Until relatively recently, I was unaware of how rampant elder abuse is within the legal court system. It was not until my good friend started to share her story with me that my eyes were opened to something far more prevalent than I was cognizant of; at least on a conscious level.
I have been privileged to know Diane for over five years. During that span, she has never been anything but helpful, loving and compassionate to everyone. Doing what I do for a living generally makes me able to be a pretty good judge of character. Ironically, it is a judge and his decisions that prompted me to write this article. The choices and attitude he has expressed have been protected by legal statutes. While they might be legal, they are far from moral, ethical or compassionate.
This all began approximately two and a half years ago. Diane's mother had given her power of attorney and named her the healthcare proxy. Like many families, there were disagreements with the siblings. Diane was being told that her brother and sister wanted to sell their mother's home and place her in a nursing home. While this elderly woman, Dorothy, had some early dementia and knee problems, she was still a vibrant, cognizant person. She had no interest in being displaced so that those two could have her money. Diane's family suggested she file for legal guardianship to protect her home and to protect her mother's life as well. It seemed to make an abundance of sense.
To tell the events of what unfolded quickly is really an injustice to the elder abuse that has incurred since. The siblings contested the petition for guardianship. Instead of reaching a mediated agreement, the judge listening to the case decided he would be better at making decisions for everyone. He assigned a law guardian and a healthcare manager. It appears these three have worked together before. Diane was immediately removed from what her mother wanted; to have her take care of her needs if there was any reason for it. As it was, Dorothy would spend many weekends at Diane's house. It must be noted that Diane works from home and took care of her father in his last years. It would give Dorothy a change of scenery and much appreciated love and companionship. All of that was about to change.
Full Article and Source:
A Heartbreaking Story of Elder Abuse
See Also:
NASGA: Dorothy Wilson, NY Victim
16 comments:
"I love New York," says the song - I don't; hell, no! Those courts are in a contest with Chicago for who are the corruption champs.
The guardianship grabfest is an old story; the pattern is always the same, hardly a new twist. Due process violations are more and more frequent. Rule of law doesn't matter; lawyers lie and that becomes "evidence." Judges are card-carrying lawyers.
It's all about money - RICO? An Arizona lawyer dared to sue RICO and the Barfia went after him!
A NY victim spelled it all out ten years ago. See: www.VictimsOfGuardians.net
And what has changed since then? Nothing! The problems have escalated. Why? Money; that's why!
Reading these words, I relived most of my Mother's horror story, and tears flooded my eyes: after two years of this struggle to free my mother and save her life from court sanctioned elder abuse and financial exploitation, I (and others) understand. That the stories are so similar, it's as if there is a judicial manual read by officers of the Courts throughout America as business-as-usual. Court Appointed Guardian ad litems or public guardians are in the business of destroying families and lives for personal financial gain. What I find is the use of the word 'dementia' as a death sentence. Dementia is no more and no less memory loss and 9 out of 10 cases, dementia is curable/treatable and caused by prescriptions given to elders, depression, et al. (Cancer patients going through Chemo all develop memory loss, so I guess according to the Courts, all cancer patients and survivors should be guardianized and removed from their homes....) Nevertheless, I am so sorrry that with all the publicity about court sanctioned elder abuse, and the abuse of the disabled, this evil would at best slow down. Thank you for stepping and telling the story. We must all unite and stop the horrors before it's too late. That is simply my opinion, as I've said in my mother, Mary G. Sykes' case, 'no devil in hell or person in spirit will stop me from finding Justice no matter how hard She hides and saving my life so I can save my Mother's life and bring her home to live out her live in the home and community where she thrived for 50 years, and with the people she trusts and loves". God Bless all of us!
This is one of the flaws of guardianship. Families disagree and instead of judges getting in the middle and sorting it out in the best interest of the ward, they immediately bring in a third party - and then everybody loses.
Of course every one looses, except the public guardian who, by the way, earns over 4100,000 a year to make every person who loves and it trying to protect their mother or father or husband or wife, son or daughter! It's a system sworn to protect and serve and instead, America's judicial destroy families. There is a new retirement plan initiated by the Courts: it's called Guardianships. The Wards hard earned money, set aside for retirement and to live out his or her Golden Years in their home, with their loved one and friends, is not being spent on institutional living and legal fees. It's not a flaw of guardianship, it's the benefits of guardianship for officers of the court.
Thank you for doing this article for Dorothy Wilson and for shining the bright light of the media onto the injustice done her.
Diane, it is a heartbreaking story and I am so sorry you are having to go through it. Please know that I am praying for you nad your Mom.
In my experiences, whether there are disagreements between family members or not, the judges will still go against the wishes and directives of an elder if there is money involved they can get their hands on. Truly heart wrenching story, though one I am all too familiar with (being so similar to my grandmothers case). My heart goes out to all who is unfortunate enough to encounter these injustices.
Whatever causes family squabbling, it has got to stop. Whatever is being fought about believe this, nobody outside the family cares. Human Services don't care and judges don't care. They don't care about any member of the family. All they want is money, family money that was so hard earned. So, whatever it takes, get a grip, control yourselves, take a walk, calm down and return with a smile on your face, thankful to the bottom of your very heart that you have a family. Do not go to Human Services and judges with exaggerations fueled by emotions, exaggerations that once told under oath, you will not have the courage or character to rescind, and you and your family will have to live with for the rest of your lives as if they are the truth.
What an absolute horror story. I am so sorry.
I am glad you're receiving this publicity, Diane. I hope everyone posts the story on their personal facebook pages and it spreads like wildfire.
My heart and prayers are with you and your family.
What a good friend you are to do this story for Diane. Bless you!
I especially like the lead in to this article, where he defines the elder abuse as being withing the court...!
Victims become like deer in headlights. The injustice of it stuns us and takes away all we have been taught about what's right and wrong.
And it becomes all about money and how they are going to get to it.
It is sickening the way the elderly and disabled are treated. And no one cares.
As of today, my mother was moved from the hospital back to the nursing home. They told her seh was going to rehab. They all lie and lie and lie. And the entire time she has been in the hospital, she has not had any PT, which she was getting at her home 3x per week. they even took away her walker.
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