Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on
Friday relieved four public administrators of their responsibilities in
Oakland and Macomb counties, including two who have been linked to
guardianship problems in those counties.
The
decision to relieve four of the 104 public administrators of their
state-delegated duty to administer deceased estates where there is no
family was made after Nessel’s months-long elder abuse listening tour.
The
four lawyers relieved of their responsibilities were Robert Kirk in
Macomb County Probate Court and John Yun, Thomas Fraser and Jennifer
Carney in Oakland County Probate Court.
“Now that
we’ve concluded our elder abuse listening tour, our office is taking a
fresh look at how we provide critical services and resources to Michigan
residents based on the feedback we received,” Nessel said in a
statement Friday. “After reevaluating our needs, we decided to relieve
these public administrators of their appointments.”
Kirk and Fraser had been highlighted in a WXYZ investigation
revealing problems at the guardianship company Caring Hearts Michigan,
owned by Kirk’s wife, and a guardianship case for which Fraser billed
more than $17,000 in attorney fees.
When asked about the reasoning for relieving those specific lawyers, Nessel’s office gave few details.
“This
was an internal decision made, in part, based on the feedback our
office received from the communities we visited during our elder abuse
listening tour,” said Nessel’s spokesman Dan Olsen.
The
Attorney General’s office is tasked with appointing public
administrators to help manage deceased estates as needed in Michigan’s
83 counties when no family is available or no estate is opened.
When
contacted Friday, Kirk said he was informed of his removal by phone,
but said he usually only handled one or two cases a year. He served as
public administrator in Macomb County for 30 years.
In
a Friday statement, Carney said she was honored to serve Oakland County
residents for the four years she served in the position.
“I
am saddened by the attorney general’s decision to terminate my
appointment as a county public administrator, but my work as an advocate
for the protection of vulnerable adults will continue,” Carney said.
Yun and Fraser did not immediately return calls for comment.
Full Article & Source:
Nessel relieves 4 lawyers of duties to administer certain estates
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