Terri Schiavo Guardianship Records to Remain Confidential, Court Rules - State Affairs

BY JIM SAUNDERS

Key Points

1. State appeals court rejects bid to unseal Terri Schiavo records
2. Schiavo died in 2005 after feeding tube removal
3. The court cited a state law keeping guardianship records confidential

Two decades after Pinellas County resident Terri Schiavo died following high-profile legal, political and ethical battles over removing her feeding tube, a state appeals court has rejected an attempt to unseal records about the case.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal on Wednesday denied the attempt by Schiavo’s brother and mother — Bobby and Mary Schindler — and an advocacy group, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network.

Schiavo died March 31, 2005, 15 years after she sustained severe brain damage because of a cardiac arrest at age 26. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, sought permission in 1998 to remove her feeding tube, drawing fierce opposition from her brother and parents.

The case drew national attention and sparked lengthy legal fights and debates in the Florida Legislature and Congress, with Gov. Jeb Bush helping lead efforts to prevent the removal of the feeding tube. Courts allowed the removal, ultimately resulting in Terri Schiavo’s death.

Wednesday’s opinion rejected an attempt by the Schindlers and the advocacy group to open records in a guardianship case. Michael Schiavo was his wife’s guardian after her incapacitation.

The opinion said Bobby Schindler and the group sought to intervene in the long-closed case as a step toward opening the records. It said Mary Schindler did not need to intervene because she had been a party to the case. But it upheld a circuit judge’s decision denying their requests.

In part, the opinion cited a state law aimed at keeping guardianship records confidential. Chief Judge Matthew Lucas wrote that the “fact that Ms. Schiavo passed away many years ago” did not “diminish the importance of the confidentiality the legislature afforded her guardianship records.”

“Finally, and perhaps most glaringly, none of the appellants [the Schindlers and the group] have ever explained why they waited nearly two decades after Ms. Schiavo’s death before filing a motion to unseal her guardianship records,” the opinion, joined by Judges Stevan Northcutt and Craig Villanti, said. “Their failure to address that pertinent question would seem fatal to their argument that good cause justified unsealing these confidential documents.”

Similarly, the opinion said Bobby Schindler and the group did not provide adequate reasons for intervening, saying their only justification “is that they wish to see what is in the sealed guardianship records so that they can, perhaps, use whatever they might find in their public advocacy. We agree with the circuit court that that is an insufficient basis to permit intervention in a case that ended more than twenty years ago.”

In a January news release on the group’s website, Bobby Schindler said the appeal was “about transparency, constitutional rights, and the pursuit of truth.”

“These documents may contain information that could alter the historical understanding of Terri’s case,” he said in a prepared statement. “There is no valid justification for continued secrecy after two decades.”

Bobby Schindler is president of the group, which says on its website that it has “advocated for and assisted thousands of medically vulnerable patients and families” since its founding in 2005.

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Terri Schiavo Guardianship Records to Remain Confidential, Court Rules - State Affairs

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Terri Schiavo 

‘A false front’: The California agency failing to stop conservatorship abuses

by Byrhonda Lyons

When Bruce Knopf needed someone to oversee his brother Vinyasi’s special needs trust in 2012, he said, he turned to Donna Bogdanovich because she was licensed by California. 

As a professional fiduciary, Bogdanovich was paid to manage Vinyasi’s money. 

But over time, she stopped paying the bills, and the consequences piled up. His car broke down. He faced eviction. “There were times I went without food,” said Vinyasi, who legally goes by one name.  

So he turned to the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau, the place Californians are supposed to rely on in situations like these. Vinyasi filed a complaint in June 2019, alleging that Bogdanovich had not paid his rent and was “habitually” late paying his other bills. 

The bureau didn’t take action against her at the time, and Vinyasi said he eventually became homeless. 

It turns out that Vinyasi wasn’t alone. The bureau started getting complaints about Bogdanovich just months after the agency awarded her a license, giving her the authority to control the finances and lives of vulnerable people deemed unable to take care of themselves.

Over the years, the bureau fined her multiple times for not providing records during an investigation and operating with an expired license. In fact, about a year before Vinyasi’s complaint, someone warned the bureau that Bogdanovich was transferring money between client accounts, but the complaint didn’t go far. The bureau closed the complaint because it didn’t have contact information for the alleged victim. Bogdanovich maintained power over Vinyasi’s life. 

Years later, even after police stepped in and arrested her on charges of stealing $2.5 million of her clients’ funds, Bogdanovich maintained total control over Vinyasi’s finances for nearly 10 more months before she resigned.

Two decades ago, the California Legislature designed the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau after a Los Angeles Times investigation showed judges were not preventing abuse and insider dealing. The state gave the bureau the responsibility to license fiduciaries, enforce the law and uphold ethical standards.

An ongoing investigation by CalMatters, based on a review of probate court records, agency documents and interviews with scores of affected families, found that the agency has failed to fulfill its vital promise to protect Californians, even as the state’s population ages.

It hasn’t stopped conflicts prohibited by its own code of conduct or outrageous behavior by California fiduciaries, frustrating desperate families trying to protect their loved ones and hold on to their family wealth. 

The information it maintains on fiduciaries is often kept secret or is sometimes inaccurate, giving the people who rely on the industry little information about who they should — and shouldn’t — trust. The agency operates largely on an honor system, leaving it to fiduciaries to report publicly whether they’ve been removed from a case for misconduct. 

The bureau itself has puttered along with no leader and a few employees. Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t filled its open chief position for a year and a half. In fact, it has just one employee at the moment, because two of its other three positions are also vacant, an agency spokesperson told CalMatters. The bureau oversees nearly 900 licensed fiduciaries; it said it also gets support from its parent agency, the Department of Consumer Affairs. 

In 2025, the agency received 174 complaints. The bureau can fine and cite fiduciaries for violations such as late annual statements and inaccurate information relatively quickly. In 2025, the bureau took 58 days, on average, to issue a citation. 

However, seriously punishing a fiduciary usually takes longer. That same year, the bureau took, on average, more than two years from the time of a complaint to suspend, revoke or surrender a license.  

The bureau has revoked the licenses of five fiduciaries since 2022, according to the agency’s annual reports. 

“Why put up a false front that they’re there to serve a purpose? They don’t serve any purpose,” Vinyasi said. “Even if you couldn’t fix the problems, at least erase the lie that they’re there to do something, because they don’t do anything.”

CalMatters tried to speak with someone at the agency for over a year for this series, but the Department of Consumer Affairs would not make anyone available for an interview, citing its open director job. 

Newsom’s spokesperson, Izzy Gardon, said in an email that the governor is “actively recruiting to fill the position.”

Bogdanovich’s scheme didn’t unravel until a victim went to the Los Angeles Police Department in 2022. 

All told, she pleaded no contest to taking more than $160,000 from Vinyasi and over $1 million from her other clients, court records show, continuing to funnel their money to her accounts even after the bureau placed her on probation. 

At the bureau’s request, the court suspended Bogdanovich’s license weeks after she was arrested, while the agency waited for a hearing to revoke her license. The suspension didn’t remove her from any of her appointments. 

The bureau’s records indicated that Bogdanovich was managing 24 open cases and $2.8 million in assets while she sat in jail, a bureau investigator told the court in a March 2024 letter. The state eventually revoked Bogdanovich’s license four months after her arrest.

In response to questions, agency spokesperson Monica Vargas said in an email that “the Bureau must do its due diligence to gather facts and collect evidence to take action against a license.” 

Bogdanovich eventually was sentenced to four years in jail and four under supervision. She did not respond to CalMatters’ request for an interview.

For years, as the bureau investigated Bogdanovich, she avoided serious punishment simply by not cooperating, according to the bureau. 

At the time, the agency didn’t have the authority to revoke a license for refusing to respond to an investigation. 

The Legislature closed that loophole in 2023. At the same time, the bureau got the Legislature to further restrict the information it can share with the public. 

The bureau cannot share publicly:

• Whether the fiduciary has a business or family relationship with companies hired with their clients’ money and any details about that connection.
  
• Whether a court has found that a fiduciary breached their duties.
  
• Case numbers or details when a fiduciary was removed or resigned from a case or agreed to a settlement after a dispute. 

Instead of receiving details that would show a fiduciary’s past issues, the public can only see a document that’s essentially a wall of black ink, with only yes-or-no boxes that may or may not be accurately checked.

The Professional Fiduciaries Bureau redacts most of the information on its members’ annual statements, significantly limiting what it shares with the public. Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

A 2021 law is supposed to require courts to notify the bureau if judges punish fiduciaries for abusing their license, but it only goes into effect if the lawmakers fund it. They haven’t, according to a spokesperson for the Judicial Council, the policymaking body of California courts.

Carole Herman, an advocate who helped start the bureau, said the Legislature should take a look at it. “They’re insufficiently staffed and funded,” Herman said. “Nobody is really monitoring like they should.”

She thought the bureau would provide strong oversight. “But that’s not how it turned out,” she said.

‘I plead the Fifth’

If you read Leyla Zabih’s annual statements, you’d have no idea she resigned as a conservator after a family objected to her spending and then didn’t follow a court-approved settlement agreement. 

Nancy Encarnacion’s family and Adult Protective Services had worked together to move the 83-year-old to assisted living in 2019 because she and her husband couldn’t afford 24-hour home care.

Later that year, Zabih petitioned the court to be Encarnacion’s conservator, saying that Contra Costa County Adult Protective Services had notified her that Encarnacion wasn’t capable of taking care of herself.  

Zabih told the court that Encarnacion was at risk of being kicked out of the facility if she didn’t have a conservator to manage her care and finances. Probate law requires that family members be notified when someone files for a temporary conservatorship, but Zabih requested an exemption, citing medical and financial emergencies. 

Encarnacion herself wasn’t outright against the conservatorship, but she didn’t want Zabih in charge after finding her to be “rude and bossy,” Encarnacion’s attorney told the court.

A judge approved Zabih’s petitions. Encarnacion’s relatives, on the East Coast, said they were taken aback by how quickly they lost control of Encarnacion’s life. 

After the family complained about Zabih hiring an unlicensed contractor to remodel Encarnacion’s home, court records show Zabih denied it. She portrayed the family as meddling, saying “the steady stream of negative and critical input we receive from Nancy’s extended family has become extremely counterproductive.”

A few months later she conceded the family was correct about the unlicensed contractor, court records show. 

The family grew concerned after learning that Zabih sold Encarnacion’s Chevron stock at a significant loss, paid for 24-hour care while Encarnacion lived in a care home that provided nursing services, and fell behind on paying the rent to the facility, according to an objection that family members filed with the court.

Barreling towards an expensive legal fight, the two sides agreed to a settlement: Zabih would file a final accounting of Encarnacion’s money and resign. The elderly woman’s niece would take over and not report Zabih to the bureau.

Even though the bureau’s rules prohibit licensed fiduciaries from entering into agreements that limit someone’s ability to file a complaint, Judge Susanne M. Fenstermacher approved the settlement in November 2020. Zabih resigned, and Encarnacion died about a month later. 

In 2022, court records show, Zabih was not adhering to the agreement. She had not filed a final ledger of Encarnacion’s money, forcing the case back to court.

The court found that Zabih was “in breach” of the settlement agreement and ordered her to explain why the court shouldn’t report her to the bureau for “failure to account and failure to comply with a Court-approved settlement agreement,” a temporary judge wrote in November 2022.

She filed the final accounting a month later. 

Zabih requested $9,000 in addition to $13,000 she’d already received in compensation. 

The family objected and alleged that Zabih employed one of the registered nurses it used for Encarnacion’s care and didn’t disclose the relationship. The court record does not reflect that Zabih responded to the objection, and she did not respond to CalMatters’ question about it.

Fenstermacher did not approve Zabih’s accounting of Encarnacion’s money and denied Zabih’s request for additional pay, saying in an order that “the compensation requested did not benefit the conservatee or her estate.”

The family also asked Fenstermacher to report Zabih to the bureau for “failure to properly account, provide receipts and invoices, disclose affiliate relationships with caregivers/agents she hired, and comply with the terms of a Court-approved settlement agreement,” according to the order. But Fenstermacher scribbled out that entire paragraph in the final order. 

“I feel like Leyla Zabih should not be a professional fiduciary,” said the family’s attorney, Cara Lankford, in an interview.

As all of this unfolded, Zabih’s annual statements to the bureau made no mention of it. 

When asked on her 2021 annual statement if she’d resigned or settled in a case where a complaint had been filed, she checked “no” in response to both questions.

When CalMatters asked Zabih why she didn’t tell the bureau about her resignation, she said, “I plead the Fifth.”

She stood by the care she gave Encarnacion. “I miss Nancy,” she said.

The agency said it relies on its fiduciaries to be transparent. 

“Licensees attest to the information they’ve submitted is truthful and accurate,” Vargas said. “If the Bureau becomes aware of information provided that was not accurate, it will open an investigation.”

Encarnacion’s family eventually filed two complaints against Zabih, for hiring an unlicensed contractor and not following the court-ordered agreement. 

The bureau cited her in 2023 and 2024 for not filing timely annual statements and operating with an expired license. The citations do not mention her failure to report the settlement or her resignation.

In an interview, Zabih blamed her late annual statement on covid-19, saying she was busy “out holding your parents’ and grandparents’ hands during the pandemic.”

‘I’m not practicing, I’m just finishing’

While late annual statements are often deemed a minor citation, cases reviewed by CalMatters show that fiduciaries who face disciplinary action for more serious offenses often have a previous record of filing late, inaccurate and incomplete annual statements.

Take Iris Hecker, for instance. She had submitted late annual statements to the bureau for nearly a decade.

But the bureau didn’t start investigating until someone complained about how she handled a case in 2022. 

That year, Hecker approached Betty Stagnaro while she was in a nursing home receiving rehabilitation for back pain, according to an account Hecker gave to the bureau. Stagnaro, who was 93, had dementia.

Hecker told the state that the nursing home administrator and a private care manager found the friend whom Stagnaro had designated to make her medical decisions “very difficult to work with” and asked Hecker to take over. She said the home wasn’t being paid for Stagnaro’s stay.

Hecker had Stagnaro sign documents to make the switch from the friend.

Unlike conservatorships, which are public and are overseen by a judge, agreements like these are typically private and don’t automatically have court oversight. 

However, there were multiple issues with the documents that Stagnaro signed, according to the bureau’s investigation. A patient advocate or ombudsman was not present to witness the signature at the nursing home, as they are supposed to be under state law. 

Hecker also didn’t have anyone assess whether Stagnaro was fit enough to sign documents, investigators found. 

But the signature put Hecker in charge of Stagnaro’s finances and health care. 

Within three months, Hecker sold the elderly woman’s condo and got rid of her personal belongings. She also isolated Stagnaro from her friends while hiring people to provide her with companionship. She later admitted to lying to a bank to create a trust account for Stagnaro, even though the woman didn’t have a trust, according to the bureau’s investigation.

In addition, Hecker paid herself $65,000 in advance fees and admitted to the bureau that the amounts she withdrew from Stagnaro’s accounts as advance payments were “excessive,” according to the bureau’s investigation. She also submitted inaccurate invoices, charged Stagnaro for duplicate services, and billed Stagnaro for her time dealing with an investigation the San Mateo Police Department and the county ombudsman were conducting over her handling of Stagnaro’s case, according to the bureau.

Hecker provided “no credible support for the fees she collected against the advance payments,” the bureau found. 

Around the same time, the bureau audited Hecker’s license and discovered that, in addition to her late statements, she had previously worked with an expired license for over a year, according to bureau records. The bureau fined her $5,000.

Hecker told CalMatters that “there was no impropriety.” She said she believes the bureau is important because “there’s a lot of abuse.” Hecker said that she was “too tired to fight” the bureau’s accusations, and she agreed to surrender her license at the end of 2024.

But that didn’t stop her from working as an unlicensed fiduciary, which someone can do under very limited circumstances, according to state law.

Even though the settlement required her to resign from her positions and confirm her resignation with the bureau, it’s unclear whether she ever did. Those records are not public, and the bureau would not answer questions about Hecker.

Last month Hecker signed a document selling her now-deceased client’s San Francisco home for $2.25 million. 

When asked about it, Hecker said, “I’m not practicing, I’m just finishing.” 

Full Article & Source:
‘A false front’: The California agency failing to stop conservatorship abuses 

Man turns himself in to face elder abuse, aggravated assault charges

By WSBTV.com News Staff

LAGRANGE, Ga. — A man has turned himself in to police to face charges in connection with a fight that caused a 67-year-old man to be airlifted to a hospital.

LaGrange PD said they responded at about 8:15 p.m. March 29 to 121 Turner St. and found L.B. Hubbard with serious face and head injuries.

Hubbard was airlifted to a Columbus area hospital.

Witnesses described a man who they said attacked Hubbard, even punching and stomping his head while he was on the ground.

On April 9, Larry Cotton, 42, turned himself in to LaGrange PD without incident.

He faces charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and elder abuse. 

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Man turns himself in to face elder abuse, aggravated assault charges

Floyd circuit judge to join statewide task force to revise codes for guardianship cases

Indiana's Guardianship Code Revision Task Force will seek to ensure guardianship cases are as easy as possible to navigate.

by Norman Seawright

NEW ALBANY, Ind. —  Indiana’s governor is creating a new task force to revise the state’s codes for cases involving court-appointed guardians for children and adults.

A southern Indiana judge has been chosen for the job, and Floyd Circuit Court Judge Justin Brown said the work is personal.

“My mother has been, you know, she got diagnosed with dementia at 55. So she's been under that, and it's progressed Alzheimer's. So she's one of those people that's in a situation that I would be there to try to help the family with,” Brown said.

Brown said guardianship cases can be traumatic and intimidating to navigate.

“Guardianship cases are inherently traumatic for a lot of people. I mean, think about—you're taking away someone's fundamental right to govern themselves, their own body, because they lack the ability, whether it be from mental condition, from infirmity or from age, when you're talking about a child,” Brown said.

Katie Morgan, executive director of Vulnerable Adult Care Advocates, said a statewide approach is needed.

“I am thrilled to see that we are going to have a statewide task force because uniformity is definitely needed,” Morgan said. “I think it's going to help us, and it will help more of the state be more mission-driven toward guardianship and making sure that people are cared for."

Lauren Broderick, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates, said the work matters for children, too.

“The state is recognizing some of the gaps or things that need to be improved upon, or streamlining services for children who have open child welfare cases. And addressing guardianship is all part of that,” Broderick said.

Brown said he wants the process to be less intimidating and ultimately better-suited to serving Hoosiers.

“If you can take away some of that trauma from them, it makes them it makes people more likely to step up to say, 'hey, I've got you,'” Brown said.

The task force was created by a bill Gov. Mike Braun signed into law in March. It passed with bipartisan support in both chambers.

Brown’s term begins in July and runs through December 2027. 

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Floyd circuit judge to join statewide task force to revise codes for guardianship cases 

Viral video prompts questions about elder abuse reporting

By Randy Aldridge

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A video taken by a Wilmington man has gone viral on social media.

Jonathan Pigford said the video shows his elderly neighbor wandering alone and showing signs of neglect. Many people wondered if the situation had reached the level of abuse or neglect.

Sean Dwyer is program manager for adult services at New Hanover County’s Department of Social Services. While he could not speak directly about the viral video, he said that cases like this are tricky to navigate.

Reporting is key to getting help

Dwyer says that the key to getting someone the help they may need often starts with making a call.

“If it’s just streaming out there for you and other people, and everyone’s talking about it, but no one’s reported it to the entity that needs to be out there to look at it, all it does is delay that person’s care,” Dwyer said.

“I would just encourage them to report. These days, we have lots of different platforms to share information. In the end, we are still the entity that needs that information,” he said.

Understanding the difference between abuse and neglect

Dwyer said that knowing the signs of elder abuse before calling is important. It can help the responding agency determine whether it’s abuse or neglect.

“When someone tells us, oh, they’re being abused, a lot of people use it as kind of a blanket term. For us, it’s a caretaker is abusing someone,” Dwyer said. “When it comes to neglect, there’s actually two versions of neglect. We have caretaker neglect and self-neglect.”

Signs of abuse

• Any type of confinement or restraint as punishment
• Refusing services for somebody (having the ability to put services in place and choosing not to)
• Any type of physical act that violates the individual

Signs of neglect

Self-neglect (most common):

• Not having adequate resources and refusal to seek them out
• Isolation
• Not meeting basic needs such as hygiene and eating

Caretaker neglect:

• Exploitation
• Not meeting basic needs such as hygiene and eating

When in doubt, report

Dwyer stated that regardless of whether the signs are clear, an investigation cannot begin until an official report is filed.

“We’re asking if you see enough concern and you’re worried, please do make a report,” Dwyer said.

If you suspect elder abuse, call 910-798-3500. 

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Viral video prompts questions about elder abuse reporting 

CT state-paid attorney under investigation for selling homes to business partner

By Ella Napack

State-contracted attorney Kristan Exner, under scrutiny for selling homes of people she served as a fiduciary for to her business partner, is facing an investigation by a Connecticut grievance panel. The Statewide Bar Counsel's office is reviewing her conduct as a conservator and court-appointed fiduciary, according to an attorney for Exner.

Exner sold two homes to her business partner, Joseph Garin, while serving as a professional fiduciary without disclosing the business relationship to the probate court, records show. Both homes were re-sold by Garin within months, in one case for more than two times what he purchased it for, according to property records. Garin declined to comment for this story.

A judge on one of the cases referred her conduct to the state’s bar committee after the new information came to light regarding Exner's relationship to Garin in the home sale of Milford resident Barbara Tobin. An attorney for Exner confirmed in a probate court hearing last month that a panel was formally investigating the matter as part of the Statewide Bar Counsel's review process.

The judge referred the conduct after an attorney for Robert Tobin, the son of Barbara Tobin, put forward a motion to have Exner disbarred for potentially breaking conflict of interest and perjury rules. The Tobins declined to comment for this story.

“There is no doubt that the very serious nature of the allegations raised in Robert Tobin’s amended motion for permanent disbarment of Kristan Exner need to be addressed,” probate judge Ben Gettinger wrote in a February decree after the hearing on the motion. Instead of adjudicating the issue in his courtroom, Gettinger opted for the bar counsel investigation to run its course, noting that he would then determine if the investigation “adequately addressed the specific allegations in this case.” In his decree, Gettinger noted it was unclear whether he had any jurisdiction to rule on the misconduct, raising a question over how to handle the process.

The matter is currently before a local grievance panel that will investigate the case before either dismissing it or moving it to a public hearing. When asked by a CT Insider reporter about the grievance investigation and Gettinger's decree, Exner provided an email statement. 

"The grievance process in Connecticut is complex, private and self-governing. It is there to ensure that as attorneys, we continue to maintain high standards of practice," said Exner. "Rule 3.6 of the Rules of Professional Responsibility sets limitations on attorneys making extra judicial statements, and addresses any attorney who would attempt to utilize the press to prejudice the process. For anyone to speculate or gossip on the process and procedures is unprofessional and disrespectful to those who give of their time.”

Exner remains working on probate matters across the state as a conservator contracted by the state's probate administration, records show. The probate administration, the state's operational oversight body for the probate courts, has told CT Insider that it does not have disciplinary authority over conservator conduct. Although some conservators, like Exner, are attorneys and remain accountable to the state's bar counsel, there are no overarching oversight structures for the professional conservators that sometimes juggle dozens - or even hundreds - of cases across multiple courts. 

The contract for state-paid conservators, however, allows the probate administration to terminate a conservator's contract if they have broken the state's Conservator Standards of Practice. Even if a professional conservator's contract with the state is terminated, they may still be eligible to be paid hourly by the state for other conservatorships. 

While probate records do not indicate that the administration has terminated Exner’s contract, some probate judges, like Gettinger, have opted not to appoint Exner to future cases until the matter is resolved.

“In addition, given the totality of the circumstances surrounding this case, the Court will not appoint Kristan Exner to any of its files indefinitely,” Gettinger wrote in the February decree.

The probate administration declined to answer questions on the status of Exner's contract with the state or whether it has audited any of her accounts.

Attorney Damon Kirschbaum, who represents the Tobins, first wrote to the probate administration about “rogue conservator Kristan Exner” in June 2024. Exner had been removed as Tobin’s conservator but remained involved as an “interested party" as the Tobins were fighting to regain ownership of the home.

“I am and will be imploring you, the Probate Court Administration, and Judge Gettinger to protect Barbara Tobin from Kristan Exner,” Kirschbaum wrote in the email, which was obtained from a Freedom of Information request to the probate administration. 

The emails show that Kirschbaum and an attorney for the probate administration had a conversation about Exner, subsequently.

Kirschbaum wrote to the administration again in October, informing the administration of a motion he filed requesting the permanent disbarment of Exner in light of the new information on Exner's connection to her business partner Garin to whom she sold the Tobin's home. The business partners owned a limited liability company together, according to secretary of the state records.

“Exner’s conduct demonstrates that she is unfit to serve as a fiduciary. It is my understanding that Exner serves as a probate court-appointed fiduciary in a significant number of probate court cases across the state,” Kirschbaum said in the letter. “I am writing to bring this situation to Your Honor’s attention so that Your Honor can take the appropriate steps to protect other vulnerable people from Exner.”

The administration said in an October meeting that it was reviewing the letter. In statements to CT Insider in the months since, the administration has said it does not have authority to intervene on court matters. 

"Any matter pending before a Probate Court is a judicial proceeding within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court," said attorney Evan Brunetti, director of external affairs for the probate administration. "We cannot intervene or comment on a matter before any court, the adjudicative/decision making process of a Probate Judge, or direct that any court take any particular action."

Mairead Painter, the state's Long Term Care Ombudsman, explained that many professional conservators work across multiple courts and that one probate court may not know about misconduct that occurred in a different court.

"If concerns come up in several courts about the same conservator, a judge isn't going to know that unless they're given the information," said Painter. "We need some way to have that information sharing in an appropriate way between probate courts so there is a higher level of accountability there."

Painter said the state needs to find more accountability structures that can work in tandem with the probate administration. 

“We have good standards, it’s holding people accountable to them,” said Painter. 

Full Article & Source:
CT state-paid attorney under investigation for selling homes to business partner 

Michigan woman arrested for allegedly starving, torturing disabled sister-in-law she locked in basement

'She told officers she was not fed very often and that she didn’t have any access to water,' Saginaw Police Detective Sgt Jeff Doud said

By Landon Mion

A Michigan woman was arrested and hit with felony charges after she allegedly kept her disabled sister-in-law locked in a basement for two years, when she nearly starved the victim to death and blasted a radio nonstop.

Tasha Beamon, 48, was charged with vulnerable adult abuse and unlawful imprisonment.

The victim managed to escape the basement and broke a neighbor’s window on March 15 as she sought to enter the home, alert police and flee captivity, according to MLive.

The neighbor called 911 and the victim told police that Beamon, the wife of the 58-year-old victim's late brother, was holding her captive in the Saginaw home’s basement for two years before she found a way to free herself.

"She told officers she was not fed very often and that she didn’t have any access to water," Saginaw Police Detective Sgt. Jeff Doud told the outlet.

The victim said Beamon had kept her on an old mattress since March 2024 with a nearby radio constantly blaring.

Police went to Beamon’s house and observed a lock on the basement door, a mattress on the floor and a radio playing loudly. Police also said there was a 5-gallon bucket of urine in the basement.

"Usually, somebody was there. She didn’t believe anyone was home at the time, so she was able to force a door open and escape," Doud said.

Police went to the house and observed a lock on the basement door, a mattress on the floor and a radio playing loudly. (Google Maps)

Emergency responders transported the woman to a hospital, where she was treated for severe malnourishment. Hospital staff told police the woman would likely die if she were discharged.

The neighbor told ABC 12 that he was shocked to find the victim suddenly in his living room with a metal pipe "almost as big as she is."

"I don’t even know how she had the power to even break the window," the man said. "I thought she was like 78. She was tall, skin and bones."

"She asks me to call the cops at first, which was weird. But that was the first thing she said to me: Call the cops," he added.

Beamon later admitted to police that she kept the woman in her house without allowing her to leave. She also made 40 calls to the hospital where her sister-in-law was staying.

Investigators suspect that Beamon was keeping the woman captive to collect her disability payments, Doud said.

Beamon was arrested on April 2 and booked into the Saginaw County Jail on $100,000 bond, the amount ordered after prosecutors described her as a danger to the public.

She will appear for a preliminary examination on April 20.  

Full Article & Source:
Michigan woman arrested for allegedly starving, torturing disabled sister-in-law she locked in basement 

Governor Kelly Signs Bipartisan Bill Establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act

Post Date:04/07/2026

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced she has signed Senate Bill 84 (SB 84), establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act, which will allow adults to enter into supported decision-making agreements to receive assistance with an adult’s affairs from one or more other adults. This bill provides individuals who need assistance with decision-making with the option to receive support from one or more adults while remaining as independent as possible.

“Senate Bill 84 is thoughtful legislation that empowers Kansans to receive support as they make key decisions about their lives, while preserving their independence,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “These voluntary agreements will equip those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health needs, or other impairments, with assistance from trusted adults as they navigate decisions about health care, finances, housing, and more.”

SB 84 establishes the legal framework for a supportive adult to provide decision-making assistance to another adult (the principal), who could be an adult with developmental disabilities, brain injuries, mental health needs, or more, who wants support while maintaining control over decisions in their life. A supporter could provide the principal with aid in making and communicating decisions, and understanding information, options, responsibilities, and consequences related to those decisions. The supporter could also access and obtain information relevant to decisions necessary for managing the principal’s affairs; ascertain the wishes and decisions of the principal and help communicate those decisions to others; advocate to ensure those wishes and decisions are implemented; and accompany the principal, as well as participate in discussions with others, when the principal is making decisions.

“I’m pleased to support this commonsense legislation that establishes a legal framework to help Kansans receive voluntary support from other adults as they navigate their lives, while maintaining their control and independence,” said Representative Mari-Lynn Poskin, District 20. “Everyone has the right to agency in their own life, and this bill will enable more Kansans to make choices that are best for them with the comfort of knowing they have reliable assistance from others. Congratulations to disability advocates who have been working on this for years.”

The supportive adult would not be allowed to exert undue influence on the principal, make decisions for or on behalf of the principal, sign for the principal, obtain information not reasonably related to the matters the supporter is authorized to assist the principal with under the agreement without consent, and use information acquired for a purpose other than authorized under the agreement. Violations would be added to the crime of mistreatment of a dependent adult or an elder person, for which felony or misdemeanor penalties would apply, depending on the amount of financial resources involved.

“Through Senate Bill 84, we’re offering Kansans more avenues to be active participants not only in their own lives, but also in their communities across the state,” said Senator Rick Billinger, District 40. “This is strong, bipartisan legislation that will truly help more Kansans make life-changing decisions that will be in their best interests.”

In addition to Senate Bill 84, Governor Kelly also signed the following bipartisan bills:

House Substitute for Senate Bill 260: Establishing the born to invest act and requiring the office of vital statistics to provide data to the office of the state treasurer for distribution of informational materials regarding certain government-administered savings accounts

Senate Bill 398: Aligning a part of the Kansas Rules of Evidence dealing with Expert witnesses with the Federal Rules of Evidence by requiring a proponent to demonstrate that it is more likely than not that certain specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand evidence before certain qualified witnesses may testify.

Senate Bill 418: Enacting the by-right housing development act to provide a streamlined permit approval process for by-right housing developments and allowing third-party review of new residential construction development documents and inspection of improvements, along with making other updates to zoning and regulations.

Senate Bill 459: Removing the prisoner review board from the supervision of the secretary of corrections, changing the appointing authority, creating qualifications for the members of the board, and requiring parole hearings to be postponed if proper notice of the public comment session is not made to the victim.

Senate Substitute for House Bill 2402: Requiring eligible boards of education to consider participation in the community eligibility provision, providing a financial hardship exception to such participation and requiring the state department of education to assist school districts seeking such participation.

House Bill 2739: Relating to housing code requirements, removing the definition of apartment houses from chapter 31 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, providing requirements for adoption of the national fire protection association standards, 2024 edition, and providing that certain state accessibility standards are not applicable to moderate income housing program and Kansas investor tax credit housing act projects.

House Bill 2528: Requiring all state board of nursing actions related to certain nonpractice violations be void, allowing for late license renewal for professional, practical and advanced practice registered nurses, setting fees for late license renewal, limiting unprofessional conduct to acts related to the practice of nursing, prohibiting the board from taking retaliatory action against a licensee based on certain lawful actions and creating a civil cause of action for violation thereof, requiring termination of current board members on January 1, 2027 and requiring the governor to appoint interim board members subject to senate confirmation and requiring the board to issue refunds for overpayment or duplicate payment.

House Bill 2652: Requiring the clerk of the appellate courts to publish monthly a list of cases of the supreme court and court of appeals in which a decision has not been entered and filed within six months of submission and a list of cases in which a petition for review has not been granted or denied within six months of submission. 

Source:
Governor Kelly Signs Bipartisan Bill Establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act 

Streamwood woman says brother took more than $430,000 from elderly parents' financial accounts

By Carol Thompson, Dorothy Tucker

Cathy Solway remembers a promise made with her brother to take care of their aging parents when their health began to decline and they moved into assisted living: "We're gonna take care of mom and dad as a team. We're gonna do this together." 

But then she made a discovery that changed everything.

"I left the bank, sat in my car and about had a complete breakdown from what I was seeing. A lot less money than I knew should have been in that account," she said.

Growing up

Cathy Solway and her brother, Robert Carlson, grew up in suburban Streamwood.

"We had a pretty great childhood. My brother and I were pretty happy growing up," she said.

Their parents, William and Caroline Carlson, got married in 1958 and raised their family in a modest house.

"My mom was a stay-at-home mom. She was the room mom. My dad worked hard, but they never missed anything that we were involved in," said Solway.

William Carlson served in the Air Force as a young man. After his stint in the military, he worked for United Airlines, the FAA and the Village of Streamwood. He worked practically his entire life, his daughter said.

"He was getting a decent amount of retirement benefits," said Solway.

But then came the official word her parents' health was declining.

"They both were just not able to take care of themselves," she said. "They both were in various stages of Alzheimer's. They were diagnosed in 2017 to 2019."

In 2022 the family decided to move them into assisted living, first at an Illinois facility and then into a Wisconsin facility, closer to her brother Robert.

"And my brother was like, 'You know, I'm going to make sure that their finances are taken care of and, you know, we'll make sure that their bills are paid for the house.' They still had the house that they had lived in," Solway said. 

Solway knew her parents had enough money to cover those bills plus the assisted living facilities' fees.

"I knew my dad was very good at saving money. He was very careful with his money," she said.

But her brother had surprise news. 

"He just suddenly told me in March of '23 'We need to sell their house,'" she recalled. "To be told that there's no money left was a little odd."

The discovery

After asking her brother questions and getting vague answers, Cathy said she went to the bank to check the account balance.

"When they went into assisted living [in 2022] they had over $165,000 in their savings account," she explained. "When I saw how much was left in the account, I felt that was like a gut punch."

With that initial balance, plus their parents' monthly social security and benefit payments and minus the living expenses, Solway estimated the remaining balance should still have been a large amount. 

"I'm doing the math in my head. At some point, there should be around $80,000 in there," she said. But the actual balance was much lower. "There was only about $9,200."

She looked through other statements, and said she spotted multiple large deposits, several withdrawals and checks for thousands of dollars each.

"This is what would happen: $30,000 would go in and about $30,000 would go out, but not in one lump sum," she said. 

She, along with her mother, called the three financial institutions that held her father's retirement accounts and found in the one that held her father's 401k there was a zero balance. She found just $600 left in another one. 

"Over $110,000 and that was just from those three accounts," she said.

Within months, her brother had sold the family home in Streamwood for around $160,000. That money was supposed to be used for their parents' living expenses.

Her brother had been designated power-of-attorney for the parents in early 2023, an arrangement made as part of a trust prior to the Carlsons' failing health. But by the end of the year, Solway was legally challenging his power over their financial affairs.

The court case and admissions

Solway and her attorney filed a petition to remove her brother as power-of-attorney and trustee of the family trust in December 2023 in Walworth County Civil Court.

Through the probate case, she was able to get access to detailed financial records and audio recordings from financial institutions.

"When we subpoenaed all the audio records, there were multiple times that he called and made withdrawals. They were all my brother," she said.

She said her brother called and told representatives he was his father, William Carlson. And in a deposition taken for the case he admitted the voice on the recordings was "Mine."

Some of the checks seen in the statements were made out to her brother's business, Looking Good Turf. Some had Robert Carlson's signature, but many appeared to be signed by his father.

"There were checks through '23 written for his landscaping company," Solway said. "Writing thousands of dollars of checks to his landscaping company and signing my dad's name to it."

And in his deposition, when Robert Carlson was asked who signed his parents' names on documents and checks, he answered, "Me."

By July 2024 a Walworth County judge removed Robert Carlson as power-of-attorney and trustee over the family trust. The ruling also ordered him to repay the trust more than $430,000.

Elder Financial Exploitation

The Illinois Department on Aging, or IDoA, released new data from 2025 showing financial exploitation is the leading type of abuse against people over the age of 60, and adults with a disability of any age.

Twenty-five percent of elder abuse is financial exploitation. and the 6,000 cases in 2025 are an increase from 4,500 in 2004.

"This is due to the growth of the program, but it's also due to increased prevalence of exploitation among the population," said Brian Pastor, division manager of Advocacy and Prevention Services in the IDoA. 

He said the abuser is often close to the victim.

"They're a family member. They're a trusted individual," he explained. 

The agency's data shows most often, in 34% of all cases, the abuse is committed by the victim's adult child, especially when it comes to money.

"They really do feel often in these circumstances that they are entitled to these funds because they're going to get them eventually. Which may or may not be true," Pastor said.

Solway said she doesn't expect her brother will ever repay the money. She has received compensation from at least one of the financial institutions.

Wintrust, the Carlsons' bank, told CBS News Chicago in a statement, that the judicial order did not pertain to it, so it will not repay any of the money Robert Carlson withdrew via checks to his business or for other bills.

CBS News Chicago tried to contact Robert Carlson in Wisconsin, but could not find him. Neighbors told us they thought he had moved to Florida.

Solway advised others to make sure more than one person has power-of-attorney privileges. Her parents both passed away within a few weeks of each other in 2025. 

Full Article & Source:
Streamwood woman says brother took more than $430,000 from elderly parents' financial accounts