The court-appointed guardian of a now-deceased Vietnam veteran has been found in contempt of court and threatened with an indefinite jail term while a specially appointed master tries to unravel what became of thousands of dollars of the veteran’s assets.In a case that a participant says is one of a kind, the former guardian, George Phillips, has been ordered to repay the estate of his uncle, Harold C. Hill, for thousands of dollars in rent payments while Hill was a permanent resident at the Alvin C. York Veterans Medical Center in Murfreesboro.
Phillips was, in effect, paying himself since he was Hill’s landlord.
Dozens of payments from Hill’s bank account have been challenged dating to 2005, when he was first placed in a guardianship.
“The disbursements made for utilities were almost 10 times the amount of the actual utility bill for the apartment the ward (Hill) resided in,” one court filing states.
“I’ve been doing this for a while, and this is a first. It seems that every time we look, something else turns up,” said Michael Knowlton, the attorney representing Regions Bank, which took over the guardianship after Davidson Probate Judge David Randy Kennedy removed Phillips early this year. Regions Bank had previously become involved at the request of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Veteran's guardian found in contempt
Kennedy rubberstamps professionals' bills, but not for a family guardian?
ReplyDeleteWhat does that mean?
George Phillips should hang his head in shame. And why did he get by with it for so long? Did Judge Randy Kennedy even read the accountings Phillips filed? The judge is the final protection for wards of the state and Judge Randy Kennedy has failed once again. Thank you, NASGA, for this post.
ReplyDeleteHow could Kennedy, who's supposed to be teaching law, so blatantly violate rules and statutes and not do the job he's supposed to be doing?
ReplyDeleteJudge Kennedy should treat ALL conservators the same, the "pros" and family alike.
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