Monday, February 22, 2010

Case Three: "Expenses"

Nine years ago, James Gostele needed help from the Denver probate court.

He had been diagnosed as suffering from dementia and was recovering from a month-long hospitalization that left him with an unpaid $197,000 bill.

A brother in Illinois was willing to assist him. The court approved William Gostele as the guardian of James' health and conservator of his assets.

In that role, Gostele successfully negotiated a reduction of the hospital bill and paid it by refinancing his brother's house. But probate records also show a pattern of late and missing reports that persisted for five years before anyone questioned how James' money was being spent.

And after the court discovered in 2006 that much of $83,517 in expenses had paid for Gostele's flights to Colorado and reimbursements to a woman he would marry, it neglected again to collect his expense reports.

Full Article and Source:
Case Three, As Guardian Expenses $60,491 in Three Years

2 comments:

Lou said...

My mom always said, "do it right or don't do it at all" If the court isn't going to protect people perhaps they should stay out of the business.

Anonymous said...

Just keep in mind the basis of this article is a disgruntled and fired employee. plus the fact the items mentioned were concerns back in 2006 and since then the court has appointed a person to oversee the guardianship.