A legal nightmare took away my grandfather’s rights. Our judges and lawmakers must support elder law reform

by Chris Rosselot

Photos of Chris Rosselot’s grandfather and family members are shown on the dining room table in the North Side. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Pittsburgh City Paper)

None of us had any idea what to expect when we entered the courtroom for my grandfather’s competency hearing, least of all him. 

At 81, he was ordered to leave the home he had chosen with his daughter and forced to return to a wife he intended to divorce, with no rights.

Before our family nightmare in 2006, I had little idea of the power judges wield over the fate of elderly Pennsylvanians. With the stroke of a pen, my grandfather was deemed incapable of making his own decisions and taken from his family. 

Reform could keep other families from knowing our pain, but that hinges on the legislature enacting necessary court reforms and the election of judges who ensure the guardianship process is fair and focus on what’s best for older Pennsylvanians and their families. With 39 candidates running for nine open seats on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, this is an issue that candidates and voters should carefully consider both before and after the election. 

My maternal grandfather, Steve Gornick, was an intelligent, independent man with a deep love for his family. Taught to read by his mother at a very young age, he quickly outgrew his one-room schoolhouse in Penn Township in Butler County, where the teacher had him assist the older students with reading and mathematics. 

He left the family farm at age 14 to work in a foundry in Butler and escape an abusive father. He joined the army during World War II after his mother changed his age on enlistment documents. 

After the war, he settled in Erie, started a family with my grandmother Ruth and began his career as an electrical and mechanical engineer for General Electric and later Electric Materials. Using his intellectual capacity and grit, he helped discover mathematical theorems that advanced his field. And when Ruth passed away in 1976, he rose to a new challenge, raising their two daughters alone.

Elaine Rosselot (left) and Alethea Cassidy (right)
 with their father, Steve Gornick. (Courtesy photo)

Growing up, Grandpa Steve was a huge part of our lives. We visited him and his second wife every Christmas, and he often traveled to see us. No matter where we were living, he made it to school functions — graduation ceremonies, baseball and hockey games. He especially loved visiting our family when we lived in Colorado, taking advantage of the outdoor activities like cross country skiing, hunting, golfing and hiking.

In 2003, my parents moved from Denver to Pittsburgh to be closer to home. Grandpa was almost 80 then, and during the last couple of visits, we’d noticed his memory slipping a bit.

Two years later, his wife contacted my parents to coordinate an open-ended stay for Grandpa Steve. She presented it as an opportunity for her to get some time to herself. During this visit, grandpa brought up constant arguments he and his wife had regarding his will — and his desire to make his daughters his primary beneficiaries. 

As grandpa’s visit went on, he became more resolute about leaving his wife, transferring funds from a joint account and consulting with an attorney in Pittsburgh to discuss marital separation. When his wife became aware of this, the legal nightmare began.

Guardianship hearing: ‘He’s yours’

On Dec. 15, 2005, Grandpa Steve’s wife filed a petition with the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County to declare my grandpa incapacitated and to appoint her as guardian. She requested additional immediate relief, including the transfer of custody of grandpa to her and the return of the joint account funds previously removed.  (Click to Continue Reading)

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A legal nightmare took away my grandfather’s rights. Our judges and lawmakers must support elder law reform