Ohio Supreme Court changes rules for guardianships

By: Nick Evans

Photo: Courtesy of the Ohio Supreme Court

The Ohio Supreme Court has issued changes to the state’s rules for guardianship set to take effect July 1. The tweaks are meant to avoid fraud and abuse by imposing new reporting and training requirements.

The guardianship system, overseen by Ohio’s county probate courts, provides care for people who can’t care for themselves. But it’s a delicate arrangement. Empowering a third party to make major decisions on behalf of someone else can be necessary, but it almost inevitably raises concerns about potential exploitation.

Through its rules of superintendence, the state supreme court lays out the ground rules for administering guardianships. Those rules already require guardians receive regular training, avoid conflicts of interest, and meet with wards in person. Guardians also have to update the court on how their ward is doing through an annual plan, account for how they’re spending the ward’s money, and inform the court about any changes in residence.

Despite that level of oversight, abuse or neglect can still happen, and the court’s changes portray a frank assessment of that reality.

To address the possibility of exploitation by a ward’s family, friends or caregivers, guardians will now receive training on how to spot and report abuse as part of their education requirements. The amendments also add the long-term care ombudsman and law enforcement to list of authorities to which guardians should refer allegations of potential abuse.

To avoid abuse by guardians themselves, the court’s changes attempt to maintain contact between the ward and their family or friends. Among the changes, probate courts will have to include denial of visitation as part of the complaint process against a guardian.

Other changes in that vein include directing a court investigator outside the guardian-ward relationship to speak with the ward about their visitation history and preferences, and then report their findings to the court. The new rules also direct guardians to actively work with their wards on the list of people who can visit or write to them. Guardians would have to inform the court about any changes to that list.

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Ohio Supreme Court changes rules for guardianships

Lawyer found guilty of stealing more than $400K

BOWLING GREEN – A local lawyer accused of stealing more than $400,000 from a client was found guilty late Wednesday on all 14 counts he faced.

Robert Searfoss III, 40, of Perrysburg was convicted by a jury in Wood County Common Pleas Court of two counts of aggravated theft, four counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, four counts of money laundering, three counts of theft, and one count of grand theft.

The jury also found Searfoss responsible for 20 of 22 specifications that sought forfeiture of money as well as property purchased with the stolen money.

Prosecutors said Searfoss was in serious personal financial straits when he dipped into the trust of Eric Walker to buy a house and pay off debt, including back taxes, child support, and a home equity loan.

Defense attorney Rick Kerger contended Walker had borrowed the money from Mr. Walker's trust to be paid back with interest as a way of helping Mr. Walker shield the trust from his ex-wife.

Common Pleas Judge Alan Mayberry is to sentence Searfoss Jan. 2.

Searfoss has been held in the Wood County jail since his indictment in May.

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Lawyer found guilty of stealing more than $400K 

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Lawyer arraigned on 14 theft charges

Lawyer arraigned on 14 theft charges

BOWLING GREEN — A local lawyer found himself on the wrong side of the defendant's table Tuesday as he was arraigned on 14 felonies charging him with stealing more than $400,000 from a client.

Robert Searfoss III, 40, of Perrysburg was named in a secret indictment handed up by a Wood County grand jury last week charging him with two counts of aggravated theft, four counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, four counts of money laundering, three counts of theft, and one count of grand theft.

The indictment alleges that between April, 2015, and April, 2017, Mr. Searfoss stole about $435,000 from Eric Walker and the Alice C. Walker Revocable Trust, for which he was the trustee.

The indictment includes numerous specifications that seek forfeiture of real estate he owned on Georgetown Drive in Bowling Green and Shawnee Drive in Perrysburg, his law practice on Oak Street in Bowling Green, and two vehicles.

Mr. Searfoss appeared in court shackled and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and was returned to the Wood County jail on $500,000 bond.

His court-appointed attorney, Kurt Bruderly, had asked the court for some kind of supervised recognizance bond saying Mr. Searfoss would voluntarily surrender his law license, reside with his parents in Bowling Green, and seek a “blue-collar” job.

“A search warrant was executed at his residence about six days prior to this, and he did not flee the area,” Mr. Bruderly said. “He remained in … the Wood County area. He had every opportunity to know what was coming and flee, but he did not do that.”

Thomas Matuszak, chief assistant county prosecutor, told the court that Mr. Searfoss had a pending disciplinary case before the Ohio Supreme Court and an outstanding arrest warrant issued in Michigan.

“We have not been able to trace all of the stolen proceeds, which is believed to be in the neighborhood of $435,000, so the defendant might have the ability to post some sort of cash bail or bond,” Mr. Matuszak said.

Judge Alan Mayberry agreed.

“Given the Michigan warrant, given the number and severity of the counts as well as the [potential] forfeiture and fines, it would appear that there is a risk that the defendant may not appear,” the judge said. “Given that, the court would set bond sufficient to cover the alleged amount” of stolen funds.

Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson said members of the public often entrust their attorney with large sums of money, for a variety of reasons.

“Lawyers operate in a system of trust,” Mr. Dobson said. “As lawyers, we take that position very seriously and are intolerant of allegations of violations of that trust.”

Mr. Bruderly said Mr. Searfoss, a father of seven children, has a child living in Grand Traverse County, Mich., and the warrant from there was likely related to missed child-support payments.

A graduate of the University of Toledo college of law, Mr. Searfoss established his law practice in 2007 and was “committed to clients,” the firm's Facebook page says.

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Lawyer arraigned on 14 theft charges

Ohio Supreme Court yanks law license of ‘Ethics Monster’

A Westerville attorney who once “prosecuted” wayward lawyers was suspended indefinitely from the practice of law today for repeated misconduct.

The Ohio Supreme Court handed down the sanction against Kenneth Donchatz by a 4-3 vote, with the dissenting justices preferring a two-year suspension with six months stayed.

Donchatz, who once described himself as “The Ethics Monster,” formerly was an assistant disciplinary counsel with the court who pursued charges of professional misconduct against other lawyers.

The court majority said Donchatz forfeited his right to practice to law through “significant acts of dishonesty” and “false and contradictory statements” he made throughout his disciplinary proceedings.

One charge against Donchatz alleged he improperly obtained a $100,000 loan from a client in 2009 in a transaction that was not arms-length and only repaid $57,000. Donchatz told the justices that the rest was repaid with an antique desk, given to him by the same client, that was discovered by a certified appraiser to be worth more than $51,000 after it was refurbished. The statement left Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor incredulous.

He also was found to have filed court paperwork falsely claiming he fully repaid a $2,181 default judgment that a tree-trimming company won against him and filing a false statement. Donchatz also was discovered to have made an improper filing falsely claiming that a lawsuit had been settled.

The lawyer also was found to have misrepresented the statements of an assistant disciplinary counsel, and defaming her, while representing another lawyer accused of misconduct. The First Amendment does not protect lawyers from liability for making malicious statements against other lawyers in legal proceedings, the justices ruled.

The court found that Donchatz deliberately made false statements and disobeyed rules in four separate cases.

The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, which handled the case due to the lawyer’s former association with the disciplinary counsel, argued that Donchatz should receive an indefinite suspension. The Board of Professional Conduct had recommended the two-year suspension with six months stayed.

Given his earlier service to the state, his 16 years of teaching at Ohio State University and his coaching of the Westerville North High School mock-trial team for 20 years, Donchatz argued he deserved a stayed suspension.

Justices Terrence O’Donnell, Patrick F. Fischer and R. Patrick DeWine joined O’Connor in indefinitely suspending Donchatz. Justices Sharon L. Kennedy, Judith L. French and William M. O’Neill formed the minority.

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Ohio Supreme Court yanks law license of ‘Ethics Monster’