There are many ways elderly, sick and disabled people can wind up in a court-appointed guardianship, where a complete stranger wields total control over their lives and assets. Some are identified as "incapacitated" by paid caregivers. Others are fingered by greedy relatives or rapacious lawyers.
Guardians helped themselves to [Yvonne Sarhan's] $2 million estate while a Florida probate judge ignored her son's desperate pleas to take her off the schizophrenia drug Seroquel, which is contraindicated for the elderly because it causes electrical disturbances in the heart.
An auditor and member of Virginia's Commonwealth Council on the Aging, Brenda Kelley says she's spent $100,000 of her own money fighting the District guardians who barred her, an only child, from seeing her mother, Bertha, while they drained her million-dollar estate and negligently allowed her childhood home to be sold at a tax lien sale for a mere $29,000.
[Stephen]Nero says his mother is inappropriately being held captive in an Alzheimer's facility that charges $6,000 per month. "She is being illegally deprived of her civil and constitutional rights even though there was no evidence on the record that she was ever evaluated as 'incapacitated' -- it was all hearsay. I'm a lawyer and even I can't get her out," a frustrated Nero told us.
Even the young and middle-aged can become "legal ghosts" by court order, as 50-year-old Nashville, Tenn., songwriter Danny Tate described his status after his estranged brother was named his conservator during an ex parte hearing in 2007.
Tate, who has admitted abusing alcohol and drugs, was never charged with any crime. Tate's conservatorship was finally terminated last September, minus the fortune he earned writing music for Rick Springfield and other Nashville legends.
"All of the country's wealth eventually passes through the probate courts," Tate pointed out. "The problem is that probate courts are designed for liquidation, not conservation, but it all gets adjudicated in the same court. All the attorneys are getting paid and nobody wants to get off the gravy train."
Bob Teich uncovered compelling evidence of collusion, conflict of interest, forgery and fraud in the San Diego Probate Court -- including the guardian's refusal to release his minor son's Internal Revenue Service returns.
Full Article and Source:
Too Often Death is the Only Way Out of Guardianship Gulag
See Also:
Judges, Lawyers Use Guardianships to Prey on Elderly
15 comments:
Thank you, Washington Examiner!
These stories sicken me. And I agree, thank you Washington Examiner.
Exposure by media and press is needed to altert future victims of what is waiting for them in their 'golden years'.
Sadly many people sacrifice, save for their old age. They need to know others have plans for them, plans to seize their savings, income and property while stripping the person of all their rights.
Knowledge is power.
Thank you Washington Examiner for taking the time to listen to people with complaints about the protection industry.
Danny Tate is a rarity belonging to a very fortunate small group of people.
Tate is a former walking talking former ward who can show you how he was afffected.
He can testify in first person how his life was ruined while the only persons who benefited are the lawyers lawyers lawyers with their billing billing billing and the temporary conservatorship case is still open 4 years later.
Can anyone tell me what is temporary about a 4 year temporary conservatorship case?
This fact alone should be investigated.
Opinion Editor Barbara F. Hollingsworth did a terrific job!
Thank you Ms Hollingsworth and the Washington Examiner for your efforts to shine the light on the dark side of guardianships and conservatorships gone bad.
I have to wonder how many people, good citizens in our country are aware of or reviewed their respective states state statutes governing guardianships?
Usually people read the statutes after the fact. By then it's too late to right the wrongs.
more often than not death is the only way out and on this road if anyone tries to oppose the guardianship that person can end up bankrupt while still at square one it is rare when you hear the term former ward referred to a person who is living but it is
100% certainty that former ward is in ruins physically emotionally and financially the court the state throws the former ward into the ranks of poor people who usually lose their homes in this protection racket the only ones who are happy and wealthy are the probate players ie lawyers gal's guardians and conservators and of course some judges are enjoying the rewards of approving all billing please keep shouting out loud this must stop come to an end
As a new person to the horrors of guardianship I have to wonder where people complain? Does anybody know of a federal or state agency where one could find files of complaints?
Thanks so much for spreading the word I wish I had known about this sooner. Looks like we're all prime candidates for probate court either while we're alive and after we die. I never thought about that before but I should have.
Big business under color of law wake up folks don't believe it can't happen to you? to someone in your family? Yes it can and it will. It most certainly will affect a large majority of innocent Americans no time to waste to do all you can to protect yourselves from being taken over body and soul and all you own. If that doesn't scare the heck out of you, it does me!
Are you listening legislators? Are you?
Great article…gets right to the heart of the matter and doesn’t discriminate between child, adult, and elderly guardianships. The State laws of guardianship are used to steal…the fact that tens of thousands lives are destroyed, and many are killed (no matter what the age of the subject of a guardianship) is of little consequence to anyone except the victims. There are numerous statutes written into these laws designed to protect the victim of a guardianship however these are completely ignored by the judiciary. You might ask why no one is doing anything about this. The answer is money and lots of it. The Elderly Group will pass down $25 TRILLION in inheritance. The Baby Boomers are supposed to inherit $7.2 TRILLION of this plus add the Trillions in current Boomer assets. The numbers came from a Financial Planning Association article. To this add the State and Federal funds paid for guardianship services...and don't forget the children (how much does a kid go for these days?) and the disabled; then there is Social Security and Social Security disability income and pension income to be had. I almost forgot the money paid in contributions by special interest groups. Guardianship is a HUGE money making machine and this is why no one will help and why it is going to be hard (but not impossible) to get these archaic laws abolished.
Look at the dollar figures of these cases!
Good article that tells it straightforward and as it really is!
A standing ovation and hearty round of applause. Congratulations!
Barbara, this is a great article! I sent my story to you about Mom and how hard I was trying to save her from these monsters. Unfortunately, the stress was too much for her. She passed on Cctober 23,2011...she would have been free from her abusers in 2 weeks...and I will continue to fight for justice. I want her "law" guardian Mary Giordano to pay for the crimes she committed against my Mom. Keep up the good work..
My mother was forced into a guardianship. This was illegal in PA since there was family to care for her. I never could get her out, and she passed away after five years of daily abuse.
Thanks Washington Examiner for paying attention to a problem that other media ignore.
But even when it's over; even after the death, you are never freed. There's a hole in your heart, a hollow in your soul, and a burning that never stops. It will only be extinguished when the intruder suffers the same pain that he put the defenseless victim through. Thank you Steve, thank you for giving the innocent victims a voice...Cynthia
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