Victim Profiles

May 2009 - Elder Abuse Prevention Month
Guardianship Abuse Victims Recognized During Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Death Served the Purpose

On Feb 20th, he was found dead in his room. He was a mentally disabled person who required care. The public fiduciary decided to drop his guardianship despite his need for care. But, they kept his conservatorship going because when it all comes down to it, the money is the only entity valued in the Pima County Probate court. Until Judge Munger separated him from his mother, his wife, and his two children -- he lived a wonderfully stable life under their care.

Ultimately, Jan Bernardini paid for a divorce attorney with his mother's funds. His two children were left without a loving father who had previously been stabilized within a structured family environment. He was happy in the family environment and offered a lot of love to his wife, children, and mother. His wife lovingly offered the structure that he needed to keep his disease in check and he went without hospitalization for 7 years. This is almost unheard of with schizo-affective disorders.

His Mother offered both financial support and love as she nurtured this young family. In a fifteen minute hearing, Judge Clark Munger decided without any basis in fact to allow Ms. Bernardini to destroy this family.

There is no public record of the real facts because only Bernardini and her “experts” testimony were allowed. Suffice it to say his wealthy mother spent a considerable annual sum on animal therapy (horses) for her son that was far more successful and far less expensive than the various therapies that had been offered. Until Judge Munger and Jan Bernardini came on the scene, the program was working well. Clark Munger's brother, John, was witness to this family as he kept his horse at the same facility where thefamily kept their horses.

After Clark Munger and Jan Bernardini joined to do their deed, the children and their mother fled Tucson to avoid further harassment (they had been thrown out on the street on a 48 hour notice by Judge Clark Munger). Forest stayed in Tucson keeping in regular phone contact with his "ex" wife and kids. He visited his mom weekly -- the only family member permitted by Jan Bernardini to do so.

He maintained daily contact with his distant family and would relay messages to his mother  that they all loved her dearly. She would ask him to say the same back.

Recently, at the invitation of his “ex” wife and kids, he decided to move out of town to be with them. He had an airline ticket in hand. He was very excited to be with his children.

Perhaps more important, he had decided that he was going to do what he could to make things right. He loved his mom, he loved his kids, and he loved the lady from whom the court had separated him. He made this known!!

His desire to make things right did not serve the purpose of the court and their representatives in Pima County His death certainly serves the purpose of Jan Bernardini and Clark Munger.

God Bless Him!!!!! May his  death help bring an end to this travesty. He will be deeply missed!!!!!

Jan Bernardini and Judge Munger

Youth Inspires Others

Pima County Guardianships

Attorney Bernardini and Judge Munger

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Apathetic Court and Bank System

My Mother and I share the same birthday, October 22, approximately 44 years apart. I was very close to both of my parents. When my father passed away in 1996, he left a sizable estate for my Mother, and for the descendants he specified in his Will and Trust. My mother’s Will and Trust documents are identical to Father’s. Of utmost importance to my Father, was my Mother’s welfare, after his death. He left explicit instructions as to how his estate was to be distributed and protected.

My older sister, Cam (Mueller) Fischer had been disinherited and financially disowned for alleged theft of monies from a family business and tax fraud, officially in 1985. She chose to remove herself, and her children, from the family for almost 20 years; this was a source of great pain for my parents. In 1998 she maneuvered control over our Mother, through a Power of Attorney, that Mother lacked the capacity to execute. Cam sold the family home for below market value and made herself the recipient of the $500,000.00 + proceeds, along with all the personal property she valued. Items such as cars, jewelry, furs, furniture, oriental rugs, paintings, and silver have ‘disappeared’. Also lost are the irreplaceable mementos of lives well lived, such as photographs, family keepsakes, and the heritage passed down from previous generations. Cam currently benefits from the ongoing, annual $70,000.00 + per year Mother receives from Father’s trust; a total of over $630,000.00 to date; plus the $500,000.00 + from the sale of my parent’s home, a very conservative total of $1,130,000.00, that does not include personal property, social security monies, or other investments. In November of 2005, in court documents filed by Cam Fischer, Cam lists Mother’s total assets as $10,000.00. Where is all the money, and how has it been spent?

The co-trustee of Father’s two Trusts, Commerce Bank, continues to fail in the fiduciary duty it has been entrusted with, which is to protect the Trusts, and oversee the appropriate distribution of the Trusts assets’. Commerce had been alerted, as far back as 1998, by Mother’s own attorney, that she was already a victim of ongoing financial duress which she was unable to effectively resist. This abuse of the Trust assets has been allowed by Commerce, despite the overwhelming evidence and documentation that has been presented to the bank. In April of 2006, Commerce authorized $10,000.00 to be paid to Cam Fischer’s attorney, Matt Rossiter, and an additional $2,000.00+ to the Probate Court appointed attorney, Jim Wright, for Cam’s portion of the court fees. These monies were paid in Mother’s name, from Father’s Trust, for the benefit of Cam Fischer. I have asked Commerce, repeatedly, for an accounting of the monies dispersed from my Father’s Trust, into a checking account in Mother’s name; these monies are to be used for her welfare exclusively. They have yet to perform any type of accounting. In 2006, Commerce also assumed sole trusteeship of the Trusts without making any attempt to contact me, the beneficiary of the Trusts. Commerce disclosed that they had been unable to contact Mother for over a year; their attempts to speak with her had been blocked by my sister, Cam Fischer, who controls every aspect of Mother’s life. Cam’s absolute control includes preventing Mother and I from seeing one another. In 2005 I was forced to obtain a court order to “visit” with my mother once a week. Financially, I have been unable to maintain the visitation order. Cam will continue to have the financial ‘upper-hand’ as long as Commerce continues to disregard its fiduciary duty to Mother, Father, and I. I have seen my mother less than a dozen times in approximately nine years.

For 8-9 years, I have been seeking justice for my parents and myself. I have battled an apathetic judicial, probate court, and bank system, that disregard my Mother’s welfare; ignoring the evidence of elder abuse, in all its forms, in particular the financial abuse that has been perpetrated upon her. The attorneys, the bank, and the court system are the profiteers, acting in their best interest to Mother’s detriment. The personal, emotional, and financial cost of this battle has been high. Daily, I fear for my Mother’s welfare. I know she is not living the life she and my father worked and planned for.

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Foreign Guardian

Florida law does not permit appointment of a foreign guardian who is not a family member, yet that’s exactly what North Carolina imposed upon this innocent and defenseless lady. The foreign guardian, appointed without due process by a Superior Court clerk, incarcerated Hazel in a 32-bed facility in Port Charlotte, Florida, without good cause or necessity. The same clerk later refused to hear evidence on her financial abuses. He expressly allowed this stranger to rip Hazel from a loving, stable and stimulating environment with her daughter in Asheville, NC. The relocation was against the advice of Hazel’s court-appointed guardian ad litem, doctors, day care case manager, her sister, her brother, her brother-in-law, another caregiver/friend, and of course, repeated pleas of Hazel’s daughter. Hazel’s daughter even asked to be allowed to care for her mother in Hazel’s own Florida home without any compensation. Her daughter was willing to give up her home and career, so Hazel would not have to go to a facility. Why should Hazel be “warehoused” when she has willing and able family or friends to care for her. The response: “Denied.”

Despite a successful appeal against such order, reversing for “prejudicial error,” the clerk’s office ignored the appeal ruling upon remand, even after the guardian ad litem testified that moving Hazel would be a violation of the guardian’s fiduciary duty, was against the public policies of NC for in-state and non-facility confinement, and was grounds for the guardians’ removal. Hazel’s “institutional confinement” also contravenes the 1999 US Supreme Court case, Olmstead v. L.C., as well as the stated legislative intent in two states and Florida’s statutory prerequisites for facility confinement.

The guardian has total control of Hazel’s estate which was worth $450,000 in January 2006. The guardian testified in December 2006 that Hazel’s assets were worth $300,000-350,000. The clerk made no inquiry about this extraordinary loss of value. The guardian would not let Hazel’s daughter into her mother’s home to retrieve Hazel’s most precious property. So, Hazel’s property (including Florida homestead property with no mortgage) is essentially gone. The guardian hired attorneys in two states to maintain her powers and Hazel’s assets pay them. Hazel does not have a lawyer since the guardian successfully argued to a Florida judge that Hazel is “incompetent” so cannot “hire” one, even if the attorney serves pro bono. Although this guardian consistently acts in conflict of interest with Hazel’s interests, her appointment continues although statute and case law authorizes her “removal.”

The Florida Dept of Children and Family Services (DCF) is aligned with the guardian since the 20th Judicial Circuit Court has “regularly appointed” her for about 18 years. There can be no “elder abuse” if the court authorizes the guardian to act, notwithstanding the lack of meaningful scrutiny. She is under no obligation to maximize Hazel’s resources. This guardian is the president of a corporation (for administering guardianships), even though “appointed” individually, has admitted going to court hundreds of times, and has told Hazel’s daughter that she never loses and the court does whatever she wants.

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Denied, Plundered, Neglected

When Esther Johnson became vulnerable, her wishes and needs were denied, her estate plundered, and her dignity neglected. Even though she named her son Taylor as her DPoA and even specified he would be her guardian if needed, she didn’t get what she wanted. Instead, Esther’s daughter was named guardian. She confined Esther to her bedroom, denied her visitors, and only allowed Taylor to see their Mother one hour per week and those supervised visits cost Taylor over $100 each.

No one was allowed to mention Taylor’s name or answer Esther when she asked about him.

The 3 1/2 year nightmare, which Esther Johnson suffered and which directly caused her death, revolves around the Probate Court structure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the courts absolute refusal to abide by the existing protective laws for the elderly.

Esther Johnson suffered many abuses and torture before her homicide on December 30, 1998.

As a society, we can and must protect the human, civil and constitutional rights of seniors. Every person deserves to live a full life with dignity. Every person must be guaranteed that their wishes will be carried out, assets protected and dignity preserved.
Elderly Abuse.com

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

The Financial Clean Out

In 2001 , a San Mateo County judge ruled my Mom could no longer take care of herself and forced her into a conservatorship to “manage” her multimillion dollar estate and make essential decisions about her care.

The private conservator sold Mom’s home, where she had lived for 45 years, for six million dollars (more money for them!) – and forced her into a nursing home even though she wanted to live with me and I wanted to take care of her.

The conservatorship was solely in the best financial interest of the attorneys and conservator who feasted off of Mom’s estate as they poisoned the court against me for my efforts to protect her from her predators.

Because I complained about their abuse of my Mom and questioned the level of care she was receiving at the nursing home where she was imprisoned, I was not permitted to see Mom unless I hired a social worker to “observe” my visit.

I was denied all input regarding Mom’s care and medical decisions about her. They had stolen her away from her family and the life she had lived and was accustomed to because they wanted her money.

All contact with her friends was also screened, leaving her feeling abandoned and alone and also angry she could not go home. What she wanted and needed was ignored. She did not feel safe in the nursing home and I constantly feared for her safety. Her final days were nothing less than miserable and frightening for her, and for me.

The attorneys and conservator rationalized their exorbitant fees (hundreds of thousands of dollars) proclaiming to be representing my Mom’s best interest against me – and the court rubber stamped their every request. They had done an excellent job of setting the stage for Mom’s financial clean out by maligning me and blaming me for their continued litigation.

No one is safe!

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Flawed Probate System

The Colorado State Judiciary is reviewing its protective proceedings, and the Silvia Tessadri case is a big reason why.

When Tessadri entered the care of guardian Ann Grasee by court order in 2003, Tessadri had an estate valued at more than $500,000 as well as a home and trust. Grasee charges $100 per hour for her care, a standard fee for guardian ad litems in Colorado.

Tessadri's son, Rudy Bush said guardian Ann Grasee and conservator, Michael Beutz, have spent the $500,000 and are now listing his mother's house on the market.

Beutz and Grasee said the profits from the sale would be used to care for Tessadri, whose estate is now nearly bankrupt.

Bush lived with his mother in the $180,000 Lakewood house until the court ordered he move from the premise. Now, the property is being rented under lease until a buyer can be found.

"When it was determined there was no belief she would ever return home, it squanders an estate asset to have it empty," Beutz said. The trust (managed by Wells Fargo) wished to sell the house and received a court order to do so.

Bush said his mother should never have been put into guardianship or moved from her house into a care facility.

"A woman who had a half-million dollar estate and a house is now broke. It's the saddest thing I've ever heard."
Protecting estates from guardians, conservators

Call7 Investigators:
System Could Drain Your Retirement Savings

Bush's mother is one of thousands of elderly people in assisted living and nursing homes in Colorado whose affairs are overseen by court-appointed guardians and conservators, who run all aspects of their lives for a fee.

7NEWS Investigators found a state audit has raised serious questions about the case.

For example, why is the lawyer in charge billing $145 an hour for purchasing a washer, dryer and television for Bush's mother? Why is he charging $145 an hour for talking to an electrician and another $145 an hour for talking to her neighbors?

Beutz said his obligation is to protect her the best he can -- whether it's inquiring about someone he thought was a threat to his client or concern about a house with faulty wiring.

Even if the charges are justified, who is checking conservators' bills? Who's watching the money?

Jefferson County District Court Judge Stephen Munsinger told 7NEWS, "We don't have the resources to do it and we don't have the time do do it."

Ferrugia then asked, "Basically you have to rely on the good intentions of lawyers?"

"Absolutely," Munsinger replied.
Investigators: No One Oversees Court-Appointed Professionals

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Even a Judge is Not Safe

Exactly how corrupt and vindictive is the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office?

What an Outrage! From judge to ward of the court

Court Orders Release of Retired Judge

Erasing the Kung-Fu Judge

Battle Continues In Guardianship Case Of Retired Judge

Out of Order - Ailing Judge's Guardian Stole 187G

N.Y. Court Suspends Lawyer Accused of Taking Money From Judge's Estate

John L. Phillips Jr., a retired Civil Court judge known as the "Kung-Fu Judge", who owned theaters in Brooklyn that were a prominent platform for black activists in the 1980s, died at 83.

In 2001, Mr. Phillips, at 77, announced he would challenge the incumbent, Charles J. Hynes, in the race for district attorney in Brooklyn. But he was declared mentally incompetent after an investigation by Mr. Hynes that some said was politically motivated. Mr. Hynes said the action was undertaken for Mr. Phillips’s own good. A series of court-appointed guardians took over Mr. Phillips’s affairs, but a court case ensued involving allegations that the guardians had mismanaged his person and finances.
Civil Court Judge Is Dead

It was reported that this self-made multi-millionaire who served honorably for 13 years, was destitute and confined against his will to a Bronx nursing home. He was barred from receiving visitors or mail or even phone calls without permission of the court. His property had been sold off in unpublished and possibly illegal auctions. Millions in assets disappeared.
At long last, please set Judge Phillips free

After spending just over two years living in a cramped, foul-smelling room in a bleak nursing home at the outer reaches of the Bronx, the retired Brooklyn judge was finally transferred to an assisted living facility closer to his Brooklyn home.
Court Orders Release of Retired Judge from Nursing Home

The Brooklyn Eagle reported the saga of the retired judge’s guardianship case, along with a potential million-dollar fraud. The Eagle revealed details of an accounting of the tenure of a former property guardian, a report that shows hundreds of thousands of dollars in misappropriated funds. Accounting, filed in Brooklyn’s guardianship court, details irregular financial disbursements by former property guardian Emani Taylor, made from the bank accounts of retired Judge John Phillips, a ward of the guardianship court. Phillips’ supporters hope this accounting could be the catalyst for a criminal probe into what they claim have been years of mismanagement and outright theft.
Were Funds Pilfered from a Retired Judge’s Estate?

It was also reported that the retired judge owed a million dollars in back taxes. Since 2001, the responsibility for his taxes has been with a string of law guardians appointed by the state court since 2001. But for reasons that are not yet clear, the lawyers involved in the case never filed tax returns.
The Tax Travails Of the 'Kung-Fu Judge'

Court-appointed guardians for Alzheimer's-stricken ex-Judge John Phillips failed to file any income taxes for their elderly ward for more than five years - running up a million-dollar bill to the IRS, according to court papers. In a flurry of strongly worded motions, a current guardian slammed two predecessors, Ray Jones and Frank Livoti, for filing no taxes on Phillips' multimillion-dollar estate, which includes some dozen buildings in Brooklyn.
Judge Money Melee - Guardians Lax on Tax

A Brooklyn lawyer had been suspended from practicing as a state panel investigated her handling of the estate of John L. Phillips Jr. The lawyer, Emani P. Taylor, had been accused of improperly enriching herself from the Phillips estate. A panel in the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division called for Ms. Taylor’s immediate suspension pending further investigation, saying she had refused to cooperate with a court investigation into allegations of professional misconduct as Mr. Phillips’s guardian. The panel also found that Ms. Taylor “intentionally converted guardianship funds.”
Lawyer Is Suspended as Conduct Is Criticized

The People vs. the People
A Brooklyn-based filmmaker spent the better part of the last two years compiling a documentary on the retired civil court judge’s legal efforts to restore his once-vast real estate empire, as well as the 2001 election for district attorney. The film tells the story of how a real estate empire worth an estimated $10 million was dissipated, under the administration of a series of attorneys appointed by a state guardianship court.
Film Tells of Retired Judge’s Guardianship Case

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Not Her Home Anymore

Mother made me promise I would see to it she could stay in her home until her final day. But her court appointed guardian took away her comfort and made her life miserable.

My Mother suffered from dementia. Familiar surroundings give a person with dementia comfort, whereas major changes make the person agitated and uncomfortable.

Mother always took great pride in her decorating; she liked a European look, and had beautiful things from her country, Ukraine, which was her heritage. She had a large Ukrainian rug hanging in her living room; she loved that rug, and it was one of many things that made her house her home.

The guardian decided that Mother’s house was not modern enough --- she took down Mother’s prized Ukrainian rug. She disposed of Mother’s treasured Ukranian dolls and much of her furniture. Mother’s beautiful living room transformed into a stark room, void of the precious knick knacks and personal items that made it comfortable and familiar for her --- things that made her happy and gave her pleasure.

The Guardian also decided to remodel the kitchen. She had a new floor installed--- it wasn’t necessary nor did my Mother want it, but what Mother wanted didn’t matter to the Guardian. She replaced the curtains Mother lovingly hand sewed and with ugly gray funeral parlor looking curtains. A new refrigerator, a microwave, new vacuum, new windows and two air conditioners – all unnecessary expenses. Mother hated air conditioning, it made her cough and too cold. The Guardian used my Mother’s money to modernize Mother’s home for the Guardian’s comfort and the comfort of her staff --- not my Mother’s. Mother complained of the mess and the mental stress of the construction.

Mother told me it wasn’t her home anymore; and sadly, she was right. The Guardian turned my Mother’s home from her castle to a prison.

The Guardian charged Mother $280 an hour, over $46,000 for her fees in the first year of misery alone. She treated Mother like a child, didn’t do her job, ran up exorbitant and unnecessary expenses, and worse of all, despite my best efforts, I was powerless to help her. My complaints and pleas for help fell on deaf ears.

In Memoriam - Stephanie Hordijuk

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

♪ My Mother ♪

My mother and father were married for 62 years. Nothing meant more to them than their family. Within one month of his death in late 2007, her health and the assurance of a comfortable lifestyle were at risk. My father’s directives for his wife’s care didn’t match my sister’s plans. I asked a Court to examine my mother’s circumstances and appoint a Guardian and a Conservator for her. Michigan laws narrowed the field of appointees to one or both daughters, her legally designated nominees – if they were “willing and able to serve.” Both of us were willing. I was the more active medical advocate and the only daughter entrusted with financial authority at the time. It didn’t matter which role was assigned to whom, as long our parents’ wishes were honored, with accountability under law.

Macomb County Probate Court

Regarding Petitions to Appoint a Guardian and a Conservator for an Alleged Legally Incapacitated Individual

Allusions to family animosity provide unscrupulous judges and attorneys with excuses to dwell comfortably amid dirt and trash under the snowy landscape of Law. Whether through omission or commission, sins of guardianship are traced to the doors of a derelict Court. Among Michigan’s 83 counties, several preserve the archaic practice of appointing attorneys as Guardians; Macomb is one.

♪ “The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined . . .” A ‘Godchild’ Attorney drafted my mother’s legal papers. He is a family relation, my sister’s attorney, and I consulted with him and his son (another attorney) as my parents’ agent. The Court was required to examine two Power of Attorney documents - the validity of one was a petition subject, and the other included my mother’s choices for a Guardian and a Conservator in event of a protective proceeding. The Godchild Attorney initiated false rumors to the Court and warned prospective Hearing witnesses to stay home and seal their lips about negligent care. He pre-briefed the Guardian Ad Litem #1 (GAL), who filed a biased Report to the Court on all substantial matters, to my denigration. In negligence of duty, the GAL did not confirm the existence of my mothers legal documents. He implied that the Godchild Attorney represented his Godmother’s interests, so he did not ask the Court to appoint an attorney for her. He reported that my mother would attend the Hearing; dressed and ready to go, she was denied that right, too. The GAL falsely claimed that my mother shared my sister’s views, a historically preposterous contradiction. To conceal discovery of the documents and other legal faux pas, the Godchild Attorney fashioned a contesting case and a conspiratorial relationship with the Court, my sister and the future Guardian-Conservator.

The Chief Court Attorney ‘lost’ Proofs of Service and Hearing Notices mailed USPS Certified. Ex-Chief Justice Kathryn George permitted the Godchild Attorney’s Son to represent my sister without question as to authority. When a witness exposed conflicts of interest due to multi-layered relationships, he perjured himself. Judge George failed to address the allegation concerning the legal documents and my mother’s designated nominees. Suppressing the questionable documents provided a convenient opportunity to bypass rules of succession to the roles. She did not address the Petition to Appoint a Guardian. The judge focused attention on the young attorney’s attempts to counter allegations by accusing me of having unlawfully taken possession of my mother’s funds. That being an improvable falsehood, Judge George availed herself of the exaggerated dualistic positions between daughters and asserted that there was a “schism” regarding financial matters. Considering herself to have duly assessed the need to preserve and protect my mother’s estate, she stated her Decision to appoint an Interim Conservator from the Court’s rotating stable of attorneys. The Hearing was dismissed.

After the Hearing, the Chief Court Attorney could not explain why Ex-Chief Justice George did not mention an inevitable future Hearing on the interim (‘meanwhile’ or ‘temporary’) appointment. He claimed to have no knowledge of the Court’s procedures and administrative rules regarding such an Order. He didn’t know anything about irregularities such as a judge failing to address a petition on the Hearing for the purpose, or reporting perjury. The following business day, I called the Court Administrator to obtain the name of the appointed Interim Conservator. I learned that Ex-Chief Justice George changed her Decision after the Hearing and endowed the attorney with another Full-time Guardian and Conservator job. Several days later, I sent a letter to Ms. Chief Justice about the Hearing’s deficiencies and legal inconsistencies, after which the Hearing transcript was over-edited to correct every deficiency and legal inconsistency cited in the letter – point ● by ● point.

♪ “False-hearted judges dying in the webs that they spin - Only a matter of time 'til night comes steppin' in." On allegations of conservatorship cronyism, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered an investigation of the Chief Justice’s cases to uncover corruption and found what it was looking for. In May 2008, Chief Justice George lost her crowning title and all of her cases were transferred to Judge O’Sullivan, her political rival.

♪ “The judge, he holds a grudge – he’s gonna’ call on you. But he’s badly built and he walks on stilts – make sure he doesn’t fall on you.” Vowing to monitor the Court’s shenanigans, the Supreme Court told the Court Administrator to “Leave” for a while and sent a judicial diplomat in his place to put the Court back in order.

The Attorney Guardian-Conservator (G-C) confirmed an alliance with the Court, the Godchild Attorney and my sister.

Under his Guardianship: My mother’s medical appointments were cancelled; medications were altered or eliminated. She broke her wrist but did not receive medical treatment, resulting in loss of function and a permanent ‘forked hand’ deformity. She suffered from undiagnosed illnesses and “bleeding”, untreated infections, concussions, facial lacerations, a reported broken arm, unexplained bruises and abrupt, acute vision loss unrelated to the fact that her prescription glasses were taken away upon assertion that she could no longer read. Her handicapped permit was “lost”. Two Adult Protective Services claims were investigated. The Guardian failed to return calls concerning her urgent health matters, medical advocacy, care and living arrangements. The Chief Court Attorney routinely returned my letters requesting emergency Court response because “the judicial Code prohibits ex-parte communications in a pending matter” – even though communication was not ex parte and no matter was pending before the Court. (The Court Administrator later accepted all the correspondence.) To date, the Guardian has refused to discuss all guardianship matters with me.

“I’m all alone. Nobody can find me here.”
My Mother
June 27, 2008

On May 14, 2008, within one week of assuming control of my mother’s cash accounts, the G-C moved her from her home of 44 years to a remote ‘granny dump’– 15 minutes from my sister and a day’s drive from me. He did not inform the Court or me in defiance of stringent reporting requirements. She was dropped off with two garbage bags of clothes in the night at Belle River Pines – a Large Group Adult Foster Care home in Memphis, Michigan. On the same day, the G-C wrote a letter to the administrator of the facility prohibiting “all contact” between my mother and me, my husband, my son and anyone who shared our surname. A similar May 15 letter followed. A so-called ‘restricted list’ identified other individuals who were not allowed to speak with Mom. Her physician on Court record advised the Guardian to move his patient near me for the sake of her health; he ignored the recommendation. I discovered where my mother was by May 23 but could not speak with or visit her under threat of police action. Upon a family friend’s unrelenting insistence, the G-C permitted my mother to call me on my birthday, June 27; she cried for 17 minutes. For more than two months, the G-C threatened, intimidated, lied and deceived his way through inquiries about his abusive actions from family, friends, neighbors, attorneys, State agencies, a police detective and others. Challenged by a social worker with my mother’s witnessed statement of desire to contact me, the Guardian authorized scheduled, supervised visits of limited duration - if I would not “kidnap” my mother. According to staff, one person visited her “a couple” or “a few” times during the period of restrictions. My husband and I visited on six occasions in July. For the first time in months, my mother dined in restaurants, visited friends and laughed. By July’s end, she was distressed and angry over her imposed asylum. In response, she was sedated into lethargy, compromising safe mobility. Over the next few months, she incurred a series of injuries and illnesses. A December 2008 DHHS investigation yielded more defensive posturing from the Guardian. Despite confirmation of negligent injuries due to staff’s inability to provide necessary care, he claimed that my mother was “fine” and refused to move her to another residence to insure her safety. Within months, her health declined - radically. It is rumored that she receives Hospice care. Visits from nearby relations are negligible. Mine are limited in frequency and duration due to the G-C’s interference.

“Dear . . . you have inquired about my deceased grandfather’s ring that I have . . . It is a sentimental keepsake . . . He wore it every day that I knew him, for 26 years of my life. I understand that, for some reason, you are particularly interested in me returning the ring to you. There is absolutely no reason why I would return . . . the only real object of sentimental value that I own. I suggest that you take a much closer look at the veritable hoard of my grandparent’s’ possessions currently held by . . . took from them without any requests for permission . . . More importantly, these are possessions that still belong to my living grandmother.”
Grandson
May 16, 2008

Under his Conservatorship: The Conservator has Letters of Authority, but a revoked Power of Attorney claimed title to cars, prevented installation of grave memorials that my mother ordered and controlled pre-distribution of her property against the terms of her Will. I demanded explanations for missing property, apparent vandalism, failure to authorize appropriate medical care and other issues, and the G-C locked me out of my mother’s house. Someone else lived there rent-free, for months. My sister has possession of all valuable collections, expensive furnishings and personal property, in general. The G-C said that I could purchase something. The Conservator scheduled an “estate sale” but switched the dates, so I could not attend. ‘Neighborhood Watch’ said that five vans and several cars filled with furnishings, driven by relatives, departed at the start of the sale. My mother’s former housekeeper made a public exclamation about the “despicable” sale of her property “while she is still alive!” Another neighbor was threatened under phony court order to leave the premises, and the G-C later threatened to sue her for stealing my mother's patio furniture. Someone sold my personal possessions, too – bike, vintage furniture, sentimental gifts, leather chair, clothes, etc. My mother’s house has deteriorated due to lack of maintenance. Instead of paying $24/week to the neighbor’s lawn service, he pays a special party $45/week. Due to lagging economy, the Conservator says that it is not timely to sell my mother’s house to enhance her care options. The house is rental property now; the G-C claimed that he left rare furniture in it - for the renters. The list goes on.

The Conservator’s Inventory of the estate was due within 56 days of his appointment. Seven months beyond Notice on Deficiency, two months beyond a scheduled Show Cause event, he filed the Inventory nine months after legal deadline. He declared one personal asset in the Inventory – a car valued at $1,220 – omitting bank accounts, life insurance annuity, valuable collections, and everything else required to list. He swore that my mother’s entire estate consisted of an old (devalued) car. Macomb County Probate Court accepted the fraudulent Inventory. Apparently, my mother now receives Medicaid assistance.

Regarding Petitions to Revoke/Modify the Guardianship and Conservatorship

Guardian Ad Litem #2 returned another bogus report to the Court replete with claims of my dastardly actions: I had sprayed my mother’s new hairdo with water, washed off her makeup and made her cry, etc. – and had kidnapped her, literally. Reaction to this gossipy Report was topped only by the judge’s acceptance of it as valid. Like the time before, the Court Clerk claimed that Proofs of Service for the Hearing mailed USPS Certified and signed by Court staff did not reach the Court. Justice Pamela Gilbert O’Sullivan claimed not to have read Court correspondence regarding my mother’s problems since Judge George appointed the G-C. As to why not, she replied, “I’m not Judge George!” Subpoenaed medical records were suppressed, and a Registered Guardian and my mother’s ex-employees received threatening calls from the G-C and the Godchild Attorney. Concerning the G-C’s and the Court’s failure to observe laws governing moving his ward from her home and reporting an Inventory, this judge stated on the record, “We don’t do that here,” and “We don’t follow those laws, either.” She stated that she based her Decision to retain the Guardian-Conservator upon GAL #2’s “Recommendation” - expressed in the following idiopathic form of logic:

1. The GAL stated, “I am certain that she did not understand much of what we talked about.”

2. The GAL stated, “She had no opinion regarding the conservatorship and guardianship when I asked her.”

3. The GAL stated, “She lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to make or communicate informed decisions.”

The GAL concluded, “She is completely satisfied with [the attorney] as her Guardian and Conservator.”

♪ “These be seven curses on a judge so cruel:

That one doctor will not save him,
that two healers will not heal him,
that three eyes will not see him.

That four ears will not hear him,
that five walls will not hide him,
that six diggers will not bury him
and that seven deaths shall never kill him.”

Attempting to sever a mother-daughter relationship is a depraved action. Swearing that my mother is nearly penniless is vile, if for no other reason than that assisted/skilled care facilities are not obligated to accept new patients who receive Medicaid. Her care is substandard now; her estate has been wasted. Nearly every action by this Court and its Appointee defies Michigan’s goals of Guardianship and Conservatorship, and the Codes, Statutes and Court Rules intended to enforce them.

♪ Song Lyrics: Bob Dylan

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Guardianship of Clara

Clara's Tale


Clara's Nightmare


Clara's Nightmare Part 2


Clara's Will


May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month More victim profiles - May 2009 EA Prevention Month

Against Her Wishes

In 2005, my sisters secretly took my mother to an elder law attorney and obtained a Durable Power of Attorney, Health care proxy, living will with them as agents. They put the family home in a trust and had my mother make her will. They had her transfer all her money to accounts in their names.

On Christmas Eve in 2006, my mother was abducted from the only home she has known for half a century. She was taken away from the people and things she loves under false pretences by my sisters. They told her she was going to get physical therapy to strengthen her weak legs, and to do everything the facility said, otherwise Medicaid would not pay for the therapy.

At first they took her to the hospital and then kept transferring her to different nursing facilities where they were drugging her with so many drugs that she could not lift up her own head and became so weak that she was unable to walk and talk and is now permanently in a wheelchair.

I filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus to get her out of the nursing facility but my sisters filed a guardianship Petition, and instead of bringing her home, the judge appointed a temporary guardian to put her at my sisters house because my sisters said in the petition that I abused my mother (we lived in the same house for 27 years). These allegations are false and at first devastated me. However, I later found that such accusations are a common pattern in guardianships because the goal in such a proceeding is not the person’s best interest, but rather it is about how unscrupulous people get the most money out of the estate. I was never given the opportunity to present any evidence or cross examine my sisters.

Instead, my mother is being still being held incommunicado at my sister’s home in Brooklyn in a wheel chair, with no phone in her room, no money to call a cab or cry out for help. And what can she do about it?

It is more evil and sad than you could ever imagine. It is emotional torture for both me and my mother who told everyone she wants to go home to see her dog, and to die in familiar surroundings. I have not seen or talked to her for almost a year and cry myself to sleep wondering how she must be feeling about the daughters she trusted who have betrayed her. And I wonder if she thinks I let her down.

My sisters filed the guardianship Petition asking to be able to put my mother into a nursing facility for good, and to be able to evict me from the family home and sell it. All of this is against my mother’s verbal and written wishes.

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

The Cash In

This is J.P. and Doris Manire. They have one son named Phil. My name is Kim and I have known the Manires for about 30 years now. Phil and I are married. J.P. and Doris have three grandchildren: Cody (19) Beth (14) and John (17 months). Doris was the owner of Vogue Beauty Salon for 35 years, which J.P. and she started together. J.P. was head of the Engineering Department of Parkland Hospital in Dallas Texas; he was also a WWII vet who served for four years in the U.S. Air Force, in Europe. J.P. also graduated from U.N.T. where he played football. Phil and I used to take care of any and everything J.P. and Doris needed, from painting, plumbing, and car maintenance, going to the store, watering the yard, peach trees and garden, changing light bulbs. Just any thing they needed we did to help. Think of the money they saved by not having to pay to have it done for them. We lived as one happy, loving family on their land in a trailer they got us so we could be together.

That was all taken from us by the Denton County Probate Court and its select group of “GUARDIANS” and attorneys, who took over half a million dollars in less than one and a half years. They cashed in CDs, a pension plan, IRAs, sold mineral rights to the land, and went through over $215,000.00 cash. They have been trying to sell the homestead that the whole family lived on, but has been put off with different legal motions. The group of people involved all friends, business partners, a personal attorney, and the ex-wife of the judge, these people were chosen over family members who had always been around the Manire’s and who helped them to save their money over their life time, just so that this group of people could put way over half of it in their pockets and lock this couple up in a nursing home and sell their homestead to put even more in their own accounts.

In Memoriam - "Speck" JP Manire

Comfy Care

Denton County Judge and Guardian

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Got Money?

Here’s my Mom and I. We have been victims of the guardianship and conservator business since 2004.

We have lost $400,000 of a 1.2 million dollar investment account. Our money is enriching two criminal guardianship businesses, their lawyers, our court appointed lawyer, a guardian ad litem and a trust company – all with the blessings of The Maricopa County Probate Court in AZ. Most of my own money was seized and put into the trust. My income was cut in half and I am subsisting on a $14,000 per year disability.

The litigation has ruined our health – all because a local guardianship business and their lawyer set out to steal our money. My Mother was placed into assisted living at exorbitant cost and the current guardian is billing the trust any amount of money she wants. All with the blessings of the probate court! This is by far the biggest criminal racket going on in AZ and probably the rest of America.

No one who has money of their own is safe.

I have written letters to dozens of agencies to no avail. My complaints to the courts and judges have been ignored. Hundreds of lawyers and racketeers are making millions in Phoenix. The attorney general turns a blind eye. Our government is corrupt beyond our imaginations and it is about time someone did something! Once our funds are exhausted, these criminals will move on to the next victim.

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Held Captive

Jan. 2006, my husband Gary E. Harvey, age 55, suffered a tragic accident leaving him severely brain injured. As his wife and sole advocate, I’m fighting to ensure he gets the best possible care and quality of life. We’ve been abused and taken advantage of by Chemung County, CCNF, APS, DSS, Attorneys, and Supreme Court.

I pray that Gary has a full recovery. A man who served his country should not be treated this way! No matter what, I want him home where he’ll be loved, safe, and properly cared for.

The County is divorcing me from my husband and holding him prisoner.

All they care about is money. I only count when it comes to keeping health insurance on Gary and paying the bills; an obligation - not a WIFE. We are not rich and don’t want to see our home and all we worked our entire lives for, taken by the county.

While in Chemung County Nursing Facility-CCNF, Gary lost weight, teeth, and suffered black eyes. He laid in bile & feces, had defective feeding tubes left unattended, and received less than adequate oral care. All this with no justifiable reason as to how or why it happened. His tongue is like coarse sandpaper; his bottom lip is half gone due to their lack of compassion and aggressive behavior. During the time I was assisting with his care, he did not have any of these issues. The facility fails to mail or notify me of incident reports regarding accidents where he has received cuts, bruises, etc.

Adult Protective Service-APS restricts visitation to family (only) ... which means no friends; so he has only me. I feel harassed by staff when they prevent me from taking him out of his room for a change of scenery. I have also been instructed not to kiss or hug my husband. The list is endless. We lost all spousal rights; and my husband is being treated beneath the dignity of an animal rather than a human being.

My husband is a very strong man, a fighter who would not want me to give up on his recovery; nor have I. He has beaten many obstacles and tragedies in his life and I will never stop fighting to help him beat this one. I feel the more stimulation he has, the better his outcome will be. I am all he has and will do anything for him. I do not treat him as if something is wrong which adds to his confusion. Gary needs love - not mystery and abuse.

Who but his wife should decide for him?

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

95-Year-Old Fights Back

Delores Forste is the daughter who was accused of kidnapping her own mother. Emma France is the 95 year old woman that claimed a government official in Jasper County Missouri charged that she was kidnapped by her 67 year old daughter. An appeal made by Emma France to free her daughter Delores Forste was made on video.

Emma France was represented by a court-appointed counsel, otherwise known as an guardian ad litem, but no testimony was offered suggesting that Emma was capable of taking care of her own affairs. Instead the judge in what appeared to be a very short probate trial signed away her free will. France challenged the charges against her daughter. She said Forste is not guilty of financial exploitation or kidnapping. She said she wanted to go to California and to get out of Jasper County after she was hospitalized and made a ward of the public administrator. She said both actions were taken against her will. An Alleged Kidnapping

Rita Hunter, Jasper County public administrator, her attorney and an area physician are named in a lawsuit filed in Jasper County Circuit Court. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Emma France, stems from the actions that made France a ward of the public administrator.
Former Ward Files Suit

A class-action lawsuit was also filed asking that the Jasper County public administrator be removed as conservator of her 450 to 500 clients or be ordered to refund any fees she has charged them that the court deems excessive. The lawsuit was brought by the same attorney who won dismissal of criminal charges against France's daughter and her husband who had been charged with kidnapping the woman’s Carthage mother while she was a ward of the public administrator. Class Action Filed

Some former wards of Rita Hunter, former Jasper County’s public administrator, filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of taking money from their estates to pay attorneys for the county office. The lawsuit contends that there was no authority to take the fees because there was no written contract between the attorneys and the county office, a requirement of state law. The lawsuit names John Podleski, who served as attorney for the administrator’s office until Hunter’s term ended, and Gayle Crane, who held the post for the first two years after Hunter took office in 2004. Crane became a circuit judge. Attorney Fees Challenged

The state returned donated money amounting to more than $27,000 that had been taken out of Jasper County wards’ accounts by Rita Hunter, former public administrator. The office was working on the return of about $85,000 that was taken from wards’ accounts and sent to state health-care agencies in the last weeks of Hunter’s tenure. Hunter was also the subject of an investigation that was launched after it was learned that all the wards’ records had been taken from the public administrator’s files, and that computer files on the wards had been erased. Hunter later returned about 30 boxes of files, and additional materials were taken from her house as a result of a search warrant.
Some Money Returned - Investigation Continues



Rita Hunter was or is registered with the National Guardianship Association Inc., an organization that promotes a "standard of excellence in guardianship."

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Grace's Imprisonment

For five years Grace Connors was isolated in a residential facility against her wishes and denied the love, comfort and care of her only daughter, Mary Claire.

Her spirit and her health failed while in Hospice.

Who benefits from forced public and state guardianships? Not Grace; she's was never allowed to go home, never allowed to receive any care, food, or even water from her family. She was not even allowed to have a phone.

Ask yourself who benefited from Grace's imprisonment.

Grace had a Long Term Care Insurance Policy that provided for full care in her home. Instead, your tax dollars paid over $5,000 a month to confine her in a nursing home against her wishes and the wishes of her family.

Be warned: You could be next! Guardian Recipe for Abuse

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Youth Inspires Others

My Grandma, Jean McKee Blackwell, was stolen from me when I was 11 years old.

I am now 15 and want to speak out about what the conservator and guardian in Tucson Arizona did to my family.

My whole family lived together and we were very happy. Janice Bernardini came in and separated my Mom and Dad. My Dad was sick and needed Mom to take care of him. He died because they did not care. He was only 43 and was supposed to meet my kids someday. Now I am the man of my family and I will not let them take anymore from me.

I love my Grandma and want her back. I am not allowed to call her or visit her without “permission” or supervision. My Mom and Grandma Jean were best friends and they won’t ever let them talk again.

My Grandma has money and they like to use it. They threw my Mom, sister and me on the street with no place to go. They spent over 1million dollars to ruin my Mom. We had to leave Arizona just so Mom could raise us in peace. Mom is not allowed to talk about what they did to our family. They made her sign a paper promising not to speak. Judge Clark Munger called my Mom a bad mother. HE WAS WRONG.

He may have hurt my family but he will be stopped. I will get my Grandma free so she can watch me and my sister make Dad proud.



Puppets Imitate Life

I love you Grandma Jean and I will never stop fighting for you!

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

No Help For Postal Worker

Why doesn't Murray retire from his job at the Post Office?....
Because the guardian will take his pension!

I am old enough to retire. I have been a Postal worker for over forty years. I hold a full time position earning approximately $50,000 a year, in addition to working extensive overtime.

I was happy for all those years until I was introduced to the judicial system in 2000. The landlord of the building I had been living in for the prior ten years refused to make what I considered necessary repairs, so I resorted to self help and withheld a portion of the rent. The apartment that I was living in was rent controlled, so it is easy to understand why the landlord decided to start eviction proceedings.

Instead of eviction, I was placed under guardianship by Hon. Anthony Cutrona, Justice of the Supreme Court in Kings County, Brooklyn, NY in March of 2001 in order to “protect” me.

This is when my life turned into a nightmare. When a guardian is appointed for a person, all their civil rights are lost. I could no longer control my own money. The court ordered that all of my salary, including all overtime pay, must be sent to the guardian, a company ironically called Self Help Community Services, Inc. Each week, the guardian returns a total of $325 which my wife and I are expected to live on.

I am in dire need of dental work, but when the bill became five hundred dollars, the guardian would no longer pay it.

My hearing loss is having a negative effect at my job (I am totally deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other), but when I ordered hearing aids, the guardian cancelled my personal check. My co-workers find it annoying because they have to constantly repeat instructions because I can’t hear them when they speak. Sometimes people mistake my loudness for aggressiveness.



I have made my problem known to many agencies in New York, have contacted and emailed the first lady, Oprah Winfrey, etc. and has been told that they can not help me.

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month

Stop Guardianship Abuse

They took him away from the only people on earth who loved him.
And, they destroyed him.



This family is so afraid of reprisal, they could not risk showing a picture of Dad

May 2009 ~ Guardianship abuse victims recognized during Elder Abuse Prevention Month