Eleonore Berg was scheduled to be in court Wednesday morning for a competency hearing in front of Judge Frances King. But the 85-year-old woman only made it as far as the security checkpoint at the courthouse.
Thinking the guards might confiscate her purse, Berg declined to hand it over to be checked.
Apparently, since her longtime home at On Top of the World had been taken away, and most of her belongings had been put in storage, she was fearful of giving security personnel one of her last items of value.
Berg’s guardian, Olivia Baird, had to return the elderly woman to her assisted living facility, then come back to King’s courtroom to hear the verdict.
Not long after the 9:30 a.m. hearing in Courtroom 4B, King ruled that Berg is incapacitated, and appointed Baird as her permanent guardian.
Berg initially had been under court guardianship, but when it was discovered she did not meet one of three criteria, her case was turned over to private guardianship.
That is when Baird stepped in, along with others, to try and help Berg retain her two-bedroom, two-bath home in the retirement community off State Road 200. The home had gone into foreclosure after Berg ceased paying monthly homeowner’s association fees of $397 per month, for about two years.
Full Article and Source:
Elderly Woman Evicted From OTOW Home Rules Incompetent
So they took her home and they wonder why she was afraind they would take her purse.
ReplyDeleteThey did already ........the government would pay more to supplement a Government supplemented nursing home but Social Services could not find money to supplement with the fee for her home. Very Very sad
It sickens me that this poor woman was holding on to what she thought was all she had left from her whole lifetime on this planet.
ReplyDeleteThe elderly are such easy prey for vultures.
How did she get from her home to an assisted living facility? The previous guardian?
ReplyDeleteWe all need to get really familiar with the Handbook for Judges
ReplyDeleteThey are all incompetent or this is the biggest racket going ...... corrupt racket.
http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/guides/judges-diminished.pdf
This woman did not need a guardian she needed someone in Social Services to help her find assistance to pay the maintenance fee.
Read the Book put out by the American Bar Association and the American Probate Association for Judges what a scam
excellent find on the Judges' guidebook ....
ReplyDeleteWhat year was this document published???
Tim not sure but within the document at the end are more good links. There is a link to the Probate Judge College.
ReplyDeleteThere is a site for Attorneys on the ABA for the same subject matter. These guys take that stuff and bury it so they can pilfer their clients.
To be an elder law attorney it would be interesting if they have to take exams around the ABA handbook?
Do the Judges have to get certified to be a probate judge?
Guardianship and evication go hand and hand......
ReplyDeletehere are the links to all three books the best defense is being well read
ReplyDeleteABA/APA Assessment of Capacity in Older Adults
For Psychologists
Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Psychologists (PDF, 1.3 MB)
This publication is designed to give psychologists and other health care providers important information to help guide their work with older adults.
For Lawyers
Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Lawyers (PDF, 434 KB)
This handbook offers a conceptual framework and practice tips for addressing problems of client capacity, in some cases with help from a clinician.
For Judges
Judicial Determination of Capacity of Older Adults: A Handbook for Judges (PDF, 889 KB)
This handbook overviews capacity determination, examines the role of judges, provides judges with a summary of the kinds of fuctioning assessed, and suggests a five-step model for assessment.
For all my BLOG friends... below is a copy of my post - to the reporters e-mail address!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the Eleonore Berg story.
Would you like a story of a PA domicile & PA resident RCD who traveled to Florida with her daughter to visit. The Volusia County Court put RCD under guardianship and have refused to let RCD return home with her family. Imagine going on vacation and never going home but instead being isolated and drugged to silence your pleading to be with family! This story is equally as tragic as Eleonore's.