A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has been asked to order a pair of attorneys to pay up to $85,000 to reimburse an elderly lady who was driven into poverty while under the protection of Probate Court.No, attorney Brenda Church isn't on the hook. She and her law firm soaked up more than $230,000 from Marie Long in 2009 alone, according to court records. That is 54 percent of everything the 89-year-old widow had left last year, after four years in probate. Church hasn't been asked to return a dime of the $333,000 she and her law firms have collected since becoming involved with Marie's trust in 2005.
The Sun Valley Group isn't on the hook either. The Tempe-based fiduciary collected more than $53,000 in guardian fees last year, 12.5 percent of what was left of Marie's life savings in 2009. Court records show Sun Valley has collected a staggering $417,000 in guardian and care fees over the 4 1/2 years it was watching over Marie. It hasn't been asked to return a single cent.
The only people being asked to pony up are the people who largely worked for free - the ones who pleaded time and again for the courts to stop the wholesale siphoning of Marie's accounts. In the world of probate, they're the ones to blame for the old lady becoming destitute and dependent on taxpayers for support.
[T]he woman who previously oversaw Marie's trust - a niece who resigned as trustee more than a year ago - is asking Judge Robert Budoff to order the return of $85,000 to the trust. But not from the people who wound up with most of the money. Genevieve Olen wants Marie's sisters and attorneys Jon Kitchel and Dan Raynak to pony up.
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Still No Justice in Probate Case
So sad... An ordinary, uneducated person has enough common sence to know that the amount of money taken in this scandall could have provided top notch, private, in home, personal care for Marie.
ReplyDeleteThis is legal abuse!
That is real sick, sick, sick justice!
ReplyDeleteThey've got that all backwards.
ReplyDeleteThe bloodsuckers should pay up!
Everyone should be paying attention to this, because it's one of the most atrocious aspects of a unlawful guardianship.
ReplyDeleteThe proceedings themselves prevent the alleged incompetent person from hiring counsel, because the person's assets are frozen and taken over by his/her court-appointed guardian.
Then, the ward is legally prevented from contracting (meaning unable to hire a lawyer of choice to defend him/herself from this hostile take-over).
And finally, when the good lawyers come to help, they are beaten back and starved out of the case.
It's a tidy little package, isn't it?
And it's what we're up against.
JOIN NASGA - let's fix this mess.
My comment is for the State Officials FBI and WASHINGTON D.C. CONGRESS and Media that are reviewing these "Comments," REVEIW THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MARIE'S MONEY THAT WAS ROBBED FROM HER !
ReplyDelete1.In 2005 Brenda Church and her Law Firm raided Marie's trust of ...............$333,000.00
2. In 2009 Brenda Church,and her Law Firm made another raid on Marie's account of more than............ $230,000.00
3. Last Year, "the Sun Valley Group fiduciary" wanted in on the action and collected more than.............$53,000.00
in guardian fees
4. In 2009 Court Records show "Sun Valley" has collected a staggering
$417,000.00 in guardian care fee over the 4 1/2 years BUT YET, attorney Church and her law firm and the sun Valley Group have not been asked to return a dime.
Maries Niece Geneviene who over-saw Marie's Trust and resigned as trustee, more than a year ago is asking judge Robert Budoff to order the return of $85,000.00 from Marie's sisters and attorneys who largely WORKED FOR FREE AND PLEADED WITH THE COURT TO PUT A STOP TO MARIES ACCOUNTS BEING RAIDED BY MONEY HUNGRY VULTURES
But instead, in the Coo Coo World of Probate the ones fighting to
Protect Marie and her trust money are the one's to blame for the old lady becoming destitute and dependent on taxpayers for support.
This is not Rocket Science, this is obvious discusting theft happening in our Probate Court to our most vulnerable. Our citizens believe a court room is where we are suppose to receive justice but instead innocent people are thrown to the wolves.
It is time for each State to place in all Probate Courts a "referee" that will keep the Judge and the Attorney's in check during the hearings on all legal procedures of the guardian cases. It is time for the judges to hold the attorney's, trustee's, fiduciaries, ect., responsible for an accounting of all monies.
A good friend of mine recently told me..."It's not the Law that is bad, it is the "Practice of Law." Self serving, trickery and lies have no place in a court room.
Robbing our elders of their lives and life savings is a crime and those that are harming our love ones are not going to get away with it, they will be punished !
Words of John Walsh FBI
WASHINGTON D.C.
sad? this is much worse than sad this is disgusting and the judge made it worse when will we the people get it that we will be commenting on their horror story oh thats right it wont happen to me so not to worry usa should hang its head in shame and disgrace allowing the courts to steal hard earned money i will burn mine first ashes to ashes dust to dust no money no significant income no property no one from probate will bother with you
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jane, for your insightful comments!
ReplyDeleteAnyone who had a part in the exploitation of Marie Long, a person who couldn't defend herself, should be charged with a crime.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, StandUp, their transparent game is to harass and wear out the good guys who are fighting for Marie. Shame on every rotten one of them.!
Every time I think they've reached the ultimate low, they sink even lower.
ReplyDeleteThis is dispicable.
The State Bar should suspend Olin's attorney(s). What a low life.
ReplyDeleteAnd they wonder why people can't tell much difference between a lawyer and a shark?
ReplyDeleteThe lawyer for the niece should refuse and withdraw from the case - if he has an ounce of scruples to him, which it appears he doesn't.
So what now? They've taken to harrassing Marie Long's sisters?
ReplyDeleteDoes evil ever stop?
I have been praying for Marie and her sisters since I heard of this awful case. God help them because the "justice" department sure won't.
ReplyDeleteThis scam of turning the table to make the do-gooders look bad is prevalent in Cook County (Chicago)
ReplyDeleteas well.
Take a look at the Petition for Legal Fees sometime.... the lawyers put all sorts of lies into their fees to make it look like the family is causing trouble, going after money, not cooperating, etc. They are trying to point the finger elsewhere, thereby justifying their "services". It's their way of working lies into the court record.
It's all a crock.
Www.probatesharks.com