Milous Keith was a blue-collar worker for the city of Columbus for 30 years. A Korean War veteran, he amassed an estate worth nearly $1 million through rental properties and savings, a nest egg upon which he’d hoped to retire comfortably. Never did he think his golden years would be the darkest of his life.A call to Adult Protective Services landed Keith in a locked-down Alzheimer’s ward for nearly two years. Keith said he never saw a courtroom, never talked to a single judge, never spent time with his appointed guardian.
In less than 15 minutes, Keith lost 22 months of his life and most of his fortune to, what some say, is an overwrought probate court system. Others say it’s a failure by family to take care of their own.
In either case, it’s something that could happen to anyone.
Now, three years later, Milous Keith wants answers. Who was responsible for whittling away his $750,000 fortune to less than $150,000, according to court documents, not to mention his civil rights?
“I’m mad as hell,” said Keith, who now, at 79, lives in an assisted living apartment at Traditions at Mill Run Retirement Homes in Hilliard, where he’s allowed to come and go as he pleases within the facility, though he does wear an alarm that alerts staff when he leaves the building.
"The position that I’m in, I can’t get a fair deal."
Keith has filed a civil lawsuit against the firm Wiles, Boyle Burkholder & Bringardner, two of the firm’s attorneys—Daniel Bringardner and Jim Hughes. The suit claims the defendants acted together to deny him his rights and misrepresented information to the court, such as the value of his home.
Keith's attorney: "I want his estate be reconstituted and the return of properties that should not have been taken, or at least the equivalent value."
Judge Belskis takes offense at the idea that the probate court system didn’t properly oversee the case. "The court had to act quickly, Once Keith was assigned a guardian to care for him, it was his guardian’s responsibility to act in his best interest."
Full Article and Source:
The Lost Years
10 comments:
Typical judge, passing the buck.
Yo judge - the court is responsible to oversee and monitor the guardians!
But mostly the court just turns a blind eye and rubberstamps the fees.
Sickening.
To anonymous -
Do you think they do that for free?
To Anon 2,
Of course guardianship is not free. In fact guardianship is a very lucrative business. Or should I say, a racket. The guardians and their attorneys get rich off the assets of the elderly and infirm. The ward becomes penniless with broken spirits and empty bank accounts. Wards are often neglected and forced into nursing homes. The ward loses civil rights and human dignity. Many do not survive the forced drugging and isolation.
Guardians and their attorneys sell off property so they can bill, double bill, and fraudulently bill the estates until the estates are depleted. Judges rarely question their friends and approve the outrageous fees. The courts are failing miserably in this role. Once the money is gone, the lawyers usually withdraw because there is no more money.
And they call this “the best interest of the ward.”
Anon 1 said it right, it is sickening. Guardianship is a national disgrace and in fact, it is criminal.
The law was written to PROTECT the ward and CONSERVE his assets.
What we're seeing here is an old-fashioned probably lawless SHANGHAII!
If the courts are overcrowded, then then the legislators have to find an alternative!
I want to be perfectly clear here, that all references to judge(s)relate only to the PROBATE COURT SYSTEM.
Judges turn a blind eye for a reason - a price.
Probate Judges are either appointed or elected to the bench.
Then, that judge who gets the position of responsibility and ultimate authority, OWES people (a parade of lawyers and others connected to the probate racket).
When a judge appoints a guardian, the judge will appoint one of the players in the loop as a way of rewarding, paying back.
This is politics 101 - now, how do you suppose the judge returns the favor to those in the loop? By deciding in favor of those who supported him, either by appointment or by election.
If by election, campaign funds are a major issue: who gave (lawyers/law firms) and how much $$$$ and the list of "other" contributors to a judge's campaign war chest.
Follow the votes and the $$$$$.
Question: When was the last time YOU contributed any money to a judge's election or re-election campaign fund?
The title so appropriately tells the story - "The Lost Years".
This is a travesty and it just makes me boil!
Judge Belskis:
"The court had to act quickly, Once Keith was assigned a guardian to care for him, it was his guardian’s responsibility to act in his best interest."
This is pure BS; the judge's answer is on Page 1of their playbook to pass the buck to someone else, in this case the theiving guardians.
$750,000.00 in less than 2 years???? For what?
How can this be? Where was the judge?
I know where they belong:
IN A FEDERAL PRISON CAGE! WORKING TO PAY BACK EVERY LAST DOLLAR TO THEIR VICTIM.
This is another example of the guardianship racket working like organized crime.
My heart aches for the innocent victim, Mr. Keith, a veteran who we owe our deepest gratitude and respect.
WAKE UP AMERICA this is a national disgrace with court approval and it must STOP now.
The judge takes offense? Oh, please. What about the victim? Does this judge even care about his ward? I doubt it.
I think a few judges care, but very few. I believe most judges just get callous and forget they're human beings.
And many are mad that they're "stuck" in probate and so they take it out on the unfortunate people who come before them.
I wish Keith the best of luck with his case. Most of the time the crooks (OOPS, I meant judges) get away with their crimes because of that judicial "golden parachute" known as "judicial immunity".
Post a Comment