The YouTube videos shown below (shown in nine parts) present a complete, uncut, unedited 30-minute video from the September 21, 2009 Meeting of the Ohio Elder Abuse Commission that was recorded as part of a project conducted by the National Coalition of Aging (NCOA), the Elder Justice Coalition (EJC), and the international human rights group WITNESS, Inc.
It records a discussion of legal reforms needed to protect Alzheimer sufferers, stroke victims and others against fraud, undue influence and negligence when signing financial/legal documents (Wills, Trusts, Deeds, POAs etc.).
Source:
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 1
See Also:
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 2
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 3
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 4
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 5
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 6
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 7
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 8
YouTube Video, Discussion of Proposed Legal Reforms, Part 9
Additional Links:
Minutes of the September 21, 2009 Meeting of the Ohio Attorney General Elder Abuse Commission
Mr. Fields' Handouts
Public Comments Regarding the Meeting
Tom Fields' Website: Infirmed Seniors, Elder Abuse, Estate Fraud and Legal Reform
Contact Tom Fields @ TVFields@OH.rr.com
Thank you NASGA for informing others about the existence of this Commission and the opportunity which it provided me.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I have asked members of the Commission, state lawmakers and others to watch the video and read the accompanying report from Friday, December 11th's 20/20 television broadcast that is posted online at http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/mary-ellens-mansion-elder-abuse/story?id=8974477.
I have similarly asked these individuals to note from the 20/20 report that, despite the video, "a judge threw out the will naming McCay and Burgess as heirs, saying it had not been executed properly". (ref. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/mary-ellens-mansion-elder-abuse/story?id=8976473&page=3).
I have also suggested to these individuals that this material (and much more like it) demonstrates the need in such circumstances for good protocols which make clear not only (1) what questions need to be asked, but also (2) Who should ask these questions, (3) How this interview should be conducted, and (4) How the answers to these questions should decide the validity of the document in question.
I have asked these individuals to work together and with us to develop and require these protocols.
In the past, lawmakers have indicated that success in such efforts will require a public outcry. I hope this is no longer required, but if it is, then I hope readers of this blog will help provide it.
Tom Fields talking to the Ohio Elder Abuse Commission? Now that's good news. These people need to hear from real victims instead of the so called professional organizations.
ReplyDeleteGO TOM FIELDS!
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your efforts in the right direction for all the right reasons!
I have given this a lot of thought. The only way to know if someone is coerced into changing his/her will would have to be by filming the changing of the will and asking a battery of questions. Not "who's the President?" type questions, but questions that really matter, like, "Why do you want to change your will now? What caused this change of direction?" --- that sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteI saw that 20/20 episode you speak of tvfields. I felt like Ms. Bendtson knew what she was doing, and at the same time, she was "groomed" into that decision.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, "the boys" stood there like hyenas -- waiting to pick her financial carcas.
I think these videos are great and a demonstration of Tom Fields' good sense and logical approach to this form of elder abuse. It's not good enough to point out the problem without offering solutions - and Tom does both professionally and comprehensively.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this valuable information, Tom, and for your association with NASGA!
I am pleased to see NASGA so well represented at the Ohio Elder Abuse Commission. Thank you, Mr. Fields.
ReplyDeleteWhen my Grandmother was in the nursing facility, my Mom was by her side late at night. The social worker brought a woman in a suit and carrying a briefcase to the room. The woman looked at my Mom and said, "I don't want any part of this." and turned on her heels and left. My Mom later talked to the social worker and found out the woman was a lawyer hired by my uncle to have my Grandmother sign a new will.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother was nearly comatose at the time.
Thank you for representing NASGA and our cause so professionally, Tom.
ReplyDeleteI HOPE THEY LISTENED TO YOU!
I think the judge throwing out the will in the 20/20 report on a technicality was probably the only means the judge had to disqualify The Boys. The judge must have not felt comfortable with the video and yet could find nothing wrong enough with it to throw the will out based on the video. And the technicality gave the judge the means of throwing it out?
ReplyDeleteKinda like Al Capone getting sent to prison for tax evasion because they couldn't pin the real crime on him.
Articles like this make the NASGA Blog the place to go for information and research.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mr. Fields, for your dedication and thank you, NASGA.
As long as lawyers police themselves, they hold a "License to Steal"!
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, I was brought to hospital by a lawyer I worked for to notarize a document of a dying client of his. When I realized what he was trying to do, I walked out and then quit the job!
ReplyDeletenasga blog is the place to get the real news it's great to see top spot news about a top shelf advocate who has been around a very long time that person is Tom Fields
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing these issues to the Ohio Elder Abuse Commission, Mr. Fields.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the Commission was receptive and will be responsive?