“The elders have the right to be heard and respected.”

Me Ann Soden

Instead of going through the courts to address issues of financial exploitation or abuse towards the elderly, Me Ann Soden offers mediation to simplify the process and make the elders a quality of life and the respect of their rights.

The lawyer and mediator licensed montreal is a pioneer in the area of elder Law. It opened in 2007, a legal clinic, a mobile pro bono (free services). She was passing through the area in mid-September, to represent an elderly person.

there are so much injustice to the elderly, this is terrible inhumanity in the face of them. For me it is a privilege and an honor to help them. They are grateful for

Me Ann Soden

“It serves the whole of the province and meeting with seniors in a familiar environment in order to make them more comfortable. It also allows us to check if the people around, often family, control or manipulate our client, stresses Me Soden.

“The elders do not know their rights and families. They do not abuse it, not always intentionally, but in some cases they give themselves the right to take the money, because they take care of the person,” laments the lawyer.

Rights violated

For Me Ann Soden, the cases of injustice and abuse against seniors are many. “The basis, the seniors have the right to be involved in the decisions, of having their wishes honored and to get respect, she said.

“The legal representatives think that as soon as a mandate in case of incapacity is certified, they can take all the decisions without regard to the wishes of their mother or their father. This is not the case, says Me Soden.

“The problem is that they choose depending on their values and decisions will often go against what it wants to the person. It is insulting to the latter.”

Simplified process

The legal clinic founded by Me Ann Soden, is designed to streamline the process in cases of abuse and allows you to avoid prosecution of fraud against the legal representatives, among others.

“The person may have memory loss, but is very capable of understanding that his nephew has neglected to pay for their accommodation. It assists in there, arrangements are made simple with something like a pre-authorized payment and revokes the power of attorney to the nephew, quotes the lawyer as an example.

“It involves the elder in all decisions. We made an assessment of the degree of skill, but also of the legal representative to determine whether he has a heart to help the elder, if he is honest or is a good manager, ” she adds.

“If there has been financial exploitation, are discussed in the presence of a banker, an accountant and a social worker. If the elder has money, we will hire someone to take care of its finances. Otherwise, it puts in place measures of protection. We are trying to recover the money, either directly or on the inheritance on the death of the customer,” mentions Me Soden.

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“The elders have the right to be heard and respected.”

Who Makes the Decisions for Your Elderly Loved Ones?

Many aging loved ones have plans for when they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves, but are those plans legally binding??

Advance directives -- legal documents like living wills and power of attorney -- tell your family, doctors and the court your plans for end of life care.

But Channel 2's Dave Huddleston spoke with families who said they lost custody of their loved ones because those advanced directives weren't honored in probate court.

“My mother made it clear who she wanted to take care of her and where she was going to live for the rest of her life,” Doug Franks told Huddleston.

In his mother’s advanced directives, 94-year-old Ernestine Franks said she wanted to stay in her Pensacola, Florida, home, and have her son, Doug, be her guardian when she could no longer make decisions for herself.

Doug Franks, who lives in Austell, already had power of attorney.

But after Ernestine Franks was confronted by a scammer while home alone, older brother, Charles Franks, wanted mom to move near his home in New Orleans. He said he contacted his mother's trust who suggested a private guardianship company step in.

“He stated this was the biggest mistake he's made in his life,” Doug Franks said.

Charles Franks also spoke to Channel 2 and explained his regret about the decision.

The brothers' dispute landed in court.

In August 2012, a Florida probate judge said Doug Franks was unsuitable and unfit to act as guardian because of the dispute.

"We got in trouble because we wanted the best and we had different opinions what was the best for our mom," Doug Franks said.

Ernestine Franks' advanced directives, which included declaring Doug Franks durable power of attorney, designated healthcare surrogate and future guardian, were voided.

A private guardianship company, Gulf Coast Caring Solutions, took control of Ernestine Franks' well-being, and Synovus Bank controlled millions of dollars in her trust.

“It was sad,” Doug Franks said. “The entire way, I drove back thinking I let my mother down, and she's never let me down.”

According to court records, the sons' visits with their mother were limited, and mostly supervised.

Gulf Coast Solutions asked the Franks brothers to not contact their mother three weeks after the guardianship was finalized so Ernestine Franks could establish a routine and bond with her caregivers.

Gulf Coast Solutions and Synovus gave up their rights to the Franks’ estate and Ernestine Franks in November 2014, citing a challenging relationship with the Franks brothers.

A Florida Judge appointed CPA J. Alan Kohr as her guardian and conservator. According to court transcripts, Kohr had been court appointed to serve as guardian or trustee in Escambia County, Florida, 46 previous times.

Doug Franks said guardians spent thousands from Ernestine Franks' trust on food, personal care and fighting the brothers in court.

“It's a dark cloud that's over us all the time,” Doug Franks told Huddleston.

According to Escambia County Court system, guardianship cases are not handled solely at the discretion of the judges.

“Like all other cases in the judicial system, there are statutes, rules and other legal authority that apply and judges use their discretion and judgment within the parameters of the legal authority,” Susan A. Woolf, general counsel for Escambia Courts, told Channel 2 by email.

“Yes, they can override the advance directives,” elder attorney Danielle Humphrey said.

Humphrey said Georgia probate judges rarely void advance directives, and private guardianship is nonexistent in Georgia, but can effect Georgians with loved ones in other states.

In places with a high retirement population -- like Florida -- adult guardianship is big business.

“Possession is nine-tenths of the law and unfortunately, once they become under guardianship, they're like your child,” Humphrey said.

When a loved one lives out of state, it puts them at risk.

She said private guardianship companies, and individuals, can take advantage of an isolated elder.

"They're in it for the money. It's a business, so they're going to treat your mother, or your father, like a business," Humphrey said.

Humphrey, and other experts, said living far from an aging loved one puts them at great risk. They also said an interfamily dispute often leaves probate judges at a loss as to how to deal with the aging relative.

According to the National Guardianship Association, nearly 3,000 jurisdictions regulate guardianship nationwide and everyone is different.

While they stressed there is a great need for guardians and many do a great service, but not a lot of information on guardians nationwide aren’t tracked, so abusive practices, even the number of guardians, is unknown.

Channel 2 spoke to other families who say their loved ones' advanced directives were voided by probate judges, but most guardianship records are closed so it is hard to know why a judge thought a company would be a better guardian than the family member named in the advance directive.

After a four-year fight, the Franks brothers said the guardianship company gave up, because the cash dried up. It was nearly $2 million.

The case went to mediation and the brothers were given guardianship of Ernestine Franks.

They consider it a blessing to have their mother back.

“I was lucky, I was lucky as hell,” Doug Franks said. “We're going to get her back. The key is to help other people, too, so this doesn't happen to them.”

Doug Franks has been working with legislators in Florida and families across the county to strengthen guardianship and probate legislation.

He told Huddleston he is now in the process of moving to Pensacola to be closer to Ernestine Franks.

Source:
Who Makes The Decisions for Your Elderly Loves Ones?

CLICK this link to see the news video

See Also:
NASGA - Ernestine Franks, FL Victim

Florida: Sanctions Motion Filed Against Lawyers in Bitter Guardianship Case

David Gersten

Former Third District Court of Appeal Chief Judge David Gersten is among three attorneys facing sanctions in a bitter probate case that has also engulfed a fourth lawyer in a criminal investigation.

Gersten is now a partner at Gordon & Rees. He and Miami attorneys Terry Fogel and Scott Rubin, of Fogel Rubin & Fogel, represent Jorge and Alina Lopez, the adult children of multimillionaire Jose Lopez Sr., who want to annul their father's marriage to his third wife, Mercy Flores.

The attorneys are all subject to a motion for sanctions by Flores' attorney, Michael Schlesinger of Schlesinger & Associates, under Florida Statute 57.105, which punishes parties for frivolous court filings.

Dismissing the allegations, Gersten said lawyers increasingly abuse the statute.

"I'm not worried at all about the 57.105. It's something that seems to be going on in our community quite a bit where lawyers seem to be trying to intimidate you into backing off a case," he said. "I want to state emphatically we are not intimidated at all, and I would be shocked if any court found any merit in any of their allegations."

A fourth lawyer, Miami tax attorney Edward Guttenmacher, may also be in the hot seat with the State Attorney's Office over allegations of elder abuse. Guttenmacher has been the senior Lopez's attorney for about 30 years and serves as his trustee, according to court records.

Guardianship questions

The elder Lopez has a history of marrying significantly younger brides. His first wife, the mother of the adult siblings involved in the probate litigation, died in 2000. His second wife, whom he later divorced, was decades his junior. He married Flores, now 55, in 2014 after years of friendship and two months of negotiating a prenuptial agreement, according to her attorneys.

Under the settlement, Flores surrendered any rights from the pre-need document in exchange for exclusive use of the marital home and daily visitation with her husband, among other conditions.

But the wife petitioned the court to set aside the settlement, claiming the siblings defrauded her and never intended to honor it.

"A few months after they got appointed as guardians, they moved to annul the marriage and exclude her from visitation," Schlesinger said.

The siblings' attorneys fired back, as did David Goldberg, a court-appointed lawyer representing the elder Lopez. Each filed motions to dismiss Flores' action.

"I don't have a dog in the fight in the annulment; I don't have a dog in the fight in the trust case," Goldberg said. "What my client wanted was that his children should be the guardians."

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Bernard Shapiro Tuesday denied their requests and cleared the way for the wife to push forward with her claims.

Fees take center stage

Attorneys on each side alleged their adversaries were drawing out the dispute for bigger paydays and acting in their own best interest, rather than that of Jose Lopez.

The siblings' attorneys pointed to Guttenmacher's creation of a trust that would compensate his firm for more than 60 years, as well as his greenlighting of the trust's reimbursement of Flores' litigation costs. But Schlesinger maintains that Lopez's living trust gave the trustee discretion in covering Flores' expenses and therefore allowed reimbursement of her litigation bills.

"You have a trustee who's paying for litigation against his own client," Gersten alleged during oral arguments. "Against his own client. I say it twice because I need it for the record for the appellate court."

Both judges at Monday's hearings voiced concerns over depletion of the estate's funds to cover litigation.

"I could easily see this costing $1 million," Miller said, requesting the litigants secure budgets from their lawyers to outline all expenses.

Court records show the trust paid Goldberg, Lopez's court-appointed lawyer, $42,154 for attorney's fees and expenses from April 3 to Dec. 17, 2015. Gersten is a legal heavyweight who commands $750 per hour for meditations. Schlesinger charges $585 per hour.

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Sanctions, Motions Filed Against Lawyers in Bitter Guardianship Case

Fees in Bitter Family Dispute Prompt Judge's Call for Litigation Budget

A family law judge is recommending a litigation budget to detail all costs in an acrimonious family dispute gearing to rack up more than a million dollars in attorney fees and costs.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge David Miller on Monday said he was "about a nanosecond away" from requiring attorneys on both sides to draw up budgets for their clients in a case pitting a millionaire's adult children against his third wife.

"If your clients knew they were going to be $2 million light … they might reconsider the wisdom of this case," Miller said toward the end of a contentious hearing to annul the marriage of Jose Lopez and Mercy Flores, who married in 2014. "I could easily see this costing $1 million."

Lopez's children suggest Flores manipulated their elderly father, an Alzheimer's patient more than 20 years her senior, into marriage after allegedly having a sexual relationship with his son. They won the right to serve as guardians of his estate, estimated to be worth more than $30 million.

The ongoing case spawned motions for sanctions against the guardians' attorneys and a reported criminal investigation against Lopez's longtime friend and trustee, Ed Guttenmacher.

Full Article and Source:
Fees in Bitter Family Dispute Prompt Judge's Call for Litigation Budget

Probate Judges Urged to Use Mediation More Often in Emotionally Charged Cases

Probate court cases are often emotionally charged, with family members arguing about such topics as the terms of a will or how to best handle an elderly parent's care.

While probate court judges routinely hold hearings and issue decisions, probate courts also offer mediation, a chance for the parties to resolve their disputes amicably and in a less formal setting. The state's probate court leadership is pushing for more cases to be resolved this way.

As part of this push, on March 9 the Quinnipiac University School of Law's Center for Dispute Resolution hosted about 60 probate judges from around the state for a daylong training session in mediation. The probate courts approached Quinnipiac about doing a custom program for the judges, and Quinnipiac did the program for free.

Probate Court Administrator Paul Knierim said mediation is a "perfect fit" for probate cases. "I say that because almost all probate cases are filled with emotion," Knierim said. "The techniques used in mediation help parties better come to terms with those emotions and understand each other better while working toward a settlement."

The mediation program has been in place for several years, but there aren't any statistics for how often it is used. However, there is a system in place allowing parties to pick a mediator from a panel of probate judges and retired judges. The overall goal, according to Knierim, is to have more cases get resolved through mediation.

"My hope is that the exposure of all of our judges to this training will keep it at the top of their minds, and will result in judges discussing the topic of mediation more frequently with parties," Knierim said. "Sometimes it takes encouragement from judges before people who are at odds will think about working toward a settlement."

Mediation provides a neutral third party to facilitate negotiations and get the parties thinking about solutions that will please everyone, said Carolyn Wilks Kaas, an associate professor of law at Quinnipiac and co-director of the school's dispute resolution center.

"The mediator is trained to run the process so people can express what brought them into this conflict," Kaas said. "With probate court, it is almost always families. It could be a case where the mother has Alzheimer's disease, but the children have different ideas about how to help her. Through mediation, people can sit and talk and more creatively come up with a solution, like taking turns caring for their mother. The mediator doesn't decide the case, they help the parties decide their own case."

In the probate system, a mediator can be any judge other than the one normally assigned to the case. If the mediator is unable to help the parties reach a settlement, the case goes back to the presiding judge for a decision. The push to have more cases resolved through mediation could mean more work for retired judges, according to Knierim.

The probate courts' rules on mediation also were updated in recent months with the goal of increasing its use, Knierim said. The maximum daily mediation fee was set at $350, for example.

Probate courts often handle cases such as contested wills, disputes in the settlement of estates, hospitalization of people with psychiatric issues and guardianships of children if a parent can't care for a child due to substance abuse or incarceration.

"You are dealing with family dynamics and emotional situations all the time in probate court," Knierim said. "Most of our cases involve disputes among family members. It is better if they can find a way through mediation to come to their own agreement rather than fight it out and have a judge decide it for them."

When families choose mediation, they have a better chance of coming out of their dispute with relationships intact, according to Knierim. "A settlement which family members agree on themselves is far more promising for the long-term health of family relationships than a litigated outcome," Knierim said.

Knierim would like to have events like the one at Quinnipiac on a regular basis, approximately once every couple of years. The March training included discussion of mediation essentials, including what approaches work best and how to handle difficult parties or attorneys. There was also a simulated mediation involving a will being disputed by stepsiblings.

Kaas, the Quinnipiac associate professor, asserted that mediation isn't used enough in the probate courts now. Echoing Knierim, she said: "At the core of so many probate disputes are family matters. Mediation helps preserve ongoing relationships. Sometimes mediation can have the therapeutic result of mending fences. It is definitely something that should be used more."

Kaas said she hopes the training event provides a foundation for future sessions and more advanced training. "While all the judges have settlement experience, not all have mediation training," Kaas said. "Mediation is different, and the courts wanted to improve the training of all judges. I know the probate court is trying to increase the use of mediation."

Meriden probate judge Brian Mahon, who attended the training, said while the courts have had a mediation program, it hasn't been used much. Typically, probate judges have suggested it for the more difficult cases, he said. "It has not been used extensively, and it is hoped that in the future, we could use it more," Mahon said. "The seminar was to give us really good training in techniques and methods to use." •

Full Article & Source:
Probate Judges Urged to Use Mediation More Often in Emotionally Charged Cases

Trying mediation to stem family feuds

Former 12th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Lee Haworth

By Barbara Peters Smith

When bad blood runs in the family of an elder who develops dementia or frailty, the situation can slither downhill fast.

Entrenched rivalries and resentments only complicate the thorny question of how best to care for a vulnerable older parent or spouse. One brother may suspect another of financial exploitation, or an adult stepdaughter may accuse her mother’s second husband of neglect or even abuse.

If the dispute reaches a point where attorneys are consulted or authorities called, the likely result is an adult guardianship process that strips the elder of any legal right to make decisions, and places a relative or professional in full charge of his or her finances, personal life and health care. The more complicated and deep-seated the family feud, the more likely it is that a probate judge will appoint an outsider to act as guardian.

“I’ve served in every division,” says former 12th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Lee Haworth, who retired in August after 26 years. “But the anger that burns in probate cases burns incandescent.”

Divorce court can get ugly, too, he adds, “but there you only usually have two parties. Here, you can have dozens. You can imagine all the slights that a sibling experienced — all those things bubble to the surface when the adult parent becomes incapacitated. All those hostilities, all those concerns about where the estate’s going to go, get very intense.” 

Families unhappy with Florida’s probate system say that instead of resolving discord, guardianship can make matters worse. They tell stories of intrusive professional oversight that depletes an elder’s life savings, while restricting the ward’s access to friends and relatives. They have sought, and obtained, limited reforms of the process in the Legislature.

Now the 12th circuit — with courts in Sarasota and Manatee counties — is one of eight Florida districts embarking on a new experiment with potential to stem the costly and bitter litigation that can erupt in guardianship cases. If successful, it could one day help families settle differences without resorting to probate court.

Eldercaring coordination is a conflict resolution method that brings all interested parties to one table for the purpose of developing a caregiving plan. Modeled on a concept used successfully in high-conflict divorce cases — parenting coordination — it is the product of a two-year collaboration among 20 Florida organizations, and 21 more on the national level.

Fifth Circuit Judge Michelle T. Morley, with Linda Fieldstone, director of family court services in the 11th Circuit, steered the Florida and national task forces to the pilot project stage. In addition to the eight Florida circuits, four state systems — Indian, Idaho, Ohio and Minnesota — are testing the value of treating incapacitated adults as family members who need care, instead of probate prizes to be fought over.

“The idea of a one-size-fits-all system for everybody is just not appropriate,” Fieldstone says of the guardianship process. “It shouldn’t be an adversarial system. We don’t do that with younger families; we shouldn’t be doing that with older families.”

Haworth is acting as administrator for this circuit, referring cases for possible resolution by one of three coordinators during the two-year pilot project. Each district has been asked to handle at least six cases in that period, and the results will be evaluated by academic researchers. The goal is to save time, money and angst, while concentrating on the elder’s safety and autonomy.

“Everyone says in the courtroom, ‘I’m here for my mom’s best interests.’ It’s really different when you sit down and you’re asked to present a plan together,” says Erika Dine, a Bradenton elder law attorney who will lead the three-person team, and is already working on her first case.

The other two local coordinators are retired New Jersey judge and mediator Karimu Hill-Harvey of Myakka City, and Debra K. Carter, a Sarasota psychologist, mediator and parent coordinator. The requirements for the job are rigorous, including at least a master’s degree, experience in a related field, and weeks of specialized training.

“It’s putting the solution back in the family’s hands, with the assistance of the eldercaring coordinator,” Dine explains. “As the coordinator, I can bring in experts and say, ‘Let’s sit together here and figure out what is the best plan, without you having to go to annihilation in court.'”

Haworth heard about the concept from Morley, and brought it to Chief Judge Charles Williams this summer. Around the same time, Dine says, she and a fellow attorney approached Williams to ask whether the collaborative approach used in family court might apply to adult guardianship cases.

These discussions coincided, Haworth says, with Herald-Tribune articles “about some of the problems about guardianship. Judge Williams is very interested in making sure the guardianship program is working in the best interests of these incapacitated people. He said, ‘This looks great; let’s try it.'”

Haworth says he is “cautiously optimistic” about eldercare coordination, despite two major hurdles. Because the method is experimental and not court-ordered, all family members must volunteer to participate. And because it’s unfunded, each participant will foot a portion of the cost — although coordinators may do some work pro bono.

“If one person refuses, that’s the end of it; the model is set up that you have to buy into it,” Haworth says. “The second thing is the money thing. I think that’s actually easier than the first one, because you can sell the idea that it’s going to be cheaper than litigation.”

The concept’s success, he believes, will depend on the coordinators chosen to implement it.

“It takes special people to do this; it takes a compassionate person who also has to follow legal principles,” he says. Embattled families are “so angry at the whole process, and don’t want to spend any more money, and that’s something the eldercare coordinator is going to have to overcome.”  (Continue Reading)

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Trying mediation to stem family feuds

Holocaust Survivor's Guardianship Saga NEVER STOPS

In August, 89-year-old State Ward and Holocaust Survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Marie Winkelman got another bill. This time, Marie owes her attorney, Audrey Bear of Sarasota more than $17,000.00 for services she provided to Marie from before she became Marie’s attorney until January 2014Amongst the multitudes of charges claimed by Bear are over $1,600.00 for the hours Bear, Marie, and Beverly Newman, elder advocate, spent together on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, reviewing Marie’s case of gross guardianship abuse.

For four hours on December 31, 2013, Bear, Marie, and Newman discussed Marie’s appeal of the court order that ended her freedom as an independent woman and seized all of her bank accounts, investments, and a trust worth millions, pursuant to a mediated settlement agreement signed by Bear’s friends and fellow attorneys, Rebecca Proctor and Christopher Likens, in addition to attorneys Kimberly Bald and Barry Spivey. On November 25, 2013, these attorneys had signed the mediated settlement agreement without Marie being present or even seeing the agreement, without any record being made of the secret mediation meeting held at attorney Gary Larsen’s office, and without Marie’s consent to its terms or her signature upon the document.

The secret meeting produced an agreement that was subsequently adopted by Probate Judge Deno Economou on December 3, 2013, without holding the mandatory incapacity evidentiary hearing, thus denying Marie her Constitutionally-guaranteed rights to due process.

Although Bear charged Marie over $1,600.00 for the time she spent telling Marie about her rights to appeal the court order that stole her freedoms, Bear never filed the notice of appeal that she promised would be filed with the court that same day, when Marie gave Bear $400.00 in checks to pay for the appeal.

Now, hundreds of thousands of dollars later, dozens of attorneys, guardians, psychiatrists, physicians, and other service providers have reaped windfall benefits from Marie’s guardianship.

To support Marie Winkelman at her guardianship trial, please pray and come to:
Courtroom 8B
Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center
2002 Ringling Blvd.
Sarasota, FL  34237

Judge Deno Economon
Monday, September 22, 2014 at 10 AM 

Source:  Email notification from Beverly Newman

Police Commission Authorizes Probe of Shady Inheritance

The chairman of the city's Police Commission announced that the commission will authorize an independent review into circumstances surrounding Sgt. Aaron Goodwin's disputed $2.7 million inheritance after the estate is settled.

“The case will reach a conclusion, either through trial or mediation,” said Commissioner John Golumb. “At that point, the Police Commission will authorize an independent review of the events and decisions that were made, which have given rise to concerns both internally and externally.”

A mediation hearing about Goodwin's contested inheritance was held all day Monday, when lawyers for most of the parties discussed dollars and percentages that could settle the case without a trial, said attorney Jim Ritzo.

 

A 2009 will for the late Geraldine Webber was written by Ritzo and did not name Goodwin as a beneficiary. Hampton attorney Gary Holmes wrote a new will and trust for Webber in 2012, which leaves Goodwin the majority of her estate, including a riverfront home, stocks, bonds and a Cadillac.

 

Multiple parties are contesting the 2012 will and trust, alleging that Goodwin exerted undue influence over Webber while she was impaired by dementia. The case has prompted multiple news stories, has been widely discussed and motivated one retiree to protest in Market Square.

 

“We are sympathetic to the frustrations of the community over the commission's inability to address their concerns, due to the nature of the pending litigation and our effort to preserve the integrity of the process,” Golumb said. “We are, however, committed to addressing all concerns at the appropriate time.”

 

Ritzo said he attended much of Monday's mediation hearing and that attorney Alan Cronheim also represented his interests. Ritzo said he was never paid by Webber for the 25 years he worked as her attorney and submitted a $65,000 bill to her estate for those services.

 

Ritzo said the mediation hearing was presided over by retired judge and Portsmouth resident John Maher, who “worked hard” to facilitate an agreement. According to Ritzo, many proposals were discussed and the overall theme was to create a new estate document that's a combination of the 2009 will and the 2012 will and trust.

 

Specifics discussed during Monday's hearing are confidential, but a report summarizing the final outcome will be public, Ritzo said.

 

“I think the case will settle,” he said. “They discussed putting something together that will make everyone happy.”

 

Under the terms of Webber's 2009 will, the city police and fire departments were each designated to receive one-quarter of Webber's estate, after the sale of her home and assets. In the will and trust Webber endorsed in 2012, the departments are each named as $25,000 beneficiaries.

 

Webber's disabled grandson, Brett, is represented by attorney Lisa Bellanti. Webber's only living heir, he was excluded from the 2012 will and trust.

 

Any agreement reached Monday would have to be approved by a probate court judge. A trial to hear evidence in the case is scheduled for January 2015.

 

Webber died in December 2012 at age 94.

 

Full Article and Source:
Police Commission Authorizes Probe of Goodwin's Inheritance

Binding Arbitration Unhelpful in Elder Care Dispute

When Karen Fritz retired from a career at Rosauers Supermarkets nine years ago, she began taking care of her aging mother.

Soon, it became apparent her mom, Alice Newton, could no longer look out for herself. Her vision was failing. She was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Fritz moved in with her. It was a challenge, but it was also a joy, Fritz said. They planted a garden together. Fritz would put her mom in her wheelchair and take her out shopping.

“We had a lot of fun,” said Fritz, who is now 71.

But in 2009, Newton stopped sleeping well. She wouldn’t stay in her bed at night. Fritz, exhausted, turned to a new facility in Spokane Valley for help. Fritz put her mom in the center for a few days of respite care, so she could get some badly needed rest.

What happened at the Pine Ridge Alzheimer’s Special Care Center over the next six days is a matter of sharp dispute, and of a legal process that’s done virtually nothing to clarify that dispute. Fritz says her mother returned home with unexplained bruises and rug burns, complaining in consistent and specific ways about abuse and threats from caregivers at the center.

The center denies that it abused or neglected Newton and says the ailing woman made many accusations that were, on their face, untrue. A state inspector was coincidentally at the center during Newton’s stay and investigated her claims, finding that the center had improperly turned off her bed alarm and not investigated her claims quickly enough, but issued no abuse or neglect citations, said Gerald Kobluk, the attorney who represented Pine Ridge and its owner, JEA Senior Living.

“JEA Senior Living is one of the good guys out there,” Kobluk said. “They have an exceptional reputation and a spotless record.”

The case exemplifies many of the legal and personal challenges that surround an aging population, including the highly uncertain way that many claims against elder care facilities are resolved. When she put her mother into Pine Ridge, Fritz agreed to resolve almost all disputes through binding arbitration. An arbitrator awarded her $150,000 in December based on her claim of negligence but ruled in favor of the center on Fritz’s claims of neglect and abuse.

Under state law, negligence is a “failure to exercise ordinary care.” Under the Vulnerable Adult Protection Act, neglect is a “pattern of conduct or inaction” that causes harm by someone with a duty to care for a vulnerable adult.

Fritz’s attorney, Doug Spruance, calls it “an impossible ruling,” and an example of the way that binding-arbitration agreements limit a plaintiff’s ability to seek justice. He sees the finding as contradictory, the kind of thing that should be tested on appeal.

“You can’t have no neglect and have negligence,” he said. “I’ve won losers and I’ve lost winners throughout my career. I’ve never seen something that I feel so strongly would be reversed on appeal.”
The use of binding-arbitration agreements is increasing as long-term-care facilities try to hold down their liability expenses, which are steadily rising. Critics of the agreements say that many people – like Fritz – enter them unknowingly or thoughtlessly, and are signing away their rights to a jury trial or appeal.

Full Article and Source:
Shawn Vestal:  Binding Arbitration Unhelpful in Elder Care Dispute

Free Marie Winkelman: Pray for Justice Now

Marie Winkelman’s guardianship has a large cast of characters who benefit from her status as a Ward of the State of Florida, including family members and quasi-family members, as well as a host of attorneys and numerous service providers that were unknown to Marie before she was forced into guardianship.

A Large Cast of Attorneys
Marie’s first guardianship attorney, Erika Dine, was appointed by Judge Deno Economou, who single-handedly presides over the probate courts in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, Florida. Dine was also the attorney who represented the guardian (Aging Safely, Inc.) of Al Katz, who was an 89-year-old Holocaust Survivor, as is Marie. See this writer’s previous investigative series on the Al Katz guardianship.

Barry Spivey, Marie’s next attorney, prepared and signed a mediated settlement agreement that he asked Judge Economou to adopt in his incapacity and guardianship order, which declared Marie to be incapacitated and made Sabal Trust Company her Trustee. Spivey never showed the Agreement to Marie before or after it was signed and never told her he had a closed hearing with the Judge to declare Marie incapacitated and put her into guardianship, losing all control of her millions of dollars in trust.

Also attending the secret hearing on December 2, 2013, was Rebecca Proctor, the attorney for Marie’s two guardians, Raymond Millman and Alina Koren, Marie’s sole blood relative, who was rescued by Marie from Poland as a toddler after the Holocaust. Attorney Proctor is a Director of Aging Safely, which is the agency that was Al Katz’s guardian for two months, during which time he went from fully verbal and mobile to “imminent death” status.

Both Proctor and Alina Koren (plus her husband, Dr. Yoram Koren) signed the Mediated Agreement that made Marie’s trust part of her guardianship and transformed it from revocable to irrevocable, thereby sealing the beneficiaries of the trust forever, including Alina Koren. Thus, its primary beneficiaries, Marie’s stepdaughters – Corinne Szychowski and Diane Winkelman – are set to inherit millions of dollars each from the trust.

Full Article and Source:
Free Marie Winkelman: Pray for Justice Now

See Also:
Marie Winkelman Guardianship:  A Test Case to Lower the Bar on Incapacity in Florida

The Taking of Marie Winkelman 1-2-3

Who is Marie Winkelman? Marie is the author of a book about her experiences as a Holocaust survivor in Poland titled "Keeping a Promise:  To Tell My Story of Survival in Warsaw During WWII."

“On December 4th, 2013, a beautiful and brilliant 88-year-old Holocaust Survivor named Marie Winkelman was put into guardianship in the Sarasota, Florida Probate Court – without a hearing – based upon a mediation agreement,” states Beverly Newman, President of the Al Katz Center.
Marie is the second victim of elder abuse in Sarasota County, Florida. The first was Al Katz, the father of Beverly Newman, another Holocaust Survivor.

The similarity of the two cases is striking and presents a pattern of what some believe constitutes “judicial cronyism.” It is a system that takes the liberty and property of its victims – usually the elderly.

“Marie is a recent resident of Bird Key who still lives independently and keeps her home in immaculate condition. The mediation agreement was prepared by Federal Mediator Gary H. Larsen, which Marie did not see until after the mediation. Her fortune of many millions, which she earned through decades of hard work and prudent investments, is now in the hands of a company named Sabal Trust Company with which she has never had any contact. Through the mediated agreement, she is given a monthly allowance of her own money, despite the fact she has always spent her money judiciously,” notes Newman.

What makes Marie’s case different is the possible collusion to have Marie found incompetent not by strangers but by Robert Szychowski who is married to Marie’s step-daughter Corinne. This is the highest form of betrayal by the one person Marie trusted the most. She trusted Szychowski so much she signed a Durable Power of Attorney (POA) giving Szychowski control over every aspect of her life and wellbeing.  Marie made Szychowski her “attorney-in-fact” (my Agent) granting him “The power to exercise or perform any act, power, duty, right or obligation whatsoever…”

Full Article and Source:
The Taking of Marie Winkelman 1-2-3

See Also:
NASGA:  Marie Winkelman, Florida Victim

The Secret meeting that changed Holocaust Survivor Marie Winkelman’s life – Hopefully not Forever!

 

Cloaked in secrecy, a mediation meeting in a lawyer’s office was held on November 25, 2013, under order of the Sarasota County Probate Court, to determine whether or not 89-year-old Holocaust Survivor Marie Winkelman was or was not capacitated and if or if not she needed to be put into Florida’s vast guardianship system, which controls the lives of scores of thousands of elders. This is the third part of an investigative series on Marie’s guardianship case. Please go here to read Part I and Part II.

Although Marie escaped death in the Warsaw Ghetto, where everyone in her large family (except one baby) was murdered, she has thus far not been able to be freed from a guardianship where most believe she never belonged.

What could possibly go wrong with court-ordered mediation?

The litany of answers to this question is nearly endless, beginning with something akin to “blackmail,” as one of the participants in Marie’s mediation described the circumstances under which the fateful Mediated Settlement Agreement was signed after hours of lawyer talk. Unlike litigation in an open courtroom, with a precise record made of the day’s actions and discussions, under oath or not, mediation is the antithesis of due process. There is no record even allowed of the mediation proceedings. A confidentiality statement must be signed by every participant. No judge is present, and the public is excluded. No witnesses testify. No evidence is presented. No appeal is possible once an agreement has been signed by all of the participants.

So how can you mediate someone’s incapacity, which, of necessity, requires due process protections?

Full Article & Source:
The Secret meeting that changed Holocaust Survivor Marie Winkelman’s life – Hopefully not Forever!

See Also:
Marie Winkelman's Case Demands Litigation, Not Mediation, To Protect Her Life, Liberty and Property

Marie Winkelman’s Case demands Litigation, not Mediation, to protect her Life, Liberty and Property?

This is the second column I have written about Marie Winkelman. Read the first column by clicking here. Marie is the author of a book about her experiences as a Holocaust survivor in Poland titled “Keeping A Promise: To Tell My Story of Survival in Warsaw During WW II.”

Marie is another victim of financial guardianship abuse.  The first I wrote about was Al Katz, the father of Beverly Newman, another Holocaust Survivor.

What is at stake here? A woman’s life, liberty and her property valued in excess of $3 million… in this case, a Holocaust Survivor who in childhood was robbed of her property and stability and now is re-living the traumas of betrayal and asset seizure.  Who benefits from Marie’s guardianship? Robert and Corinne Szychowski and the State of Florida’s guardianship system.

What is happening? The systematic financial abuse of an elder.

Audrey Bear

Audrey Bear, Marie’s lawyer, at a court hearing before Sarasota County Probate Court Judge Deno Economou on January 8, 2014 agreed to “mediate her clients capacity” with lawyers representing Robert Szychowski. This is not what Marie wants according to Beverly Newman, Director of the Al Katz Center.

Full Article & Source:
Marie Winkelman’s Case demands Litigation, not Mediation, to protect her Life, Liberty and Property?

Holocaust Survivor Guardianized in Florida

On December 4th, a beautiful and brilliant 88-year-old Holocaust Survivor named Marie Winkelman was put into guardianship in the Sarasota, Florida Probate Court – without a hearing – based upon a mediation agreement. Marie is a recent resident of Bird Key who still lives independently and keeps her home in immaculate condition.

The mediation agreement was prepared by Federal Mediator Gary Larsen, which Marie did not see until after the mediation. Her fortune of many millions, which she earned through decades of hard work and prudent investments, is now in the hands of a company named Sabal Trust with which she has never had any contact. Through the mediated agreement, she is given a monthly allowance of her own money, despite the fact she has always spent her money judiciously.

The numerous attorneys involved in her case, including Barry Spivey, Christopher Likens, Kim Bald, Rebecca Proctor, and Thomas Shults, will collect hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Survivor's assets, even though she was denied her due process rights.

Source:
NASGA Marie Lubowski Winkelman, Florida Victim

Don't Sign Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Homes

Full Article and Source:
Don't Sign Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Homes

Attorneys Tell Judge They are Trying to Settle Case Over Zsa Zsa Gabor's Care, Finances

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s daughter and husband are attempting to settle a dispute over the 95-year-old actress’ care and finances outside of court, attorneys told a probate judge Wednesday.

The two sides will meet with a retired probate judge in late June to try to mediate their issues without the need for a lengthy court fight.

Gabor’s daughter Constance Francesca Hilton has asked that a conservatorship be created to oversee the actress’ medical care and ensure that her assets are being properly protected. The petition is opposed by Frederic von Anhalt, Gabor’s husband of 25 years and her caretaker.

Hilton appeared for a brief scheduling hearing Wednesday but did not speak. Attorneys said they would report the results of the mediation at a hearing on July 11.

Full Article and Source:
Attorneys Tell Judge They are Trying to Settle Case Over Zsa Zsa Gabor's Care, Finances

See Also:
Petition Filed to Conserve Zsa Zsa Gabor

Mental Incapacitation Not a Factor in Signing Nursing Home Arbitration

A Kentucky federal court ruled Monday that an arbitration agreement signed by a nursing home resident is enforceable, even though the 74-year-old woman said she suffered from a major mental disorder.

The woman, Christine Abell, brought a suit against Life Care Center of Bardstown alleging negligence, gross negligence, wanton conduct, intentional conduct and disregard for her safety. Abell argued that she was mentally incapacitated when she was admitted, but the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky found that she was unable to demonstrate that age, sickness, extreme distress, or debility of the body invalidated her signature on the arbitration form, according to the Bureau of National Affairs.

While a pre-admission screening detected a “major mental disorder,” there was not proof to show that this prohibited Abell from understanding what she signed, the court stated.

Full Article and Source;
Court: Mental Incapacitation Not a Factor in Signing Nursing Home Arbitration

Mediators Try to Resolve Family Conflicts Over Aging Parents

The elderly man became increasingly alarmed as the battles among his five grown children grew acrimonious.

His two daughters, worried that he wasn't taking proper care of himself, wanted him to move to a retirement community. His three sons balked, insisting that he was managing fine in his own home. At a family meeting their father made this jarring announcement: I'm nearing the end of my life, and you are making me so unhappy that it might be easier if I killed myself and ended the fighting.

Unlike lawyers who are hired to advocate for one side, elder-care mediators function as impartial observers in a voluntary process designed to be less adversarial - and cheaper - than a court proceeding. Mediation is increasingly being recommended by lawyers and judges to families for whom a temporary stalemate or long-term estrangement has morphed into a full-blown crisis, often triggered by parental disability. Mediators say their job is not to dictate a solution, but to establish a framework for making decisions and to forge a consensus that is right for a particular family.


Full Article and Source:
Mediators Try to Help Families Resolve Conflicts Over Aging Parents

Mediation Offers Resolution (and Solutions) Without Court

There is an alternative to going to court when individuals or businesses are in conflict. Mediation can be not only less expensive and divisive than traditional lawsuits, but also carry the weight of a court ruling.

Attorney Christine Pate says mediators are not judges.

“If two or more people have a dispute, they may be thinking about taking it to court. Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution. You may have one or two mediators assisting the parties to facilitate an agreement. I think the term is that the ‘mediator owns the process, and the participants own the content.’ So the mediator doesn’t really make decisions for the parties, they just help them reach an agreement.”

Bosman also says mediation can be far less expensive than going to court.

Still, most people who end up in mediation are referred by the court system. There are two mediation programs within the state courts: Child Custody and Visitation, and the relatively new Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship, which is designed to settle disputes involving “vulnerable” adults over the age of eighteen. But Bosman says mediation is useful over a spectrum of issues.

“Almost any type of dispute can be mediated. There are certainly a few exceptions to that. One would be child abuse or neglect; the issue of domestic violence itself can’t be mediated; also criminal guilt cannot be mediated. Beyond that, mediation is used in a broad realm of issues: labor disputes, property disputes, all kinds of domestic disputes.”

[Attorney Corrie]Bosman also says mediation can be far less expensive than going to court. Still, most people who end up in mediation are referred by the court system. There are two mediation programs within the state courts: Child Custody and Visitation, and the relatively new Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship, which is designed to settle disputes involving “vulnerable” adults over the age of eighteen. But Bosman says mediation is useful over a spectrum of issues.

And, according to Christine Pate, people leave mediation feeling better about a decision than they do in a court setting – especially in domestic disputes. Arguments are exchanged in court; in mediation it’s all about dialogue.

“Almost any type of dispute can be mediated. There are certainly a few exceptions to that. One would be child abuse or neglect; the issue of domestic violence itself can’t be mediated; also criminal guilt cannot be mediated. Beyond that, mediation is used in a broad realm of issues: labor disputes, property disputes, all kinds of domestic disputes.”

Full Radio Interview Source:
Mediation Offers Resolution (and Solutions) Without Court

Court Works to Encourage Settlements

When Riverside attorney Joseph P. Myers went to law school in the late 1960s, he recalled there were no courses in mediation. Civil litigation lawyers were expected to be warriors in court.

Now Myers is one of about 90 attorneys in the Riverside County court's alternative dispute resolution program, committed to getting cases settled by a sort of diplomatic shuttling between parties to see if they can reach an agreement.

"It is not easy, going from protecting clients' interests and beating the other side to suggesting compromises" when he is called from his trial lawyer work to act as a mediator, Myers said.

While the program is not quite a year old, and not enough numbers have returned to define how it is doing, participating lawyers such as Myers say it is making a big difference in Riverside's once-jammed civil courts.

The mediation program began in April 2009, just as the Riverside County courts started moving civil cases more quickly to trial after years of backlog while criminal cases were heard in civil courts.

Full Article and Source:
Court Works to Encourage Settlements