Post’s guardianship coverage wins honor from Florida Bar

The Palm Beach Post’s 2016 series “Guardianships: A Broken Trust” took second place this month in the print division of the Florida Bar’s 62nd Annual Media Awards.

The stories, written and reported by Post staff writer John Pacenti, with research by Melanie Mena and editing by Holly Baltz, exposed the conflicts facing now-retired Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Martin Colin after his wife, Elizabeth Savitt, became a guardian.

The stories showed Colin’s wife took tens of thousands of dollars in fees from her senior ward’saccounts prior to approval by the court, which Savitt’s attorney, and only her attorney, claimed was allowed by statute. In one case, a judge ordered Savitt and her attorney to return nearly $30,000.

After publication in January 2016, the circuit’s chief judge, Jeffrey Col-bath, transferred Colin out of the probate division. He also transferred all of Savitt’s cases to a distant courthouse to eliminate the potential for conflict with friendly judges.

In October, Colbath handed down sweeping guardianship reforms, addressing specifically complaints against Savitt. He instituted a random appointment basis for professional guardians and an arduous registration system.

The stories received startling response from readers, leading to a number of families reaching out to the newspaper about abusive guardianships.

The judging panel consisted of two out-of-state journalists, two Florida lawyers with substantial experience in journalism and/or media law and one Florida educator of journalism or law.

First place went to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s “Bias on the Bench” series, which found judges throughout Florida sentence black defendants to harsher punishments than whites charged with the same crimes under similar circumstances.

The Post’s stories tied for second place with the Sun-Sentinel’s “Forsaken: Florida’s Broken Mental Health System.” The awards were given out Monday in a Tallahassee ceremony that include dareceptionwith Florida Supreme Court justices.

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Post’s guardianship coverage wins honor from Florida Bar

Guardianship reform advocates turn up the heat with town hall, protest

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Martin Colin announced he would not run for re-election

Despite legislative and policy strides, advocates for guardianship reform says little has changed in the courtroom: Incapacitated seniors and their families are still being taken advantage of by lawyers and court-appointed professionals while judges turn a blind eye.

So in an effort to bring further attention to the issue, an advocacy group that brought about some of those changes plans a town hall on Tuesday in West Palm Beach, followed by a protest in St. Petersburg on Thursday.

“It’s an attitudinal shift we are looking for in the judges,” said Sam Sugar, co-founder of American Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, who organized all three events. “Somehow these judges shifted position — from implementing laws designed to help vulnerable people and their families to a position of exploiting them instead.”

In Palm Beach County, the chief judge last year handed down reforms after The Palm Beach Post reported on conflict of interest, favoritism and complaints concerning former Circuit Judge Martin Colin and his wife, Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt, who works as a professional guardian.

And Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga has a task force looking into the issue.

On Tuesday in West Palm Beach, Sugar will give a lecture to inform seniors and families about how to protect themselves from unethical guardians and their attorneys, followed by a town hall. On Thursday, he will lead a protest march in St. Petersburg that culminates at a meeting of the Pinellas Guardianship Association.

“We are going to have a very raucous crowd because a lot of victims are coming,” Sugar said of the town hall in West Palm Beach.

“This is directed toward the general public to educate, to talk about the risks families face simply by the virtue of their address in Palm Beach County and how the probate courts operate,” he said.

Then on Thursday in St. Petersburg, the group will march to the Yacht Club where professional guardians are meeting to put pressure on the association to rid itself of what the group believes are bad actors depleting the life savings of incapacitated seniors.

“We want to demand that Pinellas Guardianship Association start protecting people,” he said.

Guardianship town hall
 
Where: Embassy Suites, 1601 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach
When: Tuesday 5 p.m. lecture, 6:15 panel
Who: Sam Sugar and panel, including state Rep. Emily Slosberg, D-Delray Beach; attorney Greg Coleman, past president of the Florida Bar; and Anthony Palmieri, deputy inspector general and chief guardianship investigator for Palm Beach County's Clerk & Comptroller. The Palm Beach Post’s John Pacenti will also be on the panel to speak about work on The Post’s series, Guardianships: A Broken Trust.

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Guardianship reform advocates turn up the heat with town hall, protest

Supreme Court chief justice tackles guardianship amid complaints

by John Pacenti
The complaints emanate from all over the state and, really, the nation: Seniors and others found incapacitated by the courts too often are treated like piggy banks by professional guardians who put their fees above the needs of the ward or concerns of loved ones.

Florida Chief Justice Jorge Labarga on Monday announced members of a task force that will focus on the growing concern about guardianships in Florida’s courts.

The announcement comes as the state tries to establish for the first time a regulatory authority over professional guardians.

He said few decisions are more challenging to a judge than removing a person’s rights because they are no longer capable of making decisions independently.

The Palm Beach Post, Labarga’s hometown newspaper, has reported extensively on guardianship, particularly how one judge and his wife benefited from it in the series, Guardianships: A Broken Trust. The stories resulted in reforms in Palm Beach County courts. Circuit Judge Martin Colin announced his retirement after the stories.

Judge Martin Colin

Colin’s wife, Elizabeth Savitt, continues to serve as a professional guardian despite increasing complaints by loved ones of her incapacitated wards. She has taken tens of thousands of dollars from incapacitated seniors’ bank accounts before a judge approved them, The Post found.

Lidya Abramovici is the former legislative liaison for Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship and says the group has lobbied Labarga for months to get involved as complaints mount from families who see their loved ones and their life savings ransacked by unethical professional guardians.

“The time has come for the Florida Supreme Court to become aware of what is happening in Florida with the injustice to the elderly and the financial abuse,” she said.

Florida Supreme Court Justice Jorge Labarga

Abramovici said two reforms that can help are to cap fees for guardians and their attorneys and to require judges not to overrule advanced directives seniors made before they were declared incapacitated.

Cases to increase
In a news release, Labarga, who lives in Welllington, said he created what he calls the “work group” because guardianship caseloads are increasing in number and complexity.

“As Florida grows and ages, we can expect more and more cases dealing with guardianship issues to come into our courts,” Labarga said.

Individuals found incapacitated by the court are appointed a guardian. If a family member is not available, often a professional guardian steps in with complete control of the senior’s finances, medical decisions and housing.

In Florida and across the nation, many professional guardians have been found to act in their own interests and not those of the incapacitated ward. Families of seniors have found themselves unable to battle professional guardians, who often employ legions of attorneys who are paid out of the savings of the senior.

Balance needed
Highlands County Circuit Judge Olin Shinholser will serve as chairman. He said there is too often conflict between the needs and desires of the ward — often a senior battling dementia — and the guardian, caregivers and even the family.

“Comments and complaints from various stakeholders are indicative that we need to take a closer look at whether the rules and procedures in place accomplish the balance needed,” he said.

State legislators passed laws in the last two legislative sessions to increase the state’s regulation and oversight of guardians.

“This is an appropriate time to re-evaluate our system and determine if the courts are doing everything possible to meet the needs of everyone involved,” Labarga said. “It’s imperative we stay proactive in this area and provide real solutions to emerging issues.”

The work group will tackle a number of guardianship issues, including restoration of capacity for the senior or person put in a guardianship. Costs — which usually mean fees for the guardian and at least one lawyer — will also be addressed.

An interim report is due to the court by October 2017 and a final report is due to the court by September 2018.

“Further evaluating guardianship practices supports the branch’s goal of ensuring that court procedures and operations are easily understandable and user-friendly and supports our mission to protect rights and liberties of all,” Shinholser said.

---

Appointees
Judge Olin Shinholser, Highlands County, Sebring (chairman)
Judge Robert Lee, Broward County, Fort Lauderdale
Judge Michelle Morley, 5th Circuit, Bushnell
Judge Peter Dearing, 4th Circuit, Jacksonville
Judge Maria Korvick, 11th Circuit, Miami
Jason Nelson, Office of Public and Professional Guardians, Florida Department of Elder Affairs, Tallahassee
Laird Lile, Lile & Hayes, Naples
Andrew Sasso, Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen, Clearwater
Karen Campbell, North Florida Office of Public Guardian, Tallahassee
Vicki Alkire, Viable Alternatives Inc., Sarasota

What The Post Found
The savings of incapacitated seniors flowed into the household of Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Martin Colin courtesy of Colin’s wife — professional guardian Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt. Fees in most of her cases were approved by another judge who is a friend of her husband’s. 

Full Article & Source:

Supreme Court chief justice tackles guardianship amid complaints

See Also:
Read the myPalmBeachPost articles from the beginning

Marriage Annulment in Guardianship Case Heads to Florida Supreme Court

Glenda Martinez Smith has already made an important impact on adult guardianship of incapacitated seniors in the state of Florida.

The court appeal she won in March 2015 told judges in six Florida counties they could no longer ignore pre-need directives by seniors about who they want as their health care surrogate and pre-need guardian if they become incapacitated.

But Martinez Smith is not done yet.

She is heading to the Florida Supreme Court and aims once again to overturn Circuit Judge David French, who made the unusual move to annul her 2011 marriage to J. Alan Smith at the behest of a court-appointed professional guardian and the guardian’s attorney.

The 4th District Court of Appeal on June 29 certified “a question of great public importance:” to the state’s highest court on whether incapacitated individuals can retain one of the most sacred of American rights.

“It involves the fundamental right of a ward to marry,” said Jennifer Carroll, the Palm Beach Gardens attorney who represents Martinez Smith. “When and under what circumstances does a ward have to get the court’s approval before exercising his fundamental right to marry?”

Jennifer Caroll

An annulment can be a cash cow for a guardian and the attorney who represents him or her. The Post reported in its series Guardianship: A Broken Trust how annulment proceedings initiated by a guardian can drain the estate of the senior and cost loved ones tens of thousands of dollars in court fees fighting it.

A marriage annulment in guardianship can affect benefits for the surviving partner after the incapacitated senior dies and cause great emotional pain for the couple. Martinez Smith contends that the annulment was designed so that the guardian and his attorney could drain as much money from her husband’s accounts, as possible.

Martinez Smith, who was financially secure long before she met Smith, said she spent upwards of $150,000 form her own money fighting the guardianship and reversing decisions made by Palm Beach Circuit judges. Her husband, she said, was left personally bankrupt as the guardian liquidated life insurance policies.

She got no relief from the judges. Circuit Judge Martin Colin threw her out of the courtroom. He also insulted her looks. The 4th DCA on April 3, 2013 granted her petition to disqualify Colin.

The court concluded “that the judge’s acts of ejecting petitioner from the courtroom, later striking her testimony on the basis of a perceived insult to him, and his comment that petitioner’s entire demeanor, including that ‘her face, her voice, her sound, may be unpleasant to everyone else,’ save the ward, would lead any reasonably prudent person to fear that she would not receive a fair hearing before the judge.”

Martinez Smith didn’t know at the time that Colin’s wife, Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt, worked as a professional guardian. Colin announced his retirement after The Post’s Broken Trust series reported on the judge’s conflict of interest and the litany of complaints orbiting his wife’s guardianships. Colin was transferred out of the guardianship division then announced his retirement.

Full Article and Source:
Marriage Annulment in Guardianship Case Heads to Florida Supreme Court

See Also:
NASGA:  J. Alan Smith, FL

Florida Judge's Wife, A Professional Guardian, Facing More Complaints About Guardianship Fees

Carla Simmonds, a Delray Beach nursing administrator and mother of two, decided two years ago to get in shape by attending a “boot camp workout.”

But after a vigorous session in February 2014, Simmonds suffered a life-shattering stroke caused by a leak in her carotid artery that triggered a massive blood clot in her frontal lobe. Doctors were forced to temporarily remove half of the 47-year-old’s skull to contain swelling so her brain did not dislodge from her spinal cord.

Simmonds was left unable to speak and with the mental capacity of a 4-year-old. All she could do was cry. Years of recovery awaited.

Daniel Schmidt, a former boyfriend and retired Merrill Lynch financial planner, stepped up, taking her into his home and guiding her on a remarkable recovery.

But the court system also ended up putting the stroke victim in the hands of professional guardian Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt, the wife of embattled Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Martin Colin.

The judicial power couple were the subject of a series of reforms handed down this year by the chief judge after The Palm Beach Post’s series, Guardianships: A Broken Trust. The newspaper’s investigation showed how Savitt took tens of thousands of dollars in fees without prior court permission from seniors in her guardianships and compiled a litany of complaints from families of her wards.

All of Savitt’s guardianship cases were moved to the north county courthouse to avoid any appearance of favoritism toward the judge’s wife.

Savitt, though, is still drawing complaints about her fees in the handful of guardianship cases she has left. When families ask her to resign, she has demanded fees upfront for her and her attorney Ellen Morris. The judge’s wife insists they also agree not to sue or pursue litigation against her.

Full Article and Source:
Judge's Wife Facing More Complaints About Guardianship Fees

Survey: Living wills of Incapacitated seniors ignored in guardianship

The South Florida advocacy group that pushed lawmakers to pass current reforms in adult guardianship asked its membership about their legal experiences. The finding gives a snapshot of a very broken system that is very lucrative for a handful of professionals and their attorneys.

The foremost finding of survey is that in more than three-quarters of cases judges ignored advanced directives of seniors and instead appointed a professional guardian, thus rendering carefully planned living wills moot.

Retired Hollywood physician Sam Sugar, who co-founded Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, said the survey went out to 285 members and that he received 67 responses from throughout the country.

His group says many professional guardians appointed to oversee the lives of incapacitated adults – a majority of them seniors with dementia – often take financial advantage of these vulnerable citizens and work with attorneys to drain assets and property. As plenary guardians they have complete control over their assets.

In the meantime, the family of these so-called wards find themselves powerless because judges are often complicit and allow the ransacking of the senior’s life savings. The problems in adult guardianship can be found nationwide as more baby boomers live longer their heirs and are more vulnerable to dementia and other degenerative diseases.

The Palm Beach Post in its series, Guardianships: A Broken Trust, revealed the incestuous nature of guardianship and how money from the savings of incapacitated seniors flowed into the household of Circuit Judge Martin Colin through his wife, professional guardian Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt.

Palm Beach County Chief Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath  — in a series of reforms announced in the wake of the series —  transferred Judge Colin out of the Probate & Guardianship Division. Colin announced his retirement.

His wife’s cases were all moved to the North County Courthouse to prevent an appearance of favoritism by Colin’s closest colleagues but she continues to operate.  (Continue Reading)

Full Article & Source:
Survey: Living wills of Incapacitated seniors ignored in guardianship

Guardianships: A Broken Trust, Chief Judge Shakes Up Guardianship System After Post Series

Chief Justice Jeffrey Colbath

Palm Beach County Chief Judge Jeffrey Colbath announced Tuesday sweeping changes for guardianship of incapacitated seniors. The actions come amid revelations by The Palm Beach Post that the savings of these elderly wards flow into the household of Circuit Judge Martin Colin via his wife’s [Elizabeth Savitt] work as a professional guardian in his division.

Also Tuesday, Colin announced that he won’t be running for re-election.

The chief judge’s reforms come in response to last month’s Post series examining the role of Judge Colin and his wife — former tennis pro Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt — in guardianship cases. Among the changes is requiring all of Colin’s current colleagues in south county to recuse themselves from her cases.

Some of the changes by Colbath were unspecific, leaving more questions than they answered. The announcement does not mention Colin by name, though sources have told The Post that Colin is indeed going to be transferred.

The changes are:
*Rotation of personnel to be effective Feb. 15.
*In-house training for probate judges and court staff.
*The establishment of a guardianship wheel to provide random assignment of professional guardians to cases.
*Standardization of bill practices for guardians and attorneys.
*Recusal of the current south county judges from Savitt’s cases.

Colin, 66, said on Tuesday that he had planned not to run because he would not be able to complete his term before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Judge Martin Colin

Full Article and Source:
Chief Judge Shakes Up Guardianship System

Read the series Guardianships: A Broken Trust

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Judges Socialized, Planned Trips Together

Judge David French

Judge Colin and his wife [Elizabeth Savitt] have socialized with one of the judges she appears in front of regularly, The Post has learned.

Colin and Circuit Judge David French eat lunch together nearly every day. Colin and French co-hosted a trivia night in May for the South Palm Beach Bar Association. The event was co-sponsored by Pankauski’s firm. French did not return repeated attempts for comment.

French’s first ex-wife Gayle Smith said her son, now grown, grew up in French’s household and knew Colin as his father’s running “mate” and that they often went on trips together.

French’s second ex-wife, Christine Connelly, said she and Judge French were friends with Colin and Savitt. The two couples had planned a cruise vacation about five years ago, but it fell through when Colin didn’t have his passport.

“We hung out, played tennis,” she said.

French apparently doesn’t always disclose this information to lawyers opposing Savitt in his courtroom on issues such as fees or her activities as a guardian.

Thomas Dougherty said he would have liked to have known that the judges socialized when he opposed Savitt in front of French.

Judge Colin

Judge Colin's Wife, Elizabeth Savitt

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Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  Judges Socialized, Planned Trips Together

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Albert Vassallo Sr.: From Friend to Friend to Enemy, Savitt Cites "Bad Blood"

James Vassallo can’t stop beating himself up. He blames himself for allowing [Elizabeth] Savitt to take control of his father’s finances. As result, he has a list of questions about Savitt’s actions that he says remains unanswered to his satisfaction.

Like in the O’Grady case, Vassallo sought the advice of Hark when he learned last year that his brother and sister had transferred $180,000 from the accounts of his father. And like in O’Grady, Hark steered him to Savitt, saying she would protect the assets of Albert Vassallo Sr., who was suffering from early stages of dementia.

Vassallo, who moved from Brooklyn to live next door and care for his father at Century Village in Deerfield Beach, says Savitt instead aligned with his sister who had taken $140,000 and other assets, according to demand letters.

Savitt successfully petitioned Judge French to remove Vassallo as a trustee to his father’s estate, which would have allowed him to retain some administrative control. Savitt claimed Vasallo wasn’t getting along with the very siblings, whose actions prompted him to seek the guardianship in the first place.

“If I knew her husband was a judge, I never would have went with her because whatever I said to her meant nothing. She can do whatever she wants because she has the court’s backing and that is exactly what is happening now,” said Vassallo.

In a voicemail that Vassallo still has, Savitt had assured him attorneys were working to remove his brother and sister but there was no reason to remove him because “you didn’t do anything wrong.” She did, however, suggest paying Hark more money to defend him just in case.

Elizabeth Savitt 

Vassallo said Savitt made her move to remove him from his father’s trust after he repeatedly questioned her billing practices. He estimates that Savitt and her attorneys collected $40,000 to get him off the trust. His father’s savings have been depleted by more than $200,000 in about year, he said.

Savitt said, “To accomplish getting he relief favorable to the Ward, and because of bad blood and conflicts between all three children of the Ward, it was agreed by the lawyers that I should be the sole trustee, not because of anything wrong James did.”

Vassallo produced email and bank statements showing how Savitt doubled-billed his father’s accounts by about $7,300 and did not pay it back until he confronted her with the bank account statements. “She never would have given that back on her own,” Vassallo said. The $7,300 plus a $3,000 retainer fee came before a judge approved them and even before she submitted a petition to the court for that money.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  Albert Vassallo Sr.:  From Friend to Friend to Enemy, Savitt Cites "Bad Blood"

Guardianships: A Broken Trust, 115 Recusals in Six Months

His wife’s [Elizabeth Savitt] job as a professional guardian leaves Judge Colin compromised, handcuffing him from fully doing his job, The Post found. He’s recused himself from 115 cases that involve his wife’s lawyers in the last six months of 2015 after The Post started asking questions in its investigation.

“When you have a judge suddenly recuse himself of so many cases, it certainly sends up a red flag,” Jarvis said. “How did a judge allow himself to be put in such a position? I have never heard of a judge doing such a thing.”

Elizabeth Savitt

But Judge Colin doesn’t see a problem. Even before his recent mass recusals, he remarked in a court hearing that in the past he had required his wife’s attorneys to tell opposing lawyers that they represented Savitt.

But at least one attorney told The Post that’s not always how it worked. Gary Susser gave an example in which Colin’s disclosure policy fell short, saying he was “floored and shocked” when he found out about the conflict.

Attorney Sheri Hazeltine didn’t tell Susser until April that she works for Savitt, almost a year into a probate case, Susser said.

“She never disclosed her relationship until she was told by Judge Colin to do so,” he said. “It’s a huge concern for me when opposing counsel represents the judge’s wife.”

A transcript of the hearing shows Colin asking Hazeltine to disclose, she does so and then Susser objected to Colin continuing to preside over the case.

“It was news to me what I just found out,” Susser tells Colin.

Colin responds, “OK. That’s why we make what we call a disclosure.”

“Yeah,” Susser responds.

Colin then defends the policy that he would change later in the summer: “Can’t disclose until it’s, you know, ripe to disclose,” he tells Susser.

Colin had the case reassigned to another judge.

The judge spoke to The Post for hours, but because of his position, was limited in what he could say. He would only say on the record that he has dealt with the conflict with his wife properly through established methods.

Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  115 Recusals

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Judge's History of Debt, Foreclosures, IRS Liens

Judge Colin,  Elizabeth Savitt's husband

[Judge] Colin and [Elizabeth] Savitt are positioned as the power couple of the lucrative probate arena. Colin’s financial history, however, is littered with debt, including suits for foreclosure on three properties and $65,000 once owed to the IRS for back taxes.

Savitt also had a recent foreclosure on a property. The couple’s financial problems appear to have eased since she became a professional guardian.

Elizabeth Savitt, Judge Colin's wife

Financial records show Savitt’s finances are mainly separate from the judge’s, but it appears the couple has co-mingled finances at least somewhat, West Palm Beach accountant Richard Rampell said. He pointed to a co-signed $30,000 loan from Helen Rich, a Wrigley chewing gum heiress who was a former client of Colin’s when he practiced as a divorce lawyer.

And even with couples who keep their finances separate, there is bound to be overlap, Rampell said.

“It’s very common, especially if one makes more money than other. And even if they say they don’t, they often do,” Rampell.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  Judge's History of Debt, Foreclosures, IRS Liens

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: How Do You Convince a God He's Wrong?

The nation as a whole is beset by unscrupulous guardians, some of whom have been charged with crimes. Florida passed its first effort at reform last legislative session, including applying criminal penalties to guardians found guilty of abuse. Advocates say legislative reform, though, means nothing if judges are complicit in draining the life savings of seniors in guardianships.

Judges like Colin are the main line of defense against guardianship abuse.

Colin, 66, is one of a handful of judges in Palm Beach County Circuit Court who oversee guardians for incapacitated adults. When a senior is found to be incapacitated, they can lose all legal rights to make decisions for themselves. So these judges approve expenditures including fees for the guardian and the guardian’s attorney — again all coming from the senior’s money.

“The problems all arise from the judges and the lawyers and the greed-driven abusive guardians they enable,” said Dr. Sam Sugar, co-founder of Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, which spearheaded the Florida legislation.

“Judges are extremely insulated. They are legal gods who live in a court bubble in which they only believe what their friendly guardians tell them. I mean how do you convince a god that he or she is wrong? It’s a near incestuous fraternity.”

Full Article and Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  How Do You Convince a God He's Wrong?

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Helen O'Grady: Lawyer Agahst as Savitt Withdraws $30,000

Thomas Mayes of Boynton Beach sought legal advice in a dispute with his two brothers over his mother’s health care and finances. His attorney, Clifford Hark of Boca Raton, recommended [Elizabeth}Savitt as a guardian for his mother, Helen O’Grady.

Even with Savitt as guardian, it was Mayes who made his mother’s doctor’s appointments, managed her transportation, readied her house for sale — all tasks he thought Savitt should have handled.

After Mayes’ mother died, Savitt recommended that the family urge the court to appoint her curator of the estate, telling them it would save money for her to temporarily manage it until the family disputes were settled.

Once that happened and Mayes became personal representative of the estate, he said he could not get Savitt to pony up details of his mother’s financial picture and relinquish control.

Elizabeth Savitt

Before Mayes could get a grip on his mother’s finances, Savitt starting withdrawing money, court pleadings show.

She wrote herself a check for $1,725 and another for $1,745 to Hazeltine for fees before a judge approved it, according to a pleading filed by attorneys. Hazeltine said Savitt obtained an order allowing her to write the checks, but the order Hazeltine referenced said nothing about fees, court documents show.

Then Savitt took without proper court approval $30,000 to be “held in trust” by her and Hazeltine.

“This action is so beyond the realm of reasonable conduct that I can hardly express myself right now,” Mayes’ attorney, Christopher Salivar, said in a series of emails to Hazeltine.

Mayes’ lawyers, Andrew M. Schwartz and Salivar, told the court that Savitt actions amounted to the unlawful taking of O’Grady’s property.

“The foregoing actions in and of themselves fall within the textbook legal definition of conversion.”

Mayes agreed. “To me, I thought it was a criminal act. They were intentionally stealing it. This is how they make their money.”

Judge Edward Garrison ordered Savitt and Hazeltine to return all but about$2,600 of the $30,000.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianships: A Broken Trust

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Lorraine Hilton: Son Accused of Abuse Gets Money From Savitt

In the case of retired decorator Lorraine Hilton, Savitt’s actions benefited Hilton’s son Robert, who was accused of physically abusing and stealing from his mother, according to court documents. [Elizabeth] Savitt’s attorney Hazeltine persuaded Hilton herself — who had advancing dementia — to agree to a guardianship.

Her other son, James Hilton, learned in March 2013 that Savitt had taken control of his mother’s assets, though Lorraine Hilton had a living trust established in 2007. Lorraine Hilton in a declaration for a preneed guardian explicitly stated that she didn’t want her son Robert taking care of her.

James Hilton sought to intervene as an emergency guardian. He also wanted a restraining order against his brother, Robert. James Hilton cited incidents such as an “accident” in which Lorraine Hilton broke her hip and Robert left her at the hospital and left the state, court documents say.

“I am truly alarmed that a judicial process has been put in place there without me having been duly contacted,” wrote James Hilton, who died in February.

Robert Hilton declined to comment. Billing documents in the case indicate his many demands on Savitt, such as for $20,000 of his mother’s money to buy a warehouse.

Billings from Savitt and Hazeltine memorialize phone messages from Robert Hilton left for Savitt in which his mother can be heard weeping in the background. On another, she called when all of sudden Lorraine Hilton let out “a blood-curdling scream and cuts off.”

Savitt resigned after James Hilton came forward. James Hilton objected to Savitt’s final accounting, accusing her of funneling money to Robert Hilton.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  Lorraine Hilton:  Son Accused of Abuse Gets Money From Savitt

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Robert Wein, Costly Try at Annulling Marriage

The case of Robert Wein illustrates the often savage nature of guardianship cases. Family members say [Elizabeth] Savitt splits families into camps by pursuing what is called “staged litigation,” settling disputes in court to run up fees.

On one side is Daniel Wein, Robert’s brother.

The other side is Robert’s wife, Vita, and Jodi Rich, Daniel’s estranged daughter.

Rich said all Savitt has done as guardian is “bill, bill, bill” and criticized her lack of success in tracking down$700,000 in promissory notes owed to her late uncle, who died Dec. 1. Robert Wein was worth up to $3 million, according to court documents.

Though married in 1958, the couple renewed their vows in 2014 and obtained a Florida marriage license. Daniel Wein believed his brother divorced Vita, 82, and wasn’t competent enough to remarry. So for the last months of Robert Wein’s life, Savitt — as his guardian — focused on undoing the union of this elderly couple in a fight over what would be a lucrative estate.

Vita, as a spouse, can claim one-third of Wein’s estate. Daniel claims Vita Wein and Jodi Rich are interested only in that money.

“She has been guardian for 12 months and hasn’t done anything except try to dissolve the marriage of these two elderly people who had been married for 58 years,” said Rich before Wein’s death. “So there are two marriage licenses. Who cares? What’s the difference? They wanted to end their life together.”

Emails show Savitt discussing with Daniel Wein trying to get the authority to annul Robert’s marriage, contending he and Vita were divorced and that she tricked him into remarrying in 2014. Savitt also was trying before Robert’s death to amend the trust to give Daniel $150,000.

“Daniel and Savitt, they are in bed together,” Rich said. “We have a lot of evidence.”

Litigation on the marriage issue resulted in an expensive 2½ hour court hearing and depositions before the matter was dropped unceremoniously by Savitt at a hearing in August.

Elizabeth Savitt

“Savitt is the culprit here. She is the one who caused all the problems,” Rich said. “She shouldn’t be a guardian.” Daniel Wein, though, praised Savitt for protecting his brother’s assets.

“I don’t know how she handles her other cases; I know with this, particularly with my brother, they have been aboveboard,” he said.

Vita Wein, though, has pressed Savitt to explain her actions.

In a June 10 deposition and in his motion for Savitt’s removal, Vita’s attorney at the time, Rosenwater, repeatedly tried to get the judge’s wife to say why she hadn’t filed one invoice in the case in eight months but took $17,000 without prior court approval.

When Savitt refused to answer a question about whether she had any objections to a critical report to the court on Wein, Rosenwater was exasperated. “She can’t answer. It’s amazing,” he said.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  Robert Wein, Costly Try at Annulling Marriage

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Savitt's Home, $308,000 Staves Off Auction

In 2011, just before the Batson case, [Elizabeth] Savitt became a registered professional guardian. Savitt and Colin’s financial picture — replete with foreclosures, debt and liens — started to improve.

Savitt’s path from tennis professional to professional guardian didn’t require much heavy lifting. She completed 40 hours of training, put up a $50,000 bond for her firm Savitt Guardians and submitted to credit and criminal background checks.

The Department of Elder Affairs registered her as a professional guardian in 2011 despite a pending foreclosureon a home she owns in Delray Beach.

Savitt passed the credit check after telling the department that she was in a dispute with her lender and wasn’t past due because of “neglect or oversight.” It wasn’t until November 2014 that her dispute was settled with ajudgment of foreclosure, sending the house to the auction block.

Elizabeth Savitt

Six days before the home was to be auctioned off in March, she came up with $308,000 to satisfy a delinquent home equity loan, court records show. She didn’t make payments for several years on the $250,000 loan and rented out the home for a portion of that period.

Vassallo found the timing of the $308,000 payment suspicious. “I want to know if any of my father’s money went to her foreclosure case,” he said. When he told Judge French his concerns, a May 21 hearing was abruptly ended.

Despite the delinquencies, Savitt said she paid off the home equity loan on her property before the note was due. “I do not know how many professional guardians are debt free as I am,” she said.

Most of Savitt’s cases are in front of Judge French. Two of French’s ex-wives have described Colin and French as good friends who once planned a vacation together. The two judges have lunch together frequently in Delray Beach.

Families say they are also frustrated by the lack of transparency in the guardianship cases of their loved ones. It's not unusual for key documents regarding the guardian's activities to be sealed.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  Savitt's Home, $308,000 Staves Off Auction

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: The High Cost of Family Discord; Fees Blossom in Couret

The families involved in guardianship cases are often broken. Brothers hate sisters. Fathers characterize their own daughters as evil for opposing them in court. It’s not unusual for many family members to hire lawyers themselves, accusing one another of scheming to get the riches of the incapacitated senior.

Families who spoke to The Post say [Elizabeth] Savitt exploits those rifts to pursue litigation that drives up her fees. Savitt’s attorneys, though, say it’s the family rancor that necessitates costly actions in guardianships, such as removing a sibling from a trust of a senior.

“I don’t know if they seek out cases where there is family dysfunction, but they certainly take advantage of it,” said Bruce Rosenwater, a West Palm Beach attorney who sought to remove Savitt from a guardianship.

Elizabeth Savitt

Some family members applaud Savitt. The husband of one of her wards, Dolores Thur, said she’s been a good caretaker and his wife’s assets have been documented painstakingly. Lester Thur, 84, says he doesn’t think any criticism of Savitt is justified even though his wife’s case is under investigation by the clerk, which has questioned several items in the annual inventory, including double-billing.

In five Savitt cases The Post examined, however, family members said the judge’s wife seemed more interested in the money from the estate than caring for the incapacitated senior.

The cases involved Brooklyn plumber Vassallo, 87; Kansas schoolteacher Helen O’Grady, 83; New York accountant Robert Paul Wein, 89; Chicago-area decorator Lorraine Hilton, 94; and Gwendolyn Batson, 89, a retired school administrator who lived in Lake Worth.

O’Grady died in 2012, Batson in 2013 and Wein died Dec. 1, but the other two are still alive and under the power of Savitt.

Full Article and Source:
High Cost of Family Discord:  Fees Blossom in Court

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Gwen Batson: Savitt Clears House With Husband's Order

In a case The Post wrote about in April, [Elizabeth] Savitt along with attorney Sheri Hazeltine — who represents Savitt in many cases — hauled out belongings from Gwendolyn Batson’s Lake Worth home. Photos show they took nearly everything but the chandelier. Wearing badges with the word “guardian,” they invoked an order signed by Judge Colin, witnesses told The Post.

Colin’s order appointed Batson’s brother and sister-in-law as emergency temporary guardians for Batson in late January 2012, court records show. That decision would be oreversed by a successor judge, but not before Savitt and Hazeltine in mid-February broke the lock on the home that Batson lived in and seized all of the belongings.

It turned out the home and much of the property seized didn’t belong to Batson but to restaurateur Skender Hoti, a Kosovo native who had taken care of Batson for decades. To get appointed emergency temporary guardian, Batson’s brother, Kenneth Davis, claimed Hoti had taken financial advantage of his sister. Colin agreed, noting in his order that immediate action needed to be taken to safeguard Batson’s belongings.

But if Hoti was taking advantage of Batson, it was a long con. Their relationship spanned decades. She traveled to Kosovo to attend his wedding and was a fixture at Hoti’s Lake Worth restaurant, Little Italy. Hoti claimed the guardianship was a means for Davis to seize his sister’s properties.

Davis used Colin’s order — employing the judge’s wife to help — to seize all the possessions in the home where his sister lived.

Elizabeth Savitt

As Savitt and others moved items into a truck, Hoti called sheriff’s deputies who stopped them. The two argued that they had authority from Judge Colin but the deputies said the order was insufficient, that they needed what is called a writ of possession.

Hoti said he saw Savitt scream at deputies: “You can’t do that. I’m a judge’s wife. I’m Judge Colin’s wife."

Three days after the seizure of Hoti’s property, Colin recused himself from the case.

Savitt wasn’t Batson’s guardian, yet Judge French approved paying her $1,500 of Batson’s money. The clerk questioned the expenditure more than a year after the house was cleared out and then Savitt submitted a bill, court documents show.

Hoti said even though deputies made them return his possessions, he later found valuables missing: jewelry, firearms and about $18,000 in cash.

Full Article and Source:
Gwen Batson:  Savitt Clears House With Husband's Order

Guardianships: A Broken Trust

Reporter John Pacenti

by John Pacenti, Palm Beach Post Reporter

Judge Martin Colin is married to guardian Elizabeth Savitt. She manages the lives of seniors who can’t take care of themselves.

With her career choice comes complications … and accusations – her husband’s influence over her lawyers; another judge, his daily lunch companion, approving her fees; and her taking money from the seniors before any judge approves it.





Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust

See Also:
How We Got the Story

Explore the Documents

The Past Hot Water Over His Wife

The Couple's Financial Picture

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: Judge, Wife Benefit From Frail Seniors' Money

The savings of incapacitated seniors flow into the household of Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Martin Colin.

This occurs courtesy of Colin’s wife — Elizabeth “Betsy” Savitt. She serves as a professional guardian, appointed by judges to make decisions for adults who no longer can take care of themselves.

Savitt makes her money off the nest eggs of the elderly, many suffering from dementia and put in guardianships in the same Probate & Guardianship Division where Judge Colin wields considerable influence. His fellow judges approve Savitt’s fees.

Savitt has taken money from the elderly people whose lives she controls without first getting a judge’s approval as well as double-billed their accounts, a Palm Beach Post investigation has uncovered in court records. Families of some of the seniors say the judge’s wife and her attorneys drum up unnecessary litigation that runs up fees, benefiting herself, the judge and her lawyers.

Judge David French

Savitt doesn’t appear before her husband, but Judge Colin does oversee other guardianship cases where he is responsible for safeguarding the finances and well-being of these “wards” of the court. Colin’s colleague, Circuit Judge David French who lunches with him regularly, has overseen almost two-thirds of Savitt’s cases. Some lawyers who have opposed Savitt in Judge French’s courtroom say he didn’t disclose that Savitt is the wife of a fellow judge or his social connections to the couple.

The lawyers Savitt has hired to represent her also practiced before her husband in other cases, where he had the power to approve their fees. A former Florida Supreme Court chief justice and a law professor say this constitutes, at minimum, an appearance of impropriety and should be investigated.

Full Article and Source:
Judge, Wife Benefit From Frail Senior's Money