Judge Steven King signed an agreement this month that frees Luck from guardianship in a controversial case that removed her rights — including her ability to hire an attorney — even as it sucked an estimated $1 million or more of her savings (“Grabbing the Purse,” Sept. 4, 2013).
“I wanted you to be the first to know,” Luck told Fort Worth Weekly after receiving the news. “Your article had everything to do with it.”
Over the past six years, the Weekly has published several stories spotlighting the county’s two probate judges (King and Pat Ferchill) and their web of attorneys, investigators, bankers, social workers, and others who sometimes appear overzealous in their attempts to manage — and sometimes benefit from — the lives and bank accounts of elderly and disabled residents.
The first story (“Saving Katia,” July 2, 2008) chronicled Kathie Seidel’s attempts to overturn Ferchill’s decision to remove her adoptive daughter from the Seidel home, place her under guardianship, and heavily restrict her communication with relatives. The judge made the decision in a closed hearing without the mother’s input. Seidel is still fighting to get what her now-adult daughter wants: restoration of her rights or at least a more family-friendly guardian.
Seidel sees the recent action in Luck’s case, along with a couple of other recent guardianship reversals, as victories for everyone trying to protect the rights of wards, which is what the guardianship system is supposed to do.
“This is an important decision,” Seidel said. “They [probate courts] are trying to tidy up questionable rulings.”
Seidel credits several factors in addition to media scrutiny led by the Weekly.
Full Article and Source:
Luck for Dorothy
See Also:
Grabbing the Purse
Saving Katia
14 comments:
How wonderful!!!
Why is the court suddenly letting go of guardianships? Something's motivating them -- perhaps an investigation?
Wow, something is going on in Texas and regardless of what it is, I'm glad to see it and glad to see victims get their loved ones free.
What was done to them is criminal but the first and most important thing is to get their freedom restored.
Congratulations Dorothy! And the Seidel family too!
So very happy for Dorothy Luck!
THE POWER OF THE PRESS THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
This case shows the evil in the protection industry it's all about the $ - most victims are not able to escape alive and those that do are ruined financially and emotionally many with serious health problems - this must STOP.
Wake up America you think the the foreign terrorists are our biggest threat? NO NO NO think again..
The real threat are the courtroom terrorists APS Aging Agencies, lying family, corrupt doctors who give the court what they want for what in return?
Oh you can bet all are being well compensated.
Reading this story about Dorothy Luck.
Thank You Kathie Seidel!
Jeff Prince is a wonderful reporter and I bet he sleeps well at night. Thank you Jeff.
I join everyone in celebrating with Dorothy Luck.
I'm glad for her now we can move on.
They are literally killing my Dad on psychotropic drugs to shut him up because he is trying to kill himself to go home which he could be.
This has been over SEVEN YEARS with no relief in sight.
http://eldermurderabuseandexploitation.blogspot.com/2014/02/1-elder-murder-abuse-and-exploitation.html
This is super wonderful news!!! I hope it becomes a rapidly growing trend...
KUDOS to the media for tackiling an issue that most won't go near...
What has happened to Dorothy does not mean it is going to STOP. The litte rag (the Weekly) may have helped in her situation. But the new laws passed this session have given guardians more rights than a peace officer to protect a vulnerable person from a court initiated guardianship. A guardian has the right to take physical possession of a person with a written statement in bold face type indicating to a peace office that the guardian has the right to remove the ward and put them where they want that also gives the peace office immunity. In other words this new law may have just legalized kidnapping at it seems. What we know is that her rights were restored, even to hire a lawyer, but that is yet to be determined. It looks good and sounds good, while it may be a victory, it has come out of a huge fortune for the court appointed fiduciaries. Texas still has a long way to go. We can only pray that this was not a set up. Nevertheless, we are most grateful and appreciate the Ft Worth Weekly and Jeff Prince for their support in exposure of what Guardianship has become in Texas and throughout the country.
No doubt what happened to Dorothy, should have never happened. She will never recover the money that was taken from her, and now she may be more vulnerable than before. Will keep NASGA updated on any developments in Dorothy's freedoms and which right she really has.
May God continue to bless us with journalist like Jeff Prince, and the little rags that the little people depend on.
Thank You Nasga family for all your support to the Texas Nasga group. We appreciate your support and good wishes to our beloved Dorothy Luck. While we may all believe including her that she may have a victorious outcome, it is yet to be determined. She may have been given her rights back, we all know she will most likely never recover the money she has lost, nor get an accurate accounting of who took what and what for. There will be alot to answer for if and when she is allowed to hire an attorney. Nevertheless, she believes she is free, and we pray that be the case. However she may be much more vulnerable now than before. We will keep you all updated on the event that the her freedom and money is fully returned to her to handle her own affairs. We will see,
Good News for this family, something most who are caught up in abusive guardianships never get.
Praise God for Jeff Prince, reporter for the Fort Worth Weekly.
This is great news and a sign of the power of the press and good journalism.
In my mother's case, at least some of the lawyers agree that the guardianship should never have happened and that it started out 'wrong' (read: laws were broken), but none, not even the lawyer on an ethics committee will do anything about it. And no wonder: the trial and activities involved in guardianizing my mother cost over $125,000, and the trial to get her back care back in the family (but not remove the still lucrative-to-lawyers guardianship) cost another $100,000. Not one penny of that money went to my mother's care. All of it, and more in the intervening two years, went to line the pockets of lawyers and guardianship industry professionals. All told, in just two years they spent around $400,000 dollars, or two thirds of her life savings. No one wants to let go of that kind of income stream, so no one will say a thing.
Dorothy Luck is indeed lucky she got out.
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