safe place for your money. Beware.

Fifth Third Bank’s participation in the corruption tied to the 7th Circuit Court is so egregious that this institution alone should be shuttered post-haste.

Danny Tate was told he was the “lab rat” for all the musicians on Music Row, an experiment in the probate court’s intentions of marching up Music Row to the Fifth Third Branch that sits at the mouth opposite the Judge Randy Kennedy’s court.

Fifth Third Bank continues to refuse Danny Tate access to the conservatorship account they housed from the illegal inception of the conservatorship even though they have had an Order from the 7th Circuit Court terminating the conservatorship on May 24, 2010, nunc pro tunc (the minute it rolled off the judge’s tongue).

They participated illegally in the fraudulent and hostile take over of Danny Tate’s account when David Eugene Tate showed up with a cooked DPOA (this is already well established) and allowed David Tate to proceed in cleaning out the accounts for his own use (we will start a series very soon specifically on David E. Tate and his illegal, deviant actions, for it will take a series to cover it all, and we will present the necessary documentation to substantiate every allegation).

Though they have been notified of their criminal conduct by counsel pro se, Fifth Third Bank continues to withhold evidence and conspire with David Tate (the conservator), Katerina Tate (ex-wife divorced on the grounds of bigamy) and Judge Randy Kennedy’s probate court and refuse access. We have documentation to prove this allegation with clear and convincing evidence.

Michael Hoskins, former attorney to Tate, has been fired. His duty to his oath was to report all the criminal, not to mention unethical, conduct he observed and participated in, and has refused to date.

Charges against all parties are pending.

The branch manager of Fifth Third Bank, who managed the conservator account, is NO LONGER WITH THE BANK, approximately the same time period that Tate’s “final hearing” took place.

The Guardian Ad Litem, Robert Stratton, left his practice and the state the week that Tate’s story was “outed” in the press, though investigators have located him and charges are pending.

In closing, no banking institution is safe anymore, but Fifth Third Bank is especially egregious, for it appears as if they had positioned themselves to be the basket for all the low hanging fruit at the far end of Music Row as Judge Randy Kennedy and his court of thieves marched, picked and deposited their stolen bounty there.

David Tate, Katerina Tate (ex-wife divorced on the grounds of bigamy), Fifth Third Bank, Judge Randy Kennedy, Judge Phillip Smith, attorney Paul Housch, these are just a handful of those that have used the probate instrument illegally and subverted the law resulting in Danny Tate, long time singer/songwriter/composer, being adjudicated a “pauper” in the same court charged with “conserving” his estate, while all the parties mentioned above continue in the looting process.

See documents:
ORDER ALLOWING FILING ON PAUPER’S OATH

#67 SUBPOENA ISSD PERSONAL FIFTH THIRD BANK, Post Termination of Conservatorship

There are an abundance of other documents, but these are the ones we will release to the public. These two documents alone,morally and criminally condemn all parties attached.

If you have an account at Fifth Third Bank, get your money out before they won’t let you in.

Fifth Third Bank,2000 Wedgewood Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212-3734(615) 320-4950

And, apparently, we’re not the only ones who think Fifth Third is a dirty bank. The complaints are all over the internet if you Google them. Beware, beware!!!

Full Article and Source:
Fifth Third Bank, Co-Conspirator in the Probate Racket

“Dementia Care Without Drugs:A Better Approach for Long-Term Care Facilities”

Medications can be a powerful tool in combating the effects of dementia, but when used as the only source of treatment the effects can be toxic. Join us for a discussion on the effects of these dangerous drugs and learn what you can do to stop it.

Where:
Holiday Inn Capital Plaza
300 J Street, Sacramento, CA

When:
October 26, 2011, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM

Speakers:
Anthony Chicotel
Staff Attorney, California
Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.

Tina Alonzo
Director of Research
Beatitudes Campus
Phoenix, AZ

Christopher Cherney
SNF Administrator
Berkeley, CA.

Source:
Dementia Care Without Drugs: A Better Approach for Long-Term Care Facilities

CA Gov. Jerry Brown Vetoes Bill to Extend California Nursing Board

Gov. Jerry Brown has pulled the plug — at least temporarily — on the already beleaguered agency that oversees the state's registered nurses by vetoing a bill that would have extended the agency's powers.

The authority of the California Board of Registered Nursing to license and discipline the state's nearly 400,000 registered nurses will expire Jan. 1. The powers would have been extended another four years under a seemingly routine "sunset bill" passed by the Legislature. But Brown vetoed the bill over the weekend, saying he objected to a provision that would have added to the state's pension costs.

The clause classified certain investigators working for the board as peace officers and was intended to speed up the investigations of complaints against nurses by giving the investigators subpoena power and access to criminal records statewide. But it also would have entitled these investigators to more generous pensions.

In his veto message, Brown wrote, "This makes no sense fiscally and flies in the face of much needed pension reform…The Board has existed for 106 years without these enhanced benefits and should continue to do so."

Full Article and Source:
Brown Vetoes Bill to Extend California Nursing Board

Probate Case To Test Lawyer Immunity Limits

The disturbing case of New York resident Daniel Gross, whose visit to Connecticut ended in a 10-month stay in a locked Waterbury nursing home ward, is coming before the state Supreme Court to determine just how much immunity from suit his lawyers deserve.

Connecticut case law is so unclear on this immunity question that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit sent the matter to the state Supreme Court with a request to fill in the blanks of what legal protections conservators and lawyers for wards of the probate courts can legally expect.

In 2006, on a writ of habeas corpus, Gross was freed from Grove Manor nursing home by Superior Court Judge Joseph Gormley, who called the case a gross miscarriage of justice. The elderly man had been visiting one of his daughters in Waterbury when a leg infection landed him in the nursing home.

When his children couldn’t agree on his care, a hospital employee asked the probate court to review Gross. It sent Waterbury lawyer Jonathan Newman, who visited Gross and found him alert and even “profound” in his communication. He had a home on Long Island with a reverse mortgage, and expressed a desire to return and live independently.

In his report to Waterbury probate Judge Thomas Brunnock, Newman wrote that he “cannot find any legal basis on which to object to the appointment of a conservator for Daniel Gross’ person and estate.”

By statute, Gross was entitled to seven days notice of the hearing to appoint a conservator, and if he couldn’t get to the hearing, the judge was supposed to go to him. Instead, according to the court record, Brunnock on Aug. 25 wrote an order that Gross was to be notified on Aug. 24 of an upcoming Sept. 1 hearing - a legal act the Second Circuit described as “facially impossible.”

Naugatuck solo Kathleen Donovan became Gross’s conservator for nearly a year, ultimately billing $27,000 for her services while he was in the locked ward. In Gross’s original complaint, he alleged his roommate was a confessed robber who threatened and assaulted him. Once, when Gross returned on a day pass to Long Island, he was hospitalized there, and Donovan arrived with an ambulance to return him to Connecticut, against the New York doctors’ advice.

On July 12, 2006, when the habeas writ came to Waterbury Superior Court Judge Joseph Gormley, he was critical of probate Judge Brunnock’s failure to discern that he might lack jurisdiction over the New York resident, and said Newman mis-served and underserved his client. The judge commented, “This case has disturbed me from day one. I kept looking for evidence to support what was done, but I find none.”

Gross, deeply relieved, was freed from the locked ward and the attentions of Newman and Donovan, returned home and died about a year later. His executrix, one of his daughters, filed a federal civil rights case against Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the state elder care ombudsman, the nursing home, the probate judge and the court-appointed lawyers.

Cases against the state employees were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant on sovereign immunity grounds, and the probate judge invoked judicial immunity. The cases against Newman and Donovan were dismissed on the grounds of quasi-judicial immunity.

On appeal to the Second Circuit, Bryant’s dismissals were affirmed for all parties, except for the outstanding question of quasi-judicial immunity for the conservator, the lawyer for the ward, and the nursing home. In expanded oral arguments Oct 24, plaintiff’s counsel, Sally R. Zanger of the Connecticut Legal Rights Project in Middletown is scheduled for 35 minutes. Donovan’s lawyer, Richard “Rick” Roberts of Cheshire’s Nuzzo & Roberts, is to have 16 minutes. Newman’s lawyer, Louis Blumenfeld, of Hartford’s Cooney, Scully & Dowling, gets 12 minutes, and Wiggin & Dana advocate Jeffrey Babbin, for Grove Manor nursing home, has seven minutes of argument.

According to the defense, a careful examination of the facts makes Newman’s and Donovan’s work more understandable and the type of actions that should be protected by quasi-judicial immunity.

The statute for creating conservatorships speaks of “residents or domiciliaries” of the probate court’s jurisdiction. Newman’s lawyers note that Gross had been domiciled at his daughter’s, and in Connecticut hospitals, for two months before he was made a ward of the state.

In their brief for Newman, Blumenfeld and Lorinda S. Coon agree Connecticut’s case law is all over the map on quasi-judicial immunity. The cases “essentially define a spectrum where, at one end, a government or court-appointed attorney acts impartially in furtherance of an objective goal [as an arm of the court] and, at the other end, an attorney acts entirely as an advocate for a client” like any private lawyer not entitled to court immunity.

Newman’s brief said lawyers in his role should have leeway. “[W]hen time is of the essence to make a medical decision or take steps to protect assets, is the attorney really duty-bound to delay a hearing due to some technical, easily correctable procedural flaw? Imagine the harm that could be done while the attorney blindly obeys the instructions of his client, forbidden to recognize that the client’s instructions are the product of dementia, paranoia or depression.” Both logic and the Rules of Professional conduct obliged Newman to impose a higher degree of objectivity about his client’s best interest, as in the case of a minor child, his lawyers argue.

Immunity Test

The Supreme Court was asked to nail down the nature of Connecticut’s quasi-judicial immunity for conservators, and lawyers for probate wards, in light of existing state and federal formulas. The federal test was set out in the 1985 U.S. Supreme Court case of Clevinger v. Saxner. It’s purpose is to determine how much the action in question needs the protection of court-like immunity from lawsuits.

Lawyers for Newman and Donovan contend that absolute or at least quasi-judicial immunity is necessary to aid the probate courts in supervision and care of wards and conservatees, and the acrimonious nature of the work requires a barrier against lawsuits.

In a long and clearly written 2009 opinion, a three-judge Second Circuit panel explained how powerful the protection of judicial immunity is. Under established U.S. Supreme Court precedents, judges are protected from lawsuits even when their conduct arises from legal mistakes, malice or overstepping the bounds of their jurisdiction.

It is only when a judge operates with a complete absence of any jurisdiction that the immunity does not apply. Thus, if a criminal judge convicts someone of a crime that does not exist, there is immunity. If a probate judge, with no criminal jurisdiction does so, there would be no immunity.

Lawyers unconnected to the case are following the progress of Gross with interest. For example, Eliot Gersten, of the Hartford offices of Pullman & Comley, represents Sam Manzo, a farmhand who was disinherited through the shenanigans of a now-retired probate judge and court-appointed lawyers for the aging Southington farm owner, Josephine Smorron. The defendants in that litigation are raising claims of quasi-judicial immunity, even though a probate court authorized Manzo to sue.

Gersten said the Gross case will be significant, however it is decided. “I think the case may make conservators remember they are a trustee, and I think they can be reminded they can’t neglect the ward, and that there are serious consequences for the ward if the conservator acts inappropriately. So the conservator should be held accountable for it.”

The defendants in Gross are saying, “if you allow us to be sued, no one’s going to want to take on the conservatorship role,” Gersten continued. “The problem with that argument, of course, is that it overlooks the fact that only irresponsible people are going to refuse to take on the conservator role. This case is not about those people who do their job responsibly and follow the rules, and do what a conservator’s supposed to do.”•

Source:
Probate Case To Test Lawyer Immunity Limits

See Also:
CT State Supreme Court To Consider The Quasi-Judicial Immunity Of Conservators And Probate Lawyers

Immunity and Impunity

Attorney Eliot B. Gersten, who represents a disinherited farm caretaker, said some conservators “act as if they have impunity as well as immunity.”



Source:
Probate Case To Test Lawyer Immunity Limits

New Resource Guide for Utahns 55 and Older Helps Dispel the Legal Mysteries of Aging

In an effort to help prevent the more than $339 million that is exploited annually from Utah's elderly, the Department of Human Services has released a new legal guide for Utahns 55 and older.

The publication's large-print pages attempt to demystify countless legal issues — from grandparent's rights and estate planning to Medicare and Social Security rules — and also aims to educate older Utahns about other aging issues.

"Utah's older adults are frequently confronted with complex and confusing legal issues," said Alan K. Ormsby, executive director of the Utah AARP. "Not knowing where to turn or who to trust adds to the fog."

He said the guide, titled "Navigating Your Rights: The Utah Legal Guide for Those 55 and Over," cuts through the confusion and delivers straight-forward answers, and will be "the go-to resource for seniors facing legal questions."

The book's 11 chapters, as well as a new website, contain information on dozens of subjects and presents answers to more than 200 legal questions most often asked by seniors and their caregivers.

Symbols are used throughout the book to denote important points, warnings and situations where an attorney might be necessary. Names and contact information for agencies and organizations that can provide additional services are listed at the end of each chapter, as the book's author, Jilenne Gunther, said "almost no book can be a complete resource."

Full Article and Source:
New Resource Guide for Utahns 55 and Older Helps Dispel the Legal Mysteries of Aging

See Also:
Utah Department of Human Services

ImpeachRandyKennedy: Fifth Third Bank, Co-Conspirator in the Probate Racket

It’s a well-established fact that banks conspire with the crooked probate courts to loot estates and facilitate the looting thereof.

Such is the case with Fifth Third Bank in The Conservatorship of John Daniel Tate.
The atrocious and criminal conduct of this banking institution is an example of how our government has become corrupt within itself at a level never before in the history of the United States.

As the economy went south, Uncle Sam bailed out the banks, but where has he been for “we, the people”?

The nineties created an era of greed and, with the historic downturn in our economy during the new millennium, it has morphed into an era of thievery. The banking institutions are no longer a safe place for your money. Beware.

Fifth Third Bank’s participation in the corruption tied to the 7th Circuit Court is so egregious that this institution alone should be shuttered post-haste.

Danny Tate was told he was the “lab rat” for all the musicians on Music Row, an experiment in the probate court’s intentions of marching up Music Row to the Fifth Third Branch that sits at the mouth opposite the Judge Randy Kennedy’s court.

Fifth Third Bank continues to refuse Danny Tate access to the conservatorship account they housed from the illegal inception of the conservatorship even though they have had an Order from the 7th Circuit Court terminating the conservatorship on May 24, 2010, nunc pro tunc (the minute it rolled off the judge’s tongue).

They participated illegally in the fraudulent and hostile take over of Danny Tate’s account when David Eugene Tate showed up with a cooked DPOA (this is already well established) and allowed David Tate to proceed in cleaning out the accounts for his own use (we will start a series very soon specifically on David E. Tate and his illegal, deviant actions, for it will take a series to cover it all, and we will present the necessary documentation to substantiate every allegation).

Though they have been notified of their criminal conduct by counsel pro se, Fifth Third Bank continues to withhold evidence and conspire with David Tate (the conservator), Katerina Tate (ex-wife divorced on the grounds of bigamy) and Judge Randy Kennedy’s probate court and refuse access. We have documentation to prove this allegation with clear and convincing evidence.

Michael Hoskins, former attorney to Tate, has been fired. His duty to his oath was to report all the criminal, not to mention unethical, conduct he observed and participated in, and has refused to date.

Charges against all parties are pending.

The branch manager of Fifth Third Bank, who managed the conservator account, is NO LONGER WITH THE BANK, approximately the same time period that Tate’s “final hearing” took place.

The Guardian Ad Litem, Robert Stratton, left his practice and the state the week that Tate’s story was “outed” in the press, though investigators have located him and charges are pending.

In closing, no banking institution is safe anymore, but Fifth Third Bank is especially egregious, for it appears as if they had positioned themselves to be the basket for all the low hanging fruit at the far end of Music Row as Judge Randy Kennedy and his court of thieves marched, picked and deposited their stolen bounty there.

David Tate, Katerina Tate (ex-wife divorced on the grounds of bigamy), Fifth Third Bank, Judge Randy Kennedy, Judge Phillip Smith, attorney Paul Housch, these are just a handful of those that have used the probate instrument illegally and subverted the law resulting in Danny Tate, long time singer/songwriter/composer, being adjudicated a “pauper” in the same court charged with “conserving” his estate, while all the parties mentioned above continue in the looting process.

See documents:
ORDER ALLOWING FILING ON PAUPER’S OATH

#67 SUBPOENA ISSD PERSONAL FIFTH THIRD BANK, Post Termination of Conservatorship

There are an abundance of other documents, but these are the ones we will release to the public. These two documents alone,morally and criminally condemn all parties attached.

If you have an account at Fifth Third Bank, get your money out before they won’t let you in.

Fifth Third Bank,2000 Wedgewood Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212-3734(615) 320-4950

And, apparently, we’re not the only ones who think Fifth Third is a dirty bank. The complaints are all over the internet if you Google them. Beware, beware!!!

Full Article and Source:
Fifth Third Bank, Co-Conspirator in the Probate Racket

L'Oreal Heiress Guardianized!

Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers seized control of the L'Oréal SA fortune Monday after her mother, Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the cosmetics giant, was placed under guardianship, a victory for the daughter in an acrimonious family tug-of-war over an inheritance valued at €15 billion ($20.82 billion).

A judge in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie decided that the aging billionaire needed protection after reviewing a medical report stating that Ms. Bettencourt's mental health was failing, and that she was showing symptoms of dementia, lawyers involved in the case said.

Ms. Meyers had accused members of her mother's entourage of manipulating the frail widow, who will turn 89 on Friday. A separate legal investigation is under way to determine whether this was the case.

The assets of Ms. Bettencourt will be managed by her estranged daughter and her two grandsons. The eldest grandson, Jean-Victor Meyers, was appointed guardian.

Ms. Bettencourt will appeal the decision, her lawyer, Jean-René Farthouat, said. "She wants to be left in peace," he said.

One of Ms. Meyers's first duties will be to decide with her two sons whether the heiress can continue to serve on the L'Oréal board, a person familiar with the matter said. L'Oréal declined to comment.

Full Article and Source:
Heiress Loses L'Oreal Family Fight

'The Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act' - S1744

Two Democratic senators have introduced legislation that would strengthen protections for seniors against abuse and fraud through court-appointed guardians and conservators.

The Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act would protect seniors and persons with disabilities from neglet and financial exploitation by improving oversight and accountability for guardians and conservators at state and federal levels.

“While the vast majority of court-appointed guardians are undoubtedly professional, well-meaning and law-abiding, there is mounting evidence that some guardians use their position of power for their own gain, at the expense of the very people they were supposed to be looking out for,” said Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who introduced the bill along with Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).

The legislation would provide support to states to implement programs to increase oversight of long-term caregivers, and calls for state courts to assess the handling of proceedings relating to guardianship and conservatives before making recommendations for best practices.

It would also help state courts implement an electronic filing system and a pilot program to conduct national and state criminal background checks in order to better monitor, report and audit conservatorships sand guardianships.

In 2010, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report identifying hundreds of allegations of physical abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation by guardians in 45 states and D.C. that had occurred in the previous 20 years. In 20 of those cases that GAO reviewed, guardians had stolen or improperly obtained $5.4 million from 158 incapacitated victims, many of whom were older adults.

In a recent hearing on guardian abuse chaired by Klobuchar in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, the senator called for more accountability and oversight of court-appointed guardians to ensure seniors’ safety and proper care.

Source:
Senators Introduce Bill Cracking Donw on Elder Abuse

See Also:
View the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts hearing: Protecting Seniors and Persons With Disabilities - An Examination of Court-Appointed Guardians

Read the GAO report: Guardianships - Cases of Financial Exploitation, Neglect, and Abuse of Seniors

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administration and the Courts Holds Hearing on Guardianship

NASGA's "Protecting Our Citizens From Unlawful and Abusive Guardianships and Conservatorships"

NASGA's "A Review of Unlawful "Emergency" Guardianships"

NASGA's "The Fleecing of Medicaid and the Taxpayers"

Three Charged in Philly Kidnapping and Abuse of 4 Mentally Challenged Adults

Three people were charged in a horrific case of Philadelphia kidnapping involving four mentally challenged adults.

Linda Ann Weston, Thomas Gregory, and Eddie Wright are alleged to have been involved in a criminal scheme were they chained four handicapped adults to the cellar of their Tacony apartment so that they could steal their Social Security checks, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. A Philadelphia police spokesperson described the crime as "pure evil."

Last week, the landlord of the apartment building checked on the basement after receiving complaints of suspicious activities, reports the Inquirer. In the boiler room, the landlord found the four malnourished adults chained to pipes. There were bathroom buckets and a container of orange juice laying around, but no food.

All four of the victims are described as severely mentally challenged and police believe that one of the men may have been held for over a year.

As a result, Weston, Gregory, and Wright face first degree felony charges for kidnapping, as well as other charges for criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, and related offenses.

Three people were charged in a horrific case of Philadelphia kidnapping involving four mentally challenged adults.

Linda Ann Weston, Thomas Gregory, and Eddie Wright are alleged to have been involved in a criminal scheme were they chained four handicapped adults to the cellar of their Tacony apartment so that they could steal their Social Security checks, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. A Philadelphia police spokesperson described the crime as "pure evil."

Last week, the landlord of the apartment building checked on the basement after receiving complaints of suspicious activities, reports the Inquirer. In the boiler room, the landlord found the four malnourished adults chained to pipes. There were bathroom buckets and a container of orange juice laying around, but no food.

All four of the victims are described as severely mentally challenged and police believe that one of the men may have been held for over a year.

As a result, Weston, Gregory, and Wright face first degree felony charges for kidnapping, as well as other charges for criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, and related offenses.

Source:
Three Charged With Philadelphia Kidnapping and Abuse

Son Says FL Health Care Abuses Were Factors in his Mother's Death

In what he called a “letter to the world,” a Florida son painfully described systemic flaws and abuses, inflicted on his elderly mother, in the state’s health care system that have compelled him to speak out as an advocate for her.

Neil Roe, a former business law student, said his 89-year old mother, Arlene English, was a victim of the system who was denied basic human rights which he can no longer be silent about.

English had several documents drawn up in 2002 — including a will, a power of attorney and a health care surrogate – which described her intentions of how she wanted to live and leave life. In fact, Roe said his mother’s last will and testament included language that went beyond the normal bounds so that English’s wishes could not be misinterpreted.

A Florida court placed English in a nursing home facility, which her son said was against her will, outside of Tampa. Roe said his mother lost her ability to speak two years ago and the court system used that factor to say that was legally brain dead. The court hired three consultants who were called in to confirm this.

“They called in three different hired consultants to the county to go in, shake her hand, take a look at her, and walk out of the room and say, ‘Yeah, we agree, she’s brain dead.’”

Through a mistake of the nursing home, Roe’s mother was taken back to the hospital for health care which allowed him to get a second opinion of her condition. English’s primary ailment was Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), which stops the mind’s ability to control the muscles in the body, a condition similar to Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“They called in three different hired consultants to the county to go in, shake her hand, take a look at her, and walk out of the room and say, ‘Yeah, we agree, she’s brain dead.’”

A magistrate ordered that Roe was no longer in charge of English’s health care and appointed a guardian to oversee her medical affairs. The magistrate also ordered the guardian be paid for five months back pay for services that weren’t provided, at a rate of $1,500 per month, which came out of English’s financial assets.

“They robbed my mother’s social security, they took everything that was in her bank account, and even though Medicare has court-ordered that I”m to be paid a subsistency out of my mother’s social security, I have yet to get the first penny of that from this guardian. And that’s about $290 per month to take care of the things I have to take care of around her home.”

On April 18, 2011, Roe’s mother passed away from what the medical examiner attributed to natural causes. Roe, however, points to a toxicology report from an independent lab that showed English’s blood morphine level was .082 to 1, per litre of blood, which Roe said is twice the legal dosage and suggests his mother may have been given fatal levels.

English was only in the first stages of pneumonia, Roe said, and she was responding to antibiotic treatments.

Full Article and Source:
Without Due Process: Florida Health Care Abuses Were Factors in Elderly Woman’s Death, Son Says

Woman Gets Prison Time for Stealing From the Disabled

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne announced Thursday a woman has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for taking money from a healthcare provider for the developmentally disabled.

Horne said Carol Lynette Curie was sentenced on one count of theft.

According to a news release, between March 2008 and February 2010, Curie stole over $116,400 while employed as Chief Financial Officer for Metro Care Services which specializes in providing non-medical health care for developmentally disabled individuals.

Horne said Curie wrote unauthorized checks to herself and deposited them in her personal bank account. She also wrote checks to herself as if she were a certified caregiver and services that she never performed.

Curie also reportedly used the names of former or inactive contract caregivers to electronically transfer funds to her personal account.

The case was prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General's Office Health Care Fraud and Abuse Section of the Criminal Division.

Source:
Woman Gets Prison Time for Stealing From the Disabled

Fake Marine Pleads Guilty to Elder Financial Abuse

A Santa Rosa man pleaded guilty to elder financial abuse and forgery after being accused of stealing $100,000 from his wife’s 97-year-old grandfather and falsely representing himself as a U.S. Marine and a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy.

Paul Tart, 29, could face up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 15 in Sonoma County Superior Court.

Tart obtained power of attorney over his wife’s grandfather without the two knowing and stole more than $100,000 from the elderly man’s account to help support his prescription drug addiction, said sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Raasch. The grandfather contacted investigators Sept. 2 after finding that his checking account was mysteriously overdrawn.

On Sept. 17, authorities searched Tart’s home and found forged documents and canceled checks. They arrested him on suspicion of grand theft and fiduciary elder theft, Raasch said.

Investigators soon learned that Tart had been passing himself off as an active gunnery sergeant with the U.S. Marine Corps, when in fact he has never served in any branch of the armed services, Raasch said.

Full Article and Source:
Fake Marine Guilty of Stealing From In-Law, 97

CA: New Law Aims to Give More Power to Public Guardian

Public guardians are better equipped to protect the assets of the elderly dependents and adults in their care under a new law by Assemblyman Rich Gordon that gives them authority over trusts and more time to prepare for a conservatorship hearing.

Gordon, D-Menlo Park, said his bill, signed into law last month, will protect senior citizens and dependents from financial abuse by closing probate loopholes and giving the public guardian more power. In a nutshell, the bill expands the scope of the public guardian to include control of assets held in financial trusts and extends from 15 to 30 the number of days for temporary possession of property.

“More time for investigation of cases is important because they can be complex and with staff cutbacks there is a lot more work,” Gordon said.

The extra time gives public guardians a better opportunity to find the assets, get them secured and set a hearing date for a conservatorship program, Gordon said.

Prior to Gordon’s bill, the public guardian had no authority to protect assets held in trust accounts, a growing trend by people hoping to avoid the challenges of sorting out wills. This loophole, plus the desire for more time, led Aging and Adult Services of Santa Clara County to ask him for help, Gordon said.

The public guardian and public conservatorship program is meant to serve the frail elderly and adults with physical or mental disabilities leaving them unable to manage their own finances or avoid fraud and undue influence. Probate conservatorships are also used for younger individuals with mental impairments.

Full Article and Source:
New Law Aims to Protect Seniors from Fraud

California Man Gets 35-Year Prison Sentence for Elder Abuse

Former Sand City resident Timothy Ralph Carrillo, received a 35-year state prison sentence after a Monterey County jury convicted him in August of 24 counts of elder abuse, residential burglary, grand theft and contracting without a license.

During the years of 2006 and 2008, The Monterey County District Attorney's Office said 49 year old Carrillo solicited home improvement projects from residents of Carmel, Pebble Beach, Seaside and Watsonville, many of whom were elderly. He entered into contracts for home repair and remodels, charging larges sums of money then disappearing with the money without providing any services.

Nine victims, seven of whom were elders, testified during the trial that their losses ranged from $1,260 to $65,000.

Timothy Carrillo has numerous felony convictions, including a prior conviction under California's Three Strikes Law for residential burglary. His prior felony convictions and prior prison terms include commercial burglary, grand theft, driving under the influence, and obtaining money by false pretenses.

Judge Russell D. Scott stated that Timothy Carrillo is a perfect example of the type of offender the Three Strikes Law is designed to target.

Full Article and Source:
Local Man Gets 35 Years for Elder Abuse

How to File a Complaint Against a Judge and An Attorney

Educate yourself to the rules governing lawyers and judges and you become a force to be reckoned with. We must take the power back in a corrupt legal system where “we the people” have become a lost interest.

The judiciary has established itself as the most powerful branch of government and are the most unaccounted for (Marbury v Madison). We are confident Senator Mae Beavers (sen.mae.beavers@capitol.tn.gov) will provide us with the much needed reform within Tennessee’s Court of the Judiciary. Email her with words of encouragement demanding such reform. Variations of these same bodies exist in every jurisdiction, but the only people that know this are attorneys and judges and they DON’T want us to know-truly. We should be teaching fundamental law to students starting in junior high school. Senator Beavers, our forefathers did not possess the same patience with the British that is required of the citizens of Tennessee. ”By any means necessary”. Use the words of our forefathers (or was it the Black Panthers?) and you could be put in prison these days. I meant to say, “Give me liberty or give me death”. This is the spirit with which I fight. Judge Kennedy’s attack on individual liberties and unlawful seizure of property may require the same actions our forefathers took in order to regain our Constitutionally protected rights. Make no mistake about it, the probate bottom feeders ARE stealing your property illegally under color of law and guise of protection (referring to conservatorships).

On an important side note, our Constitution trumps any law. And judges are immediately instructed to rule consistent with the Constitution in the Judicial Code; but the Constitution and Bill of Rights are abhorred by judges. It gets in the way of abuse of power, ruling “willy-nilly” and the delusion that judges create the law. Kennedy is guilty on all points. And he’s not the brightest bulb on the tree.

Full Article and Source:
How to File a Complaint Against a Judge and An Attorney (Preface - part 3)

GA Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Bilking Medicaid/Medicare

Dr. ROBERT WILLIAMS, 77, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to prison by United States District Judge Richard W. Story on federal health care fraud charges.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This doctor attempted to bilk Medicare and Medicaid for over $2 million for psychological services he never provided to elderly nursing home patients. Some of the patients were dead at the time he claimed he provided services; others never received treatment. Now he’s headed to prison.”

“Many of Georgia’s neediest citizens rely on Medicaid for access to health care. The Attorney General’s office is committed to weeding out fraud so that every dollar is spent on those who need this vital assistance,” said Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens.

Full Article and Source:
Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Submitting Fraudulent Bills to Medicare and Medicaid

NASGA Member Seeks Lawyer to Sue Over Her Trust Fund

Nineteen months after a judge ruled that Michelle Cohen should be allowed to handle her own affairs, the mentally ill woman is living out of her van. She is still searching for an attorney willing to help her sue the banks that handled her trust fund, once worth half a million dollars.

She’s spent years trying to get lawyers to listen and to help her. When she had money, a few signed on to represent her in her attempts to get her trust money released and to help her fight against efforts to place her under state guardianship.

But now she’s destitute. She spends hours each week calling lawyer offices, hoping to find someone to represent her against the banks that oversaw the trust fund left to her by her grandmother.

“I’ve probably made thousands of calls,” Cohen, 42, said. “And I’ll make as many as it takes until I find someone to help me. I think it’s despicable about what they’ve done to me. They’ve run me into poverty.”

Cohen once had a good deal of money. Her paternal grandmother left her the Henrietta Neufeld Cohen Trust, which at one point was worth about $500,000. The trust was first managed by Wachovia, which was purchased in late 2008 by Wells Fargo . In January 2009, the Flower Mound branch of American National Bank took over managing the account, which had about $135,000 left at that point.

Cohen had difficult relationships with the trust managers at the banks. She believed that the money belonged to her and that she should be allowed to control the account. She bought a van, a home in Wisconsin and a motorcycle for a friend. She purchased DVDs and spent freely on extended-stay hotels and restaurant meals. She spent tens of thousands of dollars on lawyers to try to break the trust.

She owed $100,000 and had about $50,000 left when American National Bank filed for a limited permanent guardianship of her and the estate in June 2009.

“Nothing good will happen if I have a guardian,” she said. “I’ll probably wind up in a group home. I have a lot to fear about that.”

Under guardianship, a state judge would appoint someone to make decisions regarding the person’s property, medical care, living arrangements and potentially all personal and financial decisions.

Denton County Probate Judge Don Windle dismissed the case in January 2010, saying there was little point in ordering restrictions when there was little money left to restrict. He said he would leave it to Cohen to pursue attorneys to investigate whether any of the prior trustees breached their fiduciary duty during their oversight of the trust.

The remaining money in the trust fund was drained by attorney fees because lawyers on both sides of the case were legally able to bill the trust fund.

“They spent everything I had in trying to get me found incompetent,” Cohen said.

Full Article and Source:
Mentally Ill Woman Seeks Lawyer to Sue Banks Over Her Trust Fund

Note: Michelle Cohen is a member of NASGA.

'My Dad Has Dementia-He's Being Horrible to Me!

I’m hearing this same painful thing a lot lately.

Aging parents who have “early dementia” are refusing help and verbally abusing their adult kids who are trying to help.

In all these situations, the aging parent was a controlling type person before dementia developed. It could have been a business owner, a professor, a CFO of a corporation. The nearby adult child is is trying hard to protect mom or dad from himself or herself. The parent is uncooperative. In fact, in all these cases, the parent has turned on the very person who is trying to supervise, protect or otherwise do the right thing for Mom or Dad.

“You’re stealing from me!” is an accusation the adult children are hearing. (It’s not true in these cases. to which I’m referring) “You don’t care about me, you’re just trying to lock me up!” is another accusation.

This could be you. When your aging parent turns paranoid, accusatory, abusive and unreasonable, what can you do?

Full Article and Source:
'My Dad Has Dementia - He's Being Horrible to Me'

CT State Supreme Court To Consider The Quasi-Judicial Immunity Of Conservators And Probate Lawyers

Daniel Gross, an old man infamously abused at the hands of probate court before he died in 2007, might yet force far-reaching reform in a system that once robbed him of his freedom.

Next week, the state Supreme Court will take up a key question from Gross' federal civil rights lawsuit and consider whether the people appointed to look after him — the lawyers and conservators who are supposed to represent the best interests of the elderly and infirm in probate court — are immune from lawsuits.

Whether lawyers and conservators deserve what is known as "quasi-judicial immunity" is a volatile question. Reformers say this case represents the ultimate recourse for folks abused by the probate courts. Probate judges — and attorneys for Gross' lawyer and conservator — say that denying immunity would bring the courts to "a screeching halt" because it would be impossible to find individuals willing to serve as conservators or lawyers in difficult cases for fear they could be sued.

It's hard to imagine a court system where those who abuse, neglect and exploit aren't held accountable. Granting lawyers and conservators immunity would do just that.

For years, I've watched rogue conservators and ill-informed probate judges abuse the rights of citizens. These might be isolated instances, but the cases keep coming in a court system that lacks proper oversight and that ought to be part of Superior Court.

The way to force reform in probate is to make sure there's accountability, not immunity. Our probate courts remain a separate world in which judges are elected and too often a good-old-boy network permeates appointment and supervision of conservators and lawyers.

No case illustrates this better than what happened when the elderly Gross ended up in Judge Thomas Brunnock's Waterbury probate court during the summer of 2005.

Gross had come from his Long Island home to visit his daughter in Waterbury. He became sick and was hospitalized as his children fought over his care — and over who should control his finances. After the hospital asked probate court to step in, Judge Brunnock ordered Gross involuntarily conserved, taking away all of his rights.

Brunnock didn't bother to give the old man a chance to speak up: Gross wasn't even at the hearing at which he was ordered conserved. His court-appointed lawyer, Jonathan Newman, failed to object to the conservatorship, despite knowing Gross' opposition. His conservator, Kathleen Donovan, placed him in a locked, restricted ward at Grove Manor Nursing Home in Waterbury.

Few moments in journalism stand out more for me than the day in July 2006 when I watched Superior Court Judge Joseph Gormley acknowledge "a terrible miscarriage of justice" and order 86-year-old Daniel Gross freed from his imprisonment in a Waterbury nursing home. Were it not for the work of Legal Aid attorneys and John Peters, a volunteer lawyer from West Hartford, Gross might never have emerged from probate hell.

As he shuffled out of the courthouse, Gross told me that he was "overwhelmed with happiness." I saw what freedom, dignity and civil rights mean for an old man abused by a probate court that was supposed to protect him.

Full Article and Source:
An Elderly Man's Lawsuit Could Bring Probate Reform

Note: Daniel Gross' daughter, Dee King, is a NASGA member.

Iowa Lawyer Suspended for 30 Days for Missing Deadlines

The Iowa Supreme Court suspended a Cedar Rapids lawyer Friday from practicing law for 30 days because he violated the rules of professional conduct.

Thomas Ochs repeatedly missed deadlines for filings in probate, estate, conservatorships and guardianships over the past eight years, according to the ruling. Two of the cases were left open for more than seven years, while other estates were open for four and five years.

Ochs repeatedly received inquiries from the court’s Attorney Disciplinary Board regarding his actions but he ignored them, according to the ruling. Ochs also received a private admonishing from the board in one case.

At the hearing, Ochs admitted to all the allegations in the board’s 10 count complaint, according to the ruling.

“He offered no excuses and expressed determination to change his delinquent conduct,” the court stated.

Ochs’ license to practice will be reinstated after 30 days unless the disciplinary board objects at that time, according to the ruling.

Full Article and Source:
Iowa Supreme Court Suspends CR Lawyer's License for 30 Days

Accused of Theft, Cheryl Baswell-Guthrie's Law License Suspended

As Cheryl Baswell-Guthrie is scheduled for her first court appearance Wednesday, the Huntsville attorney and former congressional candidate has another issue beyond the first-degree theft charge she's facing.

The Alabama State Bar has indefinitely suspended Baswell-Guthrie's law license. The suspension went into effect Sept. 16, according to Tony McLain, general counsel for the state bar.

Details, however, are still sketchy on the case. Baswell-Guthrie has been charged with first-degree theft for stealing $50,000 from a victim from the Shoals area. But the Alabama Securities Commission, which sought the warrant for her arrest, declined Friday to shed more light on the case beyond the affidavit filed by the victim.

McLain said the bar sought an "interim suspension" for Baswell-Guthrie, which he said was a "more expedited method" of suspended a law license.

"In situations where it appears a lawyer may be creating a risk of harm to the public or their client, in general anything that's tied to trust account, trust, money issues, that generally is a pretty big red flag for us to take some immediate action to pull that lawyer's license," McLain said.

"In conjunction with the suspension, we also get a restraining order that prohibits (Baswell-Guthrie) from maintaining a trust account. They have a right to have a due process hearing to dissolve the restraining order. She has not done that."

Full Article and Source:
Accused of Theft, Cheryl Baswell-Guthrie's Law License Suspended

NJ: Retirees 'Priced Out' of Bergen and Passaic Counties

Retirees in North Jersey need between $25,000 and $50,000 a year for basic living costs, according to a new report that warns that many seniors don't have adequate savings or pensions to pay those bills.

The report from the New Jersey Foundation for Aging purports to offer a realistic measure of what a retiree over 65 needs to "live with dignity" in each county.

A single senior living in a home that is paid off needs $26,600 a year in Bergen County and $25,704 in Passaic, the report found. Retired couples who still have a mortgage can expect to spend $50,565 a year in Bergen and $50,443 in Passaic on basic housing, food, transportation, health care and miscellaneous expenses.

Those numbers assume an over-65 retiree is in good health, prepares and eats meals at home, maintains and drives a car, and does not live in an assisted living center, nursing home or subsidized housing.

Many also don't stop to consider how much their annual living costs will increase over the years or how their nest eggs could evaporate if they live into their 90s and beyond.

Yearly costs could rise anywhere from $7,500 to $43,000 if a senior needs care and doesn't have long-term-care insurance to cover it, the foundation has said.

Full Article and Source:
Retirees Priced Out of Bergen and Passaic

'Guardianship Fraud Awareness Month" in Palm Beach County, FL

At the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Oct. 4, 2011, Commissioner Aaronson presented a proclamation declaring October 2011 as “Guardianship Fraud Awareness Month” in Palm Beach County. Pictured above (l to r): Anthony Palmieri, Commissioner Burt Aaronson, Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock, Alan Bray.
Source:
Guardianship Fraud Awareness Month

WI Family Accused of Leaving Protector to Die

The quote next to Mary Coleman's 1957 Reedsburg High School yearbook photo reads "speech is silver, silence is golden."

Indeed, Coleman lived in quiet solitude, spending decades helping her needy sister and troubled nephew in a modest two-story Madison home. When not working, she tended to them, foregoing all else to see to their needs.

Then, as quietly as she lived, the 70-year-old woman disappeared.

It would take months to discover Coleman was at her family's house all along: In August 2009, investigators found her mummified remains in the home's garage.

Investigators said Coleman fell and her sister and nephew, Veronica and Steven King, left her dying on the floor for two days while they watched television and ate fast food.

Over the next three months, Veronica King withdrew thousands of dollars from a shared bank account to which Coleman's pension and social security payments flowed.

Prosecutors, however, didn't file charges. The case languished for more than two years and a judge eventually approved tens of thousands of dollars more in life insurance payments to the Kings, whom Coleman had named as her beneficiaries.

Not until last month, after review by a new prosecutor, were the Kings charged with any wrongdoing. They're due in court Monday on counts of first-degree reckless homicide, financial fraud, subjecting an at-risk person to abuse and hiding a corpse.

Full Article and Source:
Family Accused of Leaving Protector to Die

NASGA Affiliate's Petition Collects Its 100th Signature! More Needed!

NASGA Affiliate Tom Fields created this petition with one purpose in mind, to guarantee for all the justice which he and others, including many of NASGA's members, have been denied.

According to Fields, this petition addresses a common injustice practiced by authorities according to which the criminal complaints of its citizens are routinely dismissed as civil complaints, often without even attempting an investigation of the facts.

According to Fields, without the Constitutional guarantee sought by this petition, too many of us have been denied the justice which we believe our Constitution guarantees us, especially its FIFTH and SEVENTH AMENDMENTS, according to which

• No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, and

• In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved ...

By means of the Constitutional guarantee sought by this petition, due process of law will require just what this guarantee says in all matters, both criminal and civil.

Fields believes many of NASGA’s members will want to sign this petition. He also believes it is important for them to do so, and do so quickly. Why? Because this petition needs 50 more signatures in order for the White House to include it with other petitions under its Open Petitions tab.

Finally, Fields notes several of those who have signed encountered various difficulties while trying to sign. A major difficulty was created by one ISP, which had been inadvertently blocking the e-mails which the White House sends to confirm the identity of the person creating the account needed to sign the petition. Fortunately the ISP cooperated to identify and resolve the difficulty.

Anyone who needs help signing the petition or wants more information about it should call (440/255-7693) or write (tvfields@oh.rr.com) Fields.

Sign the Petition

See Also:
White House Creates Website for Online Petitions

Keeping Meticulous Books a Blessing When Taking Over Finances

Peter Smith took over his dad's financial affairs at the beginning of 2010. He took notarial copies of the power of attorney document to his father's financial adviser and banks, provided a doctor's letter confirming his father's incapacity to anyone who asked for it. He then started writing cheques and collecting his dad's pension payments. So far, so good.

He wanted to do the job right, and after six months of handling his father's affairs he made an appointment to get some advice from a lawyer. The lawyer asked him to bring in the books he was maintaining for his father's money.

"What books?" Peter asked.

It turns out that an attorney is expected to keep books and detailed records. Those books would normally begin with a statement of everything his father owned and its value as of the date Peter took over. The books would then give an annual history of "all amounts received and disbursed." That means a detailed day-to-day statement of each dollar spent on his father's behalf or received for his benefit.

An example of an amount disbursed might read: "September 1 - Paid $1,219.21 to Green Acres Personal Care Home." An example of an amount received might read: "September 6 - Received $2,590.56 from Civil Service Superannuation Board - Pension payment."

At the end of each year an attorney like Peter is expected to reconcile everything. That means showing the closing value of all of the assets, and tying in all of the money that went out and went in so everything hangs together.

As backup, he was also expected to have receipts, cancelled cheques, bank statements and the like, and have all of that organized and ready to produce.

If that sounds like a lot of work, it is. Some folks don't bother.

They should. Why? There is often a day of reckoning.

Full Article and Source:
Keeping Meticulous Books a Blessing When Taking Over Finances

Don't Let Oregon Courts Silence the Press

It will be interesting to see how this censorship attempt of Salem-News.com will really go. This is an important time for all in media, because a court interpretation of the 'truth' obtained through a court order that itself is in question, should never be allowed to silence us, particularly when the information is fully attributed to a named source.

One thing I am wondering about is whether Mr. Brooks expected this case to end up in front of a jury, which it probably will. I suspect not, and that Mr. Cooper really should be more selective of his clients.

Interestingly, jurors aren't part of the 'system', and not exactly who a ruthless litigator can typically count on. In other words, the truth can win the day with the public and there is little these two men can do about it, and I really am excited about the prospect of being able to defend Ms. Boldt and our American Civil Right to free speech. That is what Mr. Brooks is trying to place his foot on top of, and I can only assume he has no idea what he is dealing with.

Erna [Boldt] explains that [her son] Leroy came to visit a few years ago from California, and when he did, he brought a friend. Erna didn't suspect anything, even when Leroy suggested he and Erna go to lunch because his, "friend was tired and wanted to lay down". He and Erna went for lunch, and his 'friend', Erna says she later discovered, promptly began going through her files to find the information they would use in court to deem her incompetent.

Erna believes she earned the disdain of the Clackamas County court officials because, quite frankly, she can be pretty feisty, and who would not be?

There are no terrible stories of Leroy's childhood according to any of the parties we have contacted, or received contact from, and he had not been estranged from Erna, until he took court actions against her.

Court documents show that Erna has seen a failure in cooperation from the Clackamas County court. Erna can produce documents demonstrating that they lost papers, failed to fulfill promises, and apparently just failed to fulfill their obligations to her as public tax paid servants.

I call foul on the whole thing, including these very questionable judge's decisions that allowed Leroy to clean up and Erna to lose in one of the most unforgivable ways ever imagined. Just because something can be done legally does not mean that it should be done. Wrong is still wrong.

Full Article and Source:
Don't Let Oregon Courts Silence the Press



Note: Erna Boldt is a NASGA member.

Nursing Home Volunteers ~ The Elderly are from Heaven

"When a person is admitted into a nursing home, they experience many losses.

Not only is their independence, freedom, and family gone, they also feel a loss of control of their lives, dignity, and the interruption in daily routines can be emotionally tormenting. They also feel extreme boredom. Family, for a lot of them, never come to visit.

Most of them would be very accepting of you and would be glad and appreciative of the time you spend with them. So to get started you can find a nursing home near you and talk to the Activities Director and ask them if there is anyone in particular that could use the companionship. Also ask for ways that you can volunteer. It is so worth it, because doing this is very rewarding, relaxing and fun." ~ Unknown

Source:
Facebook: The Forgotten Ones - Compassion for the Elderly