Rana Goodman Chosen "Senior Citizen of the Year"

Congratulations to Vegas Voice political editor Rana Goodman for being selected “Senior Citizen of the Year” by the Nevada delegation of the National Silver Haired Congress.

Source:
The Vegas Voice

See Also:
StopGuardianAbuseNV

Rana Goodman: Into The Devil's Arms She Went

Rana Goodman,
The Vegas Voice and
NASGA Nevada

I have been writing for months now about using extreme caution to make sure that you don’t fall into the clutches of a private-for-profit guardian.

This story however is greatly different. This story is about a lady and her daughter who fell into the clutches of a couple who befriended them.

This story I’m about pass along to you has all the elements of a movie script in the making, except that, I’m sad to report, it is painfully true. For Yvonne Frank, the remaining family member living a world away in Switzerland, the loss of her mother and sister at the hands of a couple who they trusted is as fresh today as it was a few years ago. And still, she has no answers, no charges have been filed and as far as we know, there is no open investigation.

Here is the story in Yvonne’s words:

Margaret Brown

My mother, Margaret Brown, immigrated to the United States and took her US citizenship in 1964 and lived in Las Vegas along with my younger sister Mona. Mona lived close to our mother, who had some dementia issues as she aged, but lived a comfortable life with her long time significant other, Stanley. Mona, who was a full time finance manager at UNLV had taken care of our mother’s finances since 2003 so that part of daily life was removed and our mother could enjoy her day to day life.

There came a time in 2006 when mother’s dementia worsened and a decision was made amongst the three of them for Stanly to sell his home and for him and mother to move in with my Mona. At that time Mona still had her great job at UNLV which she had held for many years. Sadly, the tide began to turn when suddenly in 2007 Stanly suddenly passed away. He had not forgotten Mona’s kindness or help, and left her about $125,000 as thanks for the care she had given him and mother over the years.

I learned, sometime in October, 2008 that mother and Mona had gone to the law offices of Jeffery Burr Ltd. And saw one of the attorneys there. (keep in mind that my mother already had dementia and was incognizant at the time, the result of a stroke years before). At this meeting my mother modified her trust that had been created in 1993 naming Mona as the primary trustee. Mona and myself as trust beneficiaries. The trust was to pass from mother to Mona and then to me.

Mona Brown

Mona then, for some reason, signed naming a friend of hers, Jeanette Ann Hill a secondary durable power of attorney over our mother and trust management with mother in the event that Mona died before mother. Taking into consideration our mother’s mental state and the fact that there was another living child, it is hard to understand any attorney making this recommendation. Mona’s friend Jeanette was also named co-trustee to Mona whose estate was worth more than $500,000 at that time.

Just eight weeks later, on December 3, 2008 Mona died very suddenly and without any known cause in her home. I was notified that “there was some kind of kidney problem” but was never shown proof or an autopsy report of any kind I immediately called my mother to find out what had happened. I went to Las Vegas for Mona’s funeral and afterward asked my mother to return to Switzerland and live with me. However at that time she preferred to stay in the US.

In January I again asked my mother to go to Switzerland and live with me since at that time Jeanette was discussing placing her in an assisted living home. However, when Mona’s home was sold and my mother received 60% of the estate, suddenly Jeanette announced that she and her husband were buying a larger home and my mother would live with them and remain in Las Vegas.

It was after visiting with my mother in May of 2009, and then returning home to Switzerland that I began to do some research. I discovered that the home Jeanette and her husband purchased had actually been bought by my mother. I could not fathom why no one would question an 83 year old woman deemed incognizant, yet purchasing a home for $249,990. The home, located on Pacific Opal Street was listed on the assessors list clear as day? I found that very odd and what mortgage company would not find it fishy, then I discovered that my mother had paid for the house in full. . Shortly afterward, Jeanette changed mother’s trust with the help of an attorney named John Mugan, bequeathed the house to herself and on 12/9/09 the house on Pacific Opal was “resold” to Jeanette and Robert Hill.

Not one to sit idly by, I tried many things to get help for my mother who was clearly distressed over the situation. For example, my son placed a call to the American Embassy who suggested that we try to get guardianship of mother. Well that could not be done, not only were we not residents of the state, we were not US citizens. By the time my mother passed away in 2011 an estate of close to one million dollars was decimated and no one could or would lift a finger to stop it.

We filed police reports to no avail,it seemed like the detectives had no interest even though two people had died on Jeanette Hill watch under odd circumstances and now this real estate scam. Jeanette Hill had tax warrants, unpaid liens, and still the police say they can do nothing “because she was my mother’s guardian”.

In closing I would like to quote Yvonne Frank when she wrote “My mother, sister and I had a very close relationship. The Hills have brought much sadness into my life, through their constant lying, deceit and fraud and my inability to help my mother when she was clearly in distress. I believe the court system and the Jeffery Burr law firm assisted Jeanette Hill in the fleecing of my mother. I hope the investigation into guardianship abuses in Clark County will one day bring these people to justice."

~Yvonne Frank

Source:
Into the Devil's Arms She Went

The Vegas Voice: On My Soapbox, by Rana Goodman: Turning Our Back on a Veteran

by Rana Goodman
Let me tell you about a veteran named Cazee Lewis. Cazee is in his 80s and has cataracts. Some time ago, the VA agreed to surgically remove the cataracts, but since he is under guardianship, arrangements must be made through the private-for-profit guardian in charge of his life.

Nothing can be done to him or for him without the guardian's approval. And according to a report from the Senior Law Project (the "guardian ad litem") the guardian does not feel he needs this surgery. I guess she believes she has medical credentials now! There is nothing that can be done about that - short of contesting the guardian in court.

I sat in court and heard Hearing Master ask the representative from Faith Shari why Cazee was being given a drug that was not protocol for dementia patients. The representative never denied that Cazee was being given the drugs just that he was getting them at bed time.

A long-time friend has been attempting, to replace his current guardian (April Parks - the same guardian named in our page 8 editorial) so that she can move him to her home. 

The friend has generously offered to care for him one-on-one rather than the situation he is currently in.

Each time she has attempted to visit Cazee, the staff at Faith Shari tells her he is not there.

On her last attempt, she was told that written permission would be needed from the Senior Law Project.

WHAT?! To visit a friend?

Full Article and Source:
The Vegas Voice July Issue

Steve Miller: Pictures from The Vegas Voice Seminar on Guardianship Fraud

On Tuesday evening, July 14, The Vegas Voice sponsored a seminar on guardianship fraud at the Anthem Community Center in Henderson, Nevada.

Featured speakers included Vegas Voice publisher Dan Roberts, Vegas Voice Political Editor and columnist Rana Goodman, guardianship abuse victim Julie Belshe, and AmericanMafia. com columnist Steve Miller.

Over 150 Anthem residents attended to hear the speakers explain the new laws recently enacted to prevent guardian abuse, and to be cautioned that abusive guardians and their enabling Clark County Family Court judges and guardianship commissioner are still in office and may resurface to again bilk wealthy elderly residents of Anthem and other local retirement communities in the future, or as soon as news coverage of their crimes die down.

On Wednesday (today), the newly enacted Nevada Supreme Court Guardianship Committee will meet for the first time in Las Vegas and Carson City. Topics will include ways of preventing the local for-guardian industry from continuing to bilk the elderly, and how to prevent them from gaining power of attorney over wealthy elderly retirees lives with help from the family court. - SM

The Vegas Voice: Our Rana Appointed to Nevada Supreme Court's Guardianship Commission

The telephone called ID said Nevada Supreme Court but our Vegas Voice political editor had no idea when she answered the telephone that the voice on the other end would be Nevada Chief Justice James. W. Hardesty.

Judge Hardesty invited her to serve and be a member of the newly created  "Commission to Study the Administration of Guardianship in Nevada's Court."  The Commission will review the process for creating guardianships, the court documentation and tracking and any resources available or needed to assist Nevada's courts on administering guardianships.

Commissioner members will assist in hearing testimony, writing proposed rules and developing a new model for Nevada guardianships.  AS always, we'll keep our readers updated!

Congratulations, Rana!


Source:
The Vegas Voice - July issue

Press Release: [Nevada] Supreme Court Names Guardianship Commission Members

Nevada Appellate Courts/Administrative Office of the Courts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Michael S. Sommermeyer
msommermeyer@nvcourts.nv.gov | (702) 486-3232

Supreme Court Names Guardianship Commission Members

Carson City, June 26, 2015 – Chief Justice James W. Hardesty has appointed 25 members of a Commission created by the Nevada Supreme Court in May to study guardianships in the state.

Between now and the end of December, the Commission to Study the Administration of Guardianships in Nevada's Courts will review the processes for creating guardianships and conservatorships in Nevada, stakeholder accountability, judicial training, court documentation and tracking, and any resources available or needed to assist Nevada's courts in administrating guardianships.

Chief Justice Hardesty will serve as chairperson and was authorized by the Supreme Court to appoint up to 30 Commission members who speak for the guardianship system. The Commission membership is as follows:

Members
James W. Hardesty, Chief Justice Nevada Supreme Court Frances Doherty, Judge Second Judicial District Court Department 12 Cynthia Dianne Steel, Judge Eighth Judicial District Court Department G Egan Walker, Judge Second Judicial District Court Department 2 Michael C. Sprinkle, Assemblyman Nevada Legislature Trudy Andrews Pacifica Senior Living Deborah Bookout Legal Aid of Southern Nevada Rana Goodman The Vegas Voice Jay P. Raman Clark County District Attorney’s Office Terri Russell KOLO Channel 8 Kim Spoon Guardianship Services of Nevada, Inc. Susan Sweikert Victim’s Advocate	Michael Gibbons, Chief Judge Nevada Court of Appeals Nancy Porter, Judge Fourth Judicial District Court Department 1 William Voy, Judge Eighth Judicial District Department A Becky Harris, Senator Nevada Legislature Glenn E. Trowbridge, Assemblyman Nevada Legislature Julie Arnold Southern Nevada Senior Law Program Kathleen Buchanan Clark County Public Guardian Susan Hoy National Guardian Services, LLC Kim Rowe Maupin, Cox, and Legoy David Spitzer Washoe Legal Services Timothy Sutton Nye County District Attorney’s Office Elyse Tyrell Private Attorney
Ex Officio Member
Christine Smith University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law

The first meeting of the Commission is expected to be held in mid-July. Commission members will listen to public testimony, write proposed rules, and develop a new model for Nevada guardianships within Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter (NRS) 159 and court rules, policies, and procedures.

The Commission is expected to make its recommendations to the Supreme Court by December 31, 2015.

###

Michael S. Sommermeyer
Office of Public Information
Administrative Office of the Courts
Supreme Court of Nevada
200 Lewis Avenue, 17th Floor
Las Vegas, NV, 89101-6204

Phone: 702/486-3232

Mobile: 702/727-6731

Fax: 702/486-3877

msommermeyer@nvcourts.nv.gov

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Steve Miller: Jared Shafer's Clark County Family Court Lackeys Removed From All Guardianship Cases

The Goose that laid the golden eggs is cooked!

After years of court sanctioned bilking of wealthy senior citizens and disabled persons, the biggest shake up in Clark County District Court history has just forced the immediate removal of two well-known jurists who were allegedly doing the bidding of veteran for-hire private guardian Jared E. Shafer and his protégés.

Charles Hoskin

In the wake of the court house shake up, the Nevada Legislature on May 23, 2015, voted to change the arcane laws that allowed Clark County Family Court Judge Charles Hoskin and his appointed "Hearing Master" Jon Norheim to blanket approve the actions of unscrupulous private for-hire guardians who for over a decade preyed on the fortunes of hapless seniors and disabled people in Southern Nevada while their out of state families protested in vain. (Remember the court video of Norheim closing his court to the public upon orders of a private for-hire guardian who is not an officer of the court. That guardian, Jared Shafer, did not want the public to know that he could not account for $500.000.00 missing from one of his wards.)

Too often, the "ward's" wishes to move to another state to be with family are ignored by the court so the estate can continue paying the guardian's outrageous fees until the ward dies, and sometimes for years thereafter with the court's approval (see: Grave Robbery Under Color Of Law! The story of the late Leanne Peccole).

Jon Norheim

One of the Nevada laws that Hoskin and Norheim relied upon limited those who could become fiduciaries of the estates of Nevada "wards" of the court to only those persons who physically resided within Nevada thus prohibiting out of state children of well-to-do elderly persons from overseeing the fortunes of their own parents. This bad law opened the way for unscrupulous for-hire guardians to be appointed by Hoskin and Norheim to fleece elderly widows or widowers. As of last Saturday, the Nevada Legislature voted to change that law and allow out of state relatives to govern the assets of incapacitated loved ones living in Nevada.

Another law was enacted to require all for-hire guardians to be licensed and bonded - a first for Nevada. Most decisions made by Hoskin and Norheim were based on the amount of wealth the surviving spouse had, not their actual needs (poor people are not provided private professional guardians). After the passing of a parent, out of state relatives would soon learn that their surviving mother or father was secretly made a ward of the court during their grief, and that a stranger was the best choice to be given full power of attorney by Hoskin or Norheim to manage their loved one's estate without allowing input from family members living outside Nevada. In some cases, family members who actually live in Nevada were disapproved if their loved one was extremely wealthy. The appointed for-hire guardian would tell Hoskin or Norheim during a hearing that the local relative was an "exploiter" or "unfit," often falsely accusing the relative of drug addiction or being a compulsive gambler. In all cases researched by INSIDE VEGAS, Hoskin or Norheim took the side of the for-hire guardian, and the fleecing continued. '

The out of state family is told that someone called authorities to report that their parent or relative was in need of help, and a for-hire guardian was "temporarily" appointed by the Family Court to look after the physical needs and assets of the loved one. Within months, sometimes weeks, the temporary status is changed to permanent by Hoskin or Norheim when its determined that there are no relatives living in Nevada who can care for the "ward" allowing life's savings to be drained through double charges, excessive fees, and outright thievery by the appointed "guardian," and assets can be liquidated without anyone's approval (see cashed checks below, and review this website for documentation.

This legal, but immoral practice was finally exposed by Nevada media, and the scam's effect on Las Vegas' second most lucrative business - retirement - is only now being realized, i. e., who would want to retire to Sun City Anthem in Henderson, or Sun City Summerlin in Las Vegas if they knew that local Family Courts would collude with certain private "guardians" to take the retiree for everything they're worth before their children could receive their inheritance?

I wrote my first editorial on this subject in April 2002, for a local weekly newspaper. The editorial was republished by an Internet magazine on May 31, 2006.

The National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse (NASGA) also began reporting Clark County guardian abuse cases in April of 2006. The organization's president, Elaine Renoire, has closely followed the exploitation of Las Vegas victims Marcy Dudeck and Guadalupe Olvera.

INSIDE VEGAS began exposing this racket February 25, 2013, on AmericanMafia.com in a story entitled "GUADALUPE OLVERA'S WAR." Several more columns followed until I was able to expose the modus operandi of the scheme in "Las Vegas' Death Watch - The chain of events start at Sun City Anthem and end in private guardian Jared E. Shafer's pocket" published March 17, 2014, on AmericanMafia.com. In the column, I explained how a cartel of local attorneys, judges and guardians would single out wealthy elderly couples who had no relatives in Nevada, and after the death of a spouse, collude to drain their estates.

Up until that point, no one in Las Vegas media would ever believe such a horrible thing was happening right under our eyes to our most vulnerable citizens. I persisted writing, hoping the stories would gain traction before more people were injured.

The next to tell this sordid story was The Vegas Voice, a hard copy publication with a vast circulation to local senior citizens and retirees. On August 18, 2014, the paper began running a hard hitting series exposing the ill-deeds and names of corrupt for-hire guardians. But the paper went one step further. Publisher Dan Roberts and Political Editor Rana Goodman flew to the state capitol in Carson City to lobby for changes in the guardianship laws, specifically that out of state relatives could handle the finances of loved ones living in Nevada, and that all private for-hire guardians be licensed and bonded. They also circulated a petition gathering over 3,500 signatures. The paper soon received a letter from attorneys Gardener Jolly and Bruce Woodbury threatening a libel (SLAPP) lawsuit if they continued writing about their client, for-hire guardian April Parks. However, The Vegas Voice stories continued unfettered until Parks' double billing and lack of accountability was confirmed by KTNV Contact 13.

Then on March 6, 2015, KTNV TV Contact 13 News producer Kean Bauman and investigative reporter Darcy Spears aired "Valley man wrestles with guardianship system," which told of 25 year old cerebral palsy victim Jason Hanson, and how for-hire guardian Jared Shafer allegedly took him for everything he had.

INSIDE VEGAS videographer Mike Christ had interviewed Jason in April, 2014, for my March 3, INSIDE VEGAS column. Here is a LINK to Mike's heart rendering video: "Special Administrator Jared E. Shafer takes house and inheritance from 24 year old man with cerebral palsy."

April 11, 2015, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper, began a series of front page stories written by investigative reporter Colton Lochhead. The first story was "Clark County’s private guardians may protect — or just steal and abuse."  In the same RJ edition was the story of Guadalupe Olvera; "Escape was only option for an old soldier trapped in guardian system," telling about the 95 year old World War 2 hero's exploitation by Jared E. Shafer, and his escape from Shafer's abusive custody.

Then on April 17, 2015, another of Colton Lochhead's stories appeared on the RJ's front page entitled "Chief judge vows to improve guardianship process." On April 21, the front page article by Lochhead headlined; "Clark County Commissioners want reform of ‘appalling’ guardianship program," followed April 26, with an Editorial; "Guarding the guardians," and the May 5, story by Lochhead; "There's now a hotline to call with guardianship complaints," that stated, "Cases highlighted in the Review-Journal showed a lack of oversight by the courts that allowed people who were wards of the county to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to their private professional guardians. In those cases, the court failed to enforce state laws, such as the requirement to file a yearly accounting of money spent on behalf of wards, and ignored the wishes of wards and their families."

 Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak responded by scheduling a special hearing to discuss the guardianship problem. At that hearing held on April 21, LVMPD  Lt. James Weiskopf told the Commission "And the complaints we get from the citizens is that Judge Hoskin will rubber stamp it and say Norheim made appropriate decisions, or Judge Hoskin doesn't hear the family's complaint."  ...

Full Article and Source:
Jared Shafer's Clark County Family Court Lackeys Removed From All Guardianship Cases

Clark County Nevada Commissioners Demand Answers From Guardianship Court

Appalling, frightening and plagued by problems. That's how county commissioners described our Family Court Guardianship system in a first-of-its kind hearing Tuesday morning.

It comes in the wake of a Contact 13 Investigation into alleged guardianship abuses.

"Ghandi once said, 'The measure of a society is how it treats the vulnerable.' You are failing the elderly in Clark County," Julie Belshe told commissioners during the public comment period of the meeting.

Family members, concerned citizens and representatives from Las Vegas police and District Court painted what commissioners called a frightening picture of the system that's supposed to protect the most vulnerable.

Comm. Susan Brager

"I'm a little concerned," said Commissioner Susan Brager. "I have a 96-year-old dad that seems very healthy to me, but I wouldn't want a guardian to get a hold of him."

When someone is deemed unable to take care of themselves, Family Court can make them a ward and appoint a private, for-profit guardian instead of allowing family members to care for their loved ones.


Rana Goodman

"Once a guardian has been appointed, they literally become that person," explained senior citizen advocate Rana Goodman. "They take over everything they own. Their bank account, their trust account, their stock portfolio, everything they have."

Elizabeth Indig said that's what happened to her mother.

"And she should be at home," Indig addressed the County Commissioners fighting back tears. "She had a home. She had her things. Every time I visit her she says either, bring her home or kill her."

In 2012, Indig said her mother fell in her driveway, went to the hospital and then to a rehab facility before she was supposed to come home.

"With no notification or discussion, a woman named April Parks was granted guardianship of my mother by Commissioner Jon Norheim with nobody in attendance because I, the only daughter, was never served and had no idea of the hearing," Indig explained.

There are 8,650 guardianship cases in Clark County. Between 2,500-3,000 of them are active. All are being heard by one man, Hearing Master Jon Norheim. Police have been getting complaints about how Norheim deals with family members.

"He ignores their testimony or doesn't allow them to speak. He won't hold evidentiary hearings," Lt. James Weiskopf told the county leaders. "And then he makes a ruling and it goes to a private guardian."

Homes can be sold for pennies on the dollar. Private guardians can drain wards' bank accounts. And there's no oversight aside from Family Court Chief Judge Charles Hoskin.

"And the complaints we get from the citizens is that Judge Hoskin will rubber stamp it and say Norheim made appropriate decisions or Judge Hoskin doesn't hear the family's complaint," Lt. Weiskopf said to commissioners.

Neither Norheim nor Hoskin attended the County Commission meeting. Commissioner Susan Brager called them, "Little gods making decisions they shouldn't."

District Court Chief Judge David Barker acknowledged long-standing problems with the guardianship system.

"We need to make sure we can identify those who are most vulnerable, protect them and hold those who might be taking advantage of them to account," said Judger Barker before the commissioners.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said abusive private guardians need to be prosecuted and family members and finances returned to their loved ones.

County leaders also said based on what they've heard, Guardianship Commissioner Norheim needs to go.

"A lot of them didn't realize this was going on and yeah, I think something's finally going to be done," said senior advocate Goodman.

Commissioner Chairman Steve Sisolak will create a blue ribbon panel to audit guardianship cases. And Chief Judge Barker is working to get a Guardianship Compliance Officer to independently review cases and help frustrated family members.

District Court provided this statement in response to the issues raised in Tuesday's meeting:

The Eighth Judicial District Court takes the concerns raised today regarding the handling of guardianship cases very seriously. The court will take a judicious approach to look at all the facts of the issues raised and then respond accordingly. We look forward to participation with the blue ribbon panel to bring the handling of these cases in line with the National Association for Court Management's best practices.
 

Guardianship cases can be highly contentious, emotional and difficult when attempting to reach amicable terms for all parties. The court follows the law to give preference to rely on family members to serve as guardians; but, each case has to be considered in light of what is in the best interest of the ward. A family has the recourse of appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court if they disagree with decisions made in guardianship cases.

We look forward to the swift approval of the requested guardian compliance administrator who will implement the best practices as outlined by the National Association for Court Management.

 

Judge David Barker attended the open hearing today. As the chief judge, he is entrusted with the responsibility to handle matters of concern with the court. Judge Barker is committed to ensuring clarity and instilling public trust in the process of handling guardianship cases.

The court respects the input the METRO lieutenant provided today and we look forward to further dialogue with METRO on insight that they can provide.
 

Protecting those impacted by intellectual disabilities and diseases associated with aging is essential to the well-being of our families and community in Clark County. The court will continue to pursue avenues and resources to develop solutions and improve the handling of guardianship cases.
 

Source:
Clark County Commissioners Demand Answers from Guardianship Court

Update from NASGA Nevada Legislative Liaison, Rana Goodman

When The Vegas Voice began the series on guardianship we had no idea what a mess we were getting involved with. The lengths some of these people go to, in order to cheat the elderly out of every dollar they can, which in turn, robs them of the peace and tranquility they have saved their whole life to achieve for their declining years.

These guardians isolate them, decimate their finances, sell everything they own, and then shuttle them from one living facility to another as the need to pay lower and lower fees for their keep arises.

The wards who really do need guardianship are, for the most part left in a solitary existence with only the company of the other residents of the facility and a caregiver working there. No loving support from the family they have been stolen from, who many times don't even know where they are. Or, in several cases we have been working on, have been scared away by the guardian with threats of jail or harm to the parent if they interfere.

I was asked in an interview if "conspiracy" was too harsh of a word to attach to this and I had to answer that it was a perfect word. Why, because when you think about the guardians who, for years have openly been treating dozens of wards this way and no one has reported the abuse.

The hearing master accepts the word of one person, the guardian, that the potential ward, who the hearing master does not see or question, cannot live alone. He glances at a doctors form with boxes checked off but never questions the length of time the doctor feels this diagnosis might last. (we were told by a well known psychiatrist that dementia like symptoms may show one week and the person be perfectly normal the following week, especially if they are taking medication, as many seniors do.) This does not mean they cannot live alone. This hearing master quickly signs off and the request to sell everything and the ward's life is forever changed. YES, conspiracy is a perfect word!

The Vegas Voice: Guardianship, Part 3: NOW GET RESULTS!

by Dan Roberts

Her name is April Parks and she is the “poster child” why the Nevada guardianship laws must be changed.
Her M.O. as a private forprofit guardian is to do everything possible in separating family and squeezing every last dime from her acquired “ward.”

Although her actions are disgraceful, they are perfectly legal.

She must be stopped - since you, or your loved one might be her next victim.


Over the past few months, The Vegas Voice has reviewed and investigated this obscene (but very lucrative) guardianship industry. During this time, political editor Rana Goodman and yours truly have met with families torn apart by these private guardians - starting with Ms. Parks.

We spent countless hours reviewing petitions, observing court hearings and listening “off the record” to people inside this guardian cesspool. Most heart-wrenching was our meetings with those pleading and begging us to help them regain control of their lives and/or to be reunited with their families.

I have said it before and will continue to repeat it until the Nevada Legislature revises the guardianship statutes (NRS 159): Having a private guardian appointed for a senior is like selecting a child molester to run a day care center. It is financial exploitation and abuse, and private guardian April Parks is “Exhibit A.”

Full Article and Source:
The Vegas Voice:  Guardianship, Part 3:  NOW GET RESULTS

Rana Goodman and the Vegas Voice: How Do Private Guardians Find Their Wards?

My biggest question while getting ready to head for Carson City, and in addressing the guardianship seminars Dan and I have been asked to present is: How do private guardians find their wards?

We already knew several ways and had discussed them at our seminars; people giving out too much information at financial planning meetings, loose-lipped caregivers who tip off guardians, house cleaning staff, “well meaning” neighbors and so on.

Dan and I have searched for the common denominator by connecting some of these victims together.

Well, we found one, and it should have been clear as day. Perhaps it was, and that was why we didn’t see it before - it was there in plain sight.

We found families whose loved one landed in guardianship as a result of a simple “slip and fall” that placed them in a hospital. And it went downhill from there.

While they were in the hospital, a doctor would be asked to give the patient a cognitive evaluation; perhaps a nurse thought they needed extra care, and as outlined in Dan’s article, one particular guardian trolls the halls looking for wards.

We also discovered that the physician’s certificate form checked off by the doctor is readily available. More importantly, the doctor may, or may not be aware that the form is going to be used exclusively for a guardianship issue.

In speaking to one such doctor, we were told that his/her patient may need help, be it in home care or a guardian at the time of the evaluation, but a week or month from then, things may be back to normal.

The doctor assumed they would then be re-evaluated. No statement like that was on any chart we reviewed. All seemed to indicate permanent mental incapacitation.

Was it an error by omission? This kind of error has cost people we met a year, or more of their lives and a tremendous amount of money.

Full Article and Source:
The Vegas Voice:  Guardianship Part 3:  NOW GET RESULTS

Schedule for The Vegas Voice Guardianship Seminars

Wednesday, MARCH 25th
2:00 pm – Sun City Anthem/Buckman’s Restaurant

Wednesday, APRIL 8TH
11:30 am - Destinations @ Alexander
2:00 pm - Destinations @ Winterhaven

Thursday, APRIL 9TH
11:30 am - Destinations @ Pebble

Tuesday, APRIL 14th
9:00am Cabana Mobile Home Community (5303 E. Twain Ave.)
11:30 am - Destinations @ Pueblo
2:00 pm - Destinations @ Valley View

Thursday, APRIL 16th
9:00am – Las Vegas Manor
11:30 am - Destinations @ Spring Valley
2:00 pm - Destinations @ Sandhill

Thursday, April 23rd
10:30 am – Doolittle Senior Center (1930 North J Street)

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO RSVP, CONTACT THE VEGAS VOICE AT: 702/251-4441

Rana Goodman: Guardianship Bill SB262 Finally a Reality

This is a link to the complete bill that is intended to replace the existing guardianship bill.

As I have said all along, although many changes need to be made to the Family Court system, removing the residency requirement was a starting point for each and every victim family member that Dan and I have been working with these long months.

Thanks to the support of all of you that have signed the petitions and backed us up, our voices WERE HEARD, it has been done and much more.

Each time we spoke with the legislators working on this issue, each time we wrote about it in the paper, we pushed things that needed to be fixed.

This week in Carson City we thought it would be more of the same, but it was so gratifying to see all of that work become an actual bill.

Dan and I went to Carson City armed with copies of The Vegas Voice, we were pleasantly surprised to see copies on the desks of most of the legislators we had come to lobby. It seems guardianship was a hot topic.

By the time we arrived for our appointment at the Attorney General's office and sat down to talk, Mr. Winne flipped open his file and copies of the paper were clipped inside there too.

Dan and I glanced at each other wondering if that was good or bad and Mr. Winne said that it was the constant stories in the paper that brought the investigation forward. At this point they are collecting information from all the victims they can.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianship Bill SB262 Finally A Reality

READ SB262

See Also:
The Vegas Voice - Rana Goodman:  Private Guardians vs. Family

Steve Miller: Jared E. Shafer, Las Vegas Private Guardian and His Judges Fall Under Investigation

Elderly and disabled people being robbed of their assets by sociopathic private guardians with the help of crooked family court judges. This all sounds like the plot for a sequel to the B movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but unfortunately in today's Las Vegas, it's all very real and beginning to unfold on the local evening news.

The stories of the gruesome acts against the weakest of the weak were first told here on AmericanMafia.com, and now are about to make national news thanks to the efforts of KTNV TV CONTACT 13 producer Kean Bauman and investigative reporter Darcy Spears, VEGAS VOICE publisher Dan Roberts and political editor Rana Goodman, and the efforts of the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse.

After writing over a dozen articles on this sad subject, I'm proud to say the story has been picked up by other investigative reporters, therefore I have linked to their reports in this column.

Bauman and Spears' fearless report aired on Las Vegas Channel 13 News Friday, March 6, turned Las Vegas upside down.

The TV report followed a series in the VEGAS VOICE, Las Vegas' newspaper devoted to the interests of our valley's vast senior population.

I say fearless because the subjects of these reports are some of the most politically connected people in our city. They are supported by a team of completely corrupt local attorneys who help them bilk the wealth of unsuspecting seniors and disabled people who have the misfortune of having no relatives living in Nevada who can become their guardian in the event they are deemed incompetent by a local family court judge.

But its not just victims with out of state relatives who are affected. If there's enough wealth involved (poor people are not provided guardians by the court), and there is family living in Nevada, the Family Court almost always finds another reason to ban the family from handling their Nevada loved one's finances.

Accusations of drug abuse, alcoholism, bad credit, being unfit, being an exploiter with no relationship with the relative, or "They are just after the money" are used in court so a private guardian can hang on to a sizable estate. The guardians use whatever excuse suits them to make sure the family will not ever have any power, and the judges always comply with the for-hire guardian's wishes. They use the same script with all families.

Appointed Guardianship Commissioner Jon Norheim obviously doesn't read briefs or motions, just rules time and again in favor of his friends the guardians. In one instance, Norheim approved an order for payment of services for an unrelated person from the account of one of Jared E. Shafer's "wards."

He didn't even check to see if the person who was named on the payment was related to the ward whose account was charged, or if Shafer was double charging, Norheim just blindly signed the order. This unrestricted power of attorney sanctioned by the court is what creates the Invasion of the Body Snatchers atmosphere I mentioned earlier.

Full Article and Source:
Jared E. Shafer, Las Vegas Private Guardian and His Judges Fall Under Investigation

See Also:
'Jared E. Shafer's Bad Laws Legalize the Bilking of Las Vegas Retirees'

The Vegas Voice, Rana Goodman: Private Guardians vs Family

Rana Goodman,
Political Editor

I would like to give you a brief update on the people I wrote about last month. One is great news, the other, not so much.

If you recall, I wrote of a veteran who had been hospitalized for a short time in California.

He came home and discovered his wife had been placed under the care of a private guardian she neither needed nor wanted. Legal action was instituted after several attempts to rid themselves of the private guardian failed.
 
Within days after our February “Special Edition” about private guardianships came out, the vet’s attorney was contacted with an offer to drop the opposition’s legal fees from $14,000 to fees from $14,000 to $5,000 – and more importantly, no more guardianship authority or control. A victory indeed.

I’m sorry to say the other family we featured (who were legally kidnapped one evening by their guardian) has not fared as well.

Last month, they were moved from an assisted living facility to a much smaller one. The couple went from a two room apartment to sharing one tiny room.

Visitation with their only child had been limited by their guardian and the mother ended up in the hospital where she currently remains. Her daughter also was hospitalized and is now slowly recovering. Our prayers go out to them and we hope the family can have some semblance of unity soon.

In the interviews we conducted over the past few weeks, I thought about what the “experts” had to say.

Although some of the people were well-meaning, it still hit me that most of the time, the assumption was that the family member was always looking for a way to abuse or steal from the senior, and the guardians were always good and caring.

I feel certain that most of us were raised to honor and respect our elders and we do just that. I believe there are far more people that have cared for their parents and family members (as I have) and, as in the case of child abuse, elder abusers are the minority among family members.

Full Article and Source:

The Vegas Voice: Special Report Part II -GUARDIANSHIP: Now Get Angry!







See Also:
The Vegas Voice - Rana Goodman:  What Would You Do?

The Vegas Voice: Special Report, Part II, GUARDIANSHIP - NOW GET ANGRY!

"You’re my last hope. Please help me."

I can repeat the words, and even detail the chilling circumstances of this person who called Rana to discuss her guardianship nightmare. But I will never be able to adequately convey the fear and desperation fin the caller’s voice.

Last month, The Vegas Voice published its “Special Report” concerning the Nevada guardianship laws. The response has been overwhelming and unprecedented.

Political Editor Rana Goodman and yours truly did not know what to expect from our articles, although we anticipated that the private guardian backlash would be intense and fierce.

While we were indeed inundated from just about everybody – no one said we were wrong.

No one.

There were a few: “Yes, the guardianship laws need to be reformed, but...”

However there was not a single attorney, not a government official, nor a private for-profit guardian that disputed the contents of what we reported.

I know what you’re thinking – perhaps the private guardian industry has no idea what was in The Vegas Voice and therefore couldn’t object or defend their actions.

Believe me, they all knew. ...And then there was that anonymous mass email sent by a private guardian advising his fellow guardians in part: “It appears that the victims are finally joining ranks and exposing some of our issues. Time to clean up our ranks."

Source:
The Vegas Voice - GUARDIANSHIP: NOW GET ANGRY!

See Also:
The Vegas Voice:  Guardianship:  A Legal Sham and Disgrace

The Vegas Voice: Rana Goodman: What Would You Do?

Rana Goodman,
The Vegas Voice

There is a knock on your door and the caregiver who has stopped by to check on your wife motions you to sit. He will answer the door for you.

Two people enter; a woman and a man. They approach you and the woman says: “Mr. X, I am an officer of the court. You and your wife need to come with me.

You ask: “Why, what have I done? Go with you where?”

She responds. “You have three choices. I can have you arrested, you can go to the assisted living facility that I have chosen for you, or you can be taken to a mental facility.”

This is what happened to a couple I recently interviewed.

When the couple asked to see a warrant or legal document ordering them to go with her, she simply showed her business card (which identified her as a private guardian) and stated that legal papers would arrive within the next few hours. Those three hours stretched into weeks.

For the three days after this couple were whisked away, their adult daughter frantically tried to locate them. Eventually, a notice was taped on their front door stating that they had been moved to an assisted living facility miles away from their home.

Once the daughter’s finally locates her parents, she learns that an unknown private guardian had been assigned by the family court, without a hearing that included her parents. The court document for this action contained two blatantly false statements: that this daughter (and only child) never sees the parents and is an addict, and that the husband has dementia and can no longer care for his wife.

In my interview with this elderly couple, I found the husband (who has been the primary caregiver for his wife for the last 19 of their 50 years of marriage) to be the most articulate, soft spoken person I have met in a very long time. His only concern was her happiness and well-being knowing that she is now wheelchair bound and in the latter stages of leukemia.

Full Article and Source:
What would you do?

See Also:
A Very Dangerous Law, Part 2
The Pitfalls of Guardianship

Please sign the Petition to Correct Nevada Guardianship Law

Rana Goodman and Vegas Voice readers signing the petitions

Please clip, sign and mail or sign the petition online at http:www.TheVegasVoice.net.

(Nevada law requires a guardian be a resident of the state.  Many retirees move to Nevada and their families, still in the workforce,  live in other states; thereby preventing family from being appointed as guardian despite being ready, willing and able to serve -- and the Alleged Incompetent Person's wishes for family to handle his/her affairs rather than a professional guardian or a Public Guardian).

The Vegas Voice: Guardianship: A Legal Sham and Disgrace

Rana has been on her Don(na) Quixote crusade to protect seniors from the abuses and scandal regarding the Guardianship (Nevada Revised Statutes - Chapter 159) laws. For the past few months, she has taken me kicking and screaming into this issue.

On each and every occasion, when I told her that “it could not happen” she provided the paperwork.

As a former attorney, I learned how to read the law, petitions and court orders. More importantly,I was taught how to read between the lines.

From our research and investigation, it is clear that these “Private Guardianships” are nothing short of a racket. It gives “ambulance chasers” a good name.

Let me be very precise in our findings:
Having a private guardian appointed for a senior is like selecting a child molester to run a day care center. It is financial elder exploitation; sanctioned and approved by the Court and Nevada.

One example: According to court records filed by a private guardian, is not ready to release her name yet - but we’re real close) it listed an elderly couple’s (mentioned in Rana’s column) bank account as having approximately $23,000.

The initial court order authorized this private guardian to seize $10,000 for the husband and then an additional ten thousand for the wife (a total of $20,000) for the couple’s on-going expenses AND (of course) the expenses related to the court proceeding.

Just like that - the couple’s bank account was depleted by nearly 90%.

Just like that, the guardian was allowed “reasonable compensation and expenses.”

Just like that, the guardian was allowed to hire an attorney to represent the guardian and to have the lawyer receive “necessary compensation as well as expenses.

While the guardianship laws require an annual accounting, such filing was not done.

What did the court do over this failure? Nothing.

Where did all the money go?

Full Article and Source:
The Vegas Voice:  Guardianship:  A Legal Shame and Disgrace