Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act Passes Committee

U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the following statement after their bipartisan legislation, the Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act, to protect seniors from neglect and financial exploitation passed the Senate Judiciary Committee:

“Those who exploit and defraud our senior citizens, especially through a court-appointed position, must be held accountable,” Sen. Cornyn said. “I’m proud to sponsor this bipartisan legislation to defend our seniors from criminals who take advantage of them.”

“While most court-appointed guardians and conservators are undoubtedly professional, caring, and law-abiding, we must do all that we can to protect seniors from exploitation. Our critical bipartisan bill strengthens oversight and accountability for those who are entrusted with acting in the best interests of seniors,” Klobuchar said. “Today’s action is a positive step forward in providing stronger protections for our vulnerable seniors.”

Background on the Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act:
The bill passed the Judiciary Committee as part of the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act. The Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act makes courts eligible for an already existing program designed to protect seniors. Under the program, state courts would be able to apply for funding to assess the handling of proceedings relating to guardians and conservators, and then make the necessary improvements to their practices. For example, the courts could conduct background checks on potential guardians and conservators, or implement an electronic filing system in order to better monitor and audit conservatorships and guardianships.

Source:
Cornyn, Klobuchar Bill to Protect Seniors From Financial Exploitation Passes Committee>

Senate Judiciary Chair Charges Federal Shortcomings On Elder Financial Abuse

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley charged Wednesday there are shortcomings in what the federal government does to protect seniors from financial abuse.

“(Victims) have not received all the help they need,” said the Senator.

As one example of a void, he noted the Justice Department does not collect data on elder financial fraud.

At the start of a hearing on what he called “the crime of the 21st century,” Iowa Republican Grassley announced he and the Judiciary Committee’s lead Democrat, Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal, soon will introduce a bill to beef up protection.

The legislation would provide for more effective interagency coordination, training to improve the investigation and prosecution of elder abuse, victim assistance to elder abuse survivors, improved data collection, and tougher penalties for senior scamsters.

Full Article and Source:
Senate Judiciary Chair Charges Federal Shortcomings On Elder Financial Abuse

Bill would give state elder abuse programs a federal funding boost

Legislation proposed in the Senate last week would authorize federal assistance to state programs that seek to prevent elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.

S. 2727, the Elder Protection and Abuse Protection Act, was introduced last Tuesday by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), with Sens. Al Franken (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Bob Casey (D-PA) co-sponsoring.

The bill would amend portions of the Older American Act of 1965 to define elder abuse as “the knowing infliction of physical or psychological harm or the knowing deprivation of goods or services that are necessary to meet essential needs or to avoid physical or psychological harm.” 

Under the bill, federal funds also would be appropriated for states to establish elder abuse screening, reporting and support programs.

“By requiring tough national standards for screening and reporting, this bill would help hold bad actors accountable for their deplorable behavior and provide critical protections for senior citizens,” Blumenthal said in a statement on the bill.

Just 1 in 23.5 cases of elder abuse is ever reported due to a lack of screening, awareness and prevention resources, according to the bill. The mortality rate of seniors who fall victim to elder abuse is three times higher than those who don't experience elder abuse, and the annual financial loss of those victims is estimated to be at least $2.9 billion, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal introduced similar bills in 2012 and 2013, but the Senate passed neither.

Full Article & Source:
Bill would give state elder abuse programs a federal funding boost

Lawmakers Seek To Shield Seniors From Shady Guardians

Photo credit: Jeff Pachoud

TALLAHASSEE (NSF) – A Southwest Florida lawmaker is renewing a push to better protect elderly Floridians from unscrupulous guardians who take control of seniors’ assets.

The Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee this week approved a bill (SB 232), filed by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, that would charge the Department of Elder Affairs with certifying and overseeing professional guardians — and disciplining those who abuse their trust.

Detert told the committee that professional guardians are a growth business in Florida but are lightly regulated.

She cited a series in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, which reported in December 2014 that the number of registered professional guardians statewide had grown 1,800 percent in 11 years.

“There are predators,” Detert said. “They have kind of crawled through a crack in the law.”

Private professional guardians come into play, for example, in circumstances where families have disputes between seniors’ children. The guardians can earn $100 an hour to open mail, make appointments and pay bills — even to be present when the children came to visit.

“When you think of the power you are giving to a guardian,” Detert said. “The power to make your medical decisions, to put you on drugs, to spend your money (and) sign your checkbook.”

Private guardians often serve wealthy people, Detert said. The state also has a more heavily regulated system of public guardians who serve incapacitated people who don’t have anybody willing and able to serve as guardians.

Detert’s bill has support from the office of Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock, who was represented at the Senate committee meeting by Deputy Clerk Anthony Palmieri.

Since 2011, Palmieri said, the office has investigated more than 800 elder-guardianship cases, identifying “more than $4 million in unsubstantiated disbursements, missing assets and fraud” in Palm Beach County. There have been two arrests.

“Many clerks’ offices throughout the state are auditing and investigating guardianships because of this very important legislation,” Palmieri said.

Also in 2011, Palm Beach County started Florida’s — and possibly the nation’s — first hotline for elder-guardianship fraud.

Bock said in an interview that she’d gotten the idea to review private guardianships after seeing an uptick in their numbers during the economic recession. She had also noted that guardianship laws had been largely unchanged for decades at that point.

“It wasn’t on anyone’s radar screen, even though Florida has the fastest-growing elderly population per capita of any state in the United States,” Bock said.

Last spring, however, Gov. Rick Scott signed a measure by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, requiring advance notice before hearings on the appointment of emergency temporary guardians. It would also allow the mediation of guardianship disputes among family members and require the reporting of incidents of abuse, neglect and exploitation of wards by guardians.

Detert’s new bill will be considered during the 2016 legislative session, which starts in January. A similar bill unanimously cleared the Senate during the 2015 session, but died when the House adjourned three days early. House leaders had objected to the initial $3 million cost of the measure, which Detert got down to less than $1 million.

The analysis of her new bill notes that approximately 456 guardians would be regulated, but it does not show a projected cost.

Detert said she’d recruited House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, to her cause, while Rep. Larry Ahern, R-Seminole, will return as the House sponsor.

“I’ve spoken to Chair Corcoran, and he is supportive,” she said. “Rep. Ahern is doing the bill in the House, and we expect a happy conclusion this year.”

Full Article & Source:
Lawmakers Seek To Shield Seniors From Shady Guardians

Tonight on T.S. Radio: Wade Ayer and WI Congresswoman Sinicki: AB255

Hour 1: Wade Ayer:

Hour 2: Christine Sinicki on Assembly Bill 255 WI Mission: To bring National attention regarding Medical Practice. Please read: "The Who's Next Club-A cosmetic surgery disaster" @donaldwayer.com.

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Colorado lawmaker pledges probate reform after hearing victim stories

By David Olinger

A state senator plans to introduce legislation next year that would provide greater protection to families who saw their estates diminished or wiped out by court-appointed fiduciaries.

Laura Woods, an Arvada Republican, took statements from about two dozen people who went Wednesday to a hearing about probate reform. A Senate Democrat, Pat Steadman of Denver, joined her and took notes as family members angrily recounted personal stories.

The senators got about 50 suggestions. Woods said afterward that bipartisan probate court legislation "absolutely" will be on the Senate agenda next year.

The overall goal will be to protect families involved in the probate system, she said. She said those she has met see this pattern: "Instigate, litigate, isolate, medicate, liquidate, take the estate — celebrate."

Woods would like to see an outside review triggered automatically when a certain portion of an estate, perhaps as low as 10 percent, has been spent by a court-appointed fiduciary.

That might have helped Diego Conde, a 20-year-old man who came to the United States from Colombia at age 3.

Conde said his mother built a house-cleaning business and saved $20,000 for his college education before she died of stomach cancer. At 12, he became a foster child, he said, and a lawyer named Tamra Palmer was assigned to conserve his money.

When he went to college, "I had trouble getting her on the phone. My bills weren't getting paid on time. I got an eviction notice."

He said he was too embarrassed to ask classmates for food and soon learned that all his money was gone after Palmer deducted her fees.

"I was just very misguided throughout the whole process," he said.

Palmer was dismissed as Arapahoe County's public administrator last year after The Denver Post reported about her business relationship with Jennifer Gormley, a lawyer who collected substantial fees with Palmer in Arapahoe County probate cases.

Palmer could not be reached for comment immediately.

Public administrators are appointed in probate court cases where no heir is named or willing to distribute the assets of an estate. They also may be called as conservators of estates when people are judged incompetent to handle their own finances.

While some who came to Wednesday's hearing complained about Palmer and Timothy Fasing, the probate judge in Arapahoe County, others said they had been victimized by the probate systems in Jefferson and Denver counties.

Many expressed fears of retaliation. Two women donned masks as a television camera ran. "How many in this room have been threatened?" Senate aide Cheryl Steinberg asked. Nearly everyone raised a hand.

One common complaint: If a ward objects to the fees of a guardian, conservator, trustee or other court appointee, the fiduciary can spend the ward's money to battle the ward in court.

Reform ideas among the witnesses ranged from rotating probate judges to changing the judicial retention system, making probate records more accessible and reining in fees of multiple fiduciaries by creating a state Office of Public Guardian.

The latter idea is being promoted by Susan Scott, whose family spent 12 years in Denver's probate court before settling a dispute.

She said her father spent $1.5 million battling a court-appointed trustee and is still in debt from the case. The estate was salvaged only because the family home grew in value during the long court case, she said. Scott also suggested that legislators inquire about money kept in the Denver court's probate registry.

"How many cases? How much money is in there? How is it managed? (The answers) could be quite shocking," she said.

Woods said the probate problems raised at the hearing are not unique to Colorado.

"This is happening across the country," she said. "It's a big problem."

Full Article & Source:
Colorado lawmaker pledges probate reform after hearing victim stories

Lawmakers to take on receivership, probate abuse

ACCOUNT DRAINED: Aurora resident Diego Conde said half of the meager estate his mother left him was used to pay fees and expenses of a court-appointed guardian.

By Arthur Kane | Watchdog.org

DENVER — When Diego Conde’s mother died in 2008 she left him a modest $20,000 inheritance to help pay for school and other expenses. But since he wasn’t 18, the court appointed a guardian to oversee the estate.

By the time he turned of age, the money was gone and, he said, half went to expenses and compensation for the guardian.

“My college bills weren’t being paid on time, I got an eviction notice and there was no food,” Conde told a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are looking to draft a bill to rein in abuses by court-appointed receivers, guardians, trustees and conservators.

A group of two dozen Colorado residents, some wearing masks for fear of contempt citations for speaking out against judges and their appointed trustees, gathered Wednesday to suggest changes to state law.

“I know you guys are hurting, I know you want to tell your story and I know why,” state Sen. Laura Woods, R-Arvada, told the attendees.

Woods tried to pass a bill last session that would have allowed lawsuits against receivers and quick appeals for people who felt their receivers weren’t doing a proper job.

The bill failed after opposition by attorneys and the Colorado Judicial Branch.

At Wednesday’s meeting, participants suggested 50 different solutions, including having a non-judicial committee review cases when 10 percent of the estate is spent and preventing sales of assets for less than market value or to friends or family of court-appointed overseer.

“I’m not sure that’s not borderline criminal,” said Woods, reacting to stories of assets bought a bargain prices, apparently by relatives of a trustee.

Woods also said she is urging the state Attorney General’s office to look into cases in which people are forced onto Medicaid after their assets are drained by an overseer appointed by the court. It’s a process that could be costing taxpayers substantial money.

Photo By Arthur Kane

FREE SPEECH?: Several people who say they were victims of court-appointed overseers refused to show their faces, fearing retaliation in court from judges or their appointees.

Conde, who lives in Aurora but was born in Colombia, said he didn’t know how to question the process or how severe the problem was until all the money was gone.

“I really depended on this lady and all my money was depleted,” he said.

Woods and state Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, attended the meeting with staff. Woods said she hopes to have legislation drafted before the 2016 session.

Full Article & Source:
Lawmakers to take on receivership, probate abuse

Jack Halpren: Long Term Care and the Nursing Home Industry

Jack Halpern is the CEO of the New York City-based "My Elder Advocate, LLC". The organization provides advocacy services and helps seniors with issues such as eviction prevention, nursing home or assisted living placement and long term care planning.

In March, Mr. Halpern was showcased in the episode "Home Health Aides from Hell", which will be the focus of discussion for members of the New York State Standing Committee on Aging during its next legislative session, as confirmed by Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr., who serves on the committee.

Mr. Halpern recently asked The G-Man Interviews to meet with him to discuss what he described as a dangerous trend – in New York nursing homes and those in other states – that will lead to the evictions or deaths of Alzheimer’s and dementia residents who need and rely on long term care.

The interview was conducted on May 22nd at My Elder Advocate’s Brooklyn office.

Source:
YouTube:  Longterm Care and the Nursing Home Industry

Florida Senate approves guardianship overhaul

Last year, a coalition of Floridians traveled to Tallahassee explain how their elderly relatives had been victimized by court-appointed guardians.

Lawmakers got the message.

The Florida Senate on Tuesday passed legislation changing the way guardians are appointed and explicitly prohibiting the abuse, exploitation or neglect of an elderly ward (HB 5).

The bill is now headed to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk. It is widely expected to become law.

State Rep. José Javier Rodríguez, a Miami Democrat who co-sponsored the legislation in the House, said he had heard the “horror stories [from people] across the state who felt like their loved ones wound up isolated with everything taken from them and little they could do about it.”

“The reforms in this bill help to improve how guardians are appointed, better protect the wishes and rights of an incapacitated person once a guardian assumes power over them and clarify the responsibilities of guardians,” Rodríguez said.

Sam Sugar, a Miami physician who founded the advocacy group Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, called the measure an “an excellent first step.”

“But comprehensive reform will require the participation of the Supreme Court of Florida,” Sugar wrote in an email to the Herald/Times. “There must be consequences when those in charge of enforcing protections fail to follow the laws of the state and instead subvert them and abuse the vulnerable under the guise of ‘the best interests’ of ward.”

Under Florida law, judges can appoint guardians for elderly people who cannot manage their own finances.

Guardians must receive 40 hours of training and are paid for their services.

In recent years, the number of professional guardians has jumped from 10 to 465, according to the state Department of Elder Affairs. But the system has also come under intense scrutiny. A December investigation by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune newspaper found that some guardians had removed their elderly wards from their homes and sold off their belongings.

In response to the newspaper series — and complaints from constituents like Sugar, who engaged in a costly legal battle for control of his mother-in-law’s affairs — lawmakers filed a series of proposals this year aimed at overhauling the state’s guardianship laws.

Among those that gained traction: the proposal by Rodríguez and Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples.

Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, sponsored a similar bill in the Senate.

The proposal won unanimous support of the House earlier this month. It passed out of the Senate in a 40-0 vote on Tuesday.

The Senate also voted 40-0 in support of a separate proposal to create an new Office of Public and Professional Guardians, which would conduct investigations and take disciplinary action when necessary (SB 1226). But the bill died Tuesday because the House decided to recess early.

Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, blamed the ongoing budget battle for the bill’s death.

“I’m afraid this is another casualty of the war,” she said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article19820997.html#storylink=cpy

 
Full Article & Source:
Florida Senate approves guardianship overhaul

SF 306 by Judiciary

Click to see video

Source:
SF 306 by Judiciary

Congress Seeks to Head Off Exploitation of Elderly

The case headed for a Southeast Missouri courtroom today involves a public official, and that makes it unusual. The nature of the case, however, has become increasingly typical.

The coroner of Perry County stands accused of theft and financial exploitation of the elderly. The allegation involves a woman in her 90s and at least $80,000 taken from her bank account.

Missouri’s legislature has acted in recent years to strengthen state laws against those taking financial advantage of older citizens. And Congress turned its attention to the problem with a hearing this week.

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which heard testimony on Wednesday about financial exploitation of the elderly. She said later that an upsurge in the crime seemed likely.

“We do believe, because of the baby boomer generation, that there is going to be not a diminishment of this but, in fact, an increase,” she said in a conference call with reporters.

Demographic trends point to an aging population. In Missouri, according to the state’s Office of Administration, residents 65 and older made up 13 percent of the population in 2000. This will rise to an estimated 21 percent by 2030, with roughly 176,000 people in the 85-and-older category in that year.

Full Article and Source:
Congress Seeks to Head Off Exploitation of Elderly

SD: Bill to Form Task Force to Study Elder Abuse Passes Committee

A bill that would create a state task force dedicated to studying elder abuse has passed its first committee.

The proposal brought by Sen. David Novstrup would establish an interim committee to study the issue and prevalence of financial, emotional and abuse of elders in the state.

The bill was spurred by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court David Gilertson. Gilertson urged lawmakers to take up the study in his State of the Judiciary speech this year.

He says elder abuse is more common than most people think and that states nationwide are starting to take action on the issue.

The bill to create to the elder abuse task force passed out of the Senate Retirement Laws committee unanimously Wednesday. It now goes to the Senate floor.

Source:
Bill to Form Task Force to Study Elder Abuse Passes Committee

Senator Susan Collins Honored for Her Work for Alzheimer's

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins was honored by Women Against Alzheimer's, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for policies to help fight and find a cure for the disease.

The "Out of the Shadows" award was presented to Collins at an inaugural dinner aimed at celebrating leaders in the Alzheimer's movement and bringing greater attention to the disease.

The dinner featured filmmakers behind the film, "I'll Be Me," a documentary about country music legend Glen Campbell and his struggle with Alzheimer's.

Campbell's story was featured during a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing last year on Alzheimer's disease.
Collins serves as ranking member of that committee and is co-chairwoman of the Congressional Alzheimer's Task Force. Fighting Alzheimer's disease is among her top priorities in the U.S. Senate.

"I am extremely proud to be the first recipient of the Women Against Alzheimer's 'Out of the Shadows' award," Collins said in a prepared statement. "So many families like mine have experienced the pain of Alzheimer's, and that number is growing exponentially as our population ages."

Source:
Collins Receives Award for Alzheimer's Work

Illinois: Senator Steve Stadelman's Bill to Prevent Guardian Abuse Receives National Attention

A bill sponsored by Illinois Senator Steve Stadelman to strengthen the protection of adults in need of a legal guardian was signed by Governor Pat Quinn this week.

Senate Bill 1051 amends the Illinois Probation Act of 1975 by emphasizing that judges consider the welfare of the dependent adult when appointing a guardian. The bill also requires the inclusion of contact information for physicians providing evaluations, reports or opinions on a person's mental or physical disability for the purpose of naming a legal guardian.

"The legislation now specifically states 'best interest and well-being' of the dependent adult shall be the court's main concern in selection of the guardian," said Stadelman, D-Rockford "The goal is to help prevent guardianship from being used in a convenience or retaliatory manner."

Stadelman worked with Sylvia Rudek, director of the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse, to pass the legislation, which both houses of the Illinois General Assembly approved unanimously.

Rudek, who lives in Mount Prospect, Illinois, was subsequently named by Money Magazine to its "50 Heroes: 50 States" list for her efforts on SB 1051 and other reforms.

"SB 1051 provides clear language along with protections for the elderly and disabled adults of Illinois who are under guardianship," Rudek said. "Senator Stadelman is to be commended for reaching across the aisle and working with Rep. David Harris to gain bipartisan support. NASGA looks forward to working with Senator Stadelman in the future to further protect Illinois seniors and infirm adults."

Source:
Stadleman Bill to Prevent Guardian Abuse Receives National Attention

See Also:
NASGA Members in Legislative Action

Note:
Representative David Harris, who sponsored Senator Stadelman's bill in the House, gave NASGA the following statement:

"As the House sponsor of Senate Bill 1051, I was delighted to see that the Governor signed the bill into law. I was glad to work with state Senator Stadelman to get this legislation enacted, and I compliment him on his advocacy on the issue.

It is important to keep promoting bills that protect against guardianship abuse.  I expect to introduce several pieces of legislation on the issue of guardianship abuse when the General Assembly begins its new session in January of next year."

NASGA very much appreciates both Senator Stadelman and Representative Harris for their individual commitments to guardianship abuse reform and for working together on SB 1051 which will provide better protection of the elderly and disabled citizens of Illinois.  Sylvia Rudek looks forward to working with both of them again in the next session!  

Montana Senator John Walsh Holds Hearing on Alzheimer's: "Sooner or later, we will all be affected."

Kathleen Burke’s voice broke as she told U.S. Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., the story of how Alzheimer’s disease has changed her life as a caregiver and the lives of both her parents.

Walsh, who was at the South Park Senior Center to conduct a field hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, heard Burke tell about her parents’ 68th wedding anniversary, celebrated by the Alzheimer’s patients together at a nursing home where her mother was staying.

“Mom pushed Dad away when he bent over to kiss her goodbye, saying that her husband would not like that,” Burke said. “It was difficult for me to see, but probably worse for him since he would not talk about it.”

Other panelists described how Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders will affect more and more families in the coming years. George Carlson, director and professor at McLaughlin Research Institute, a biomedical research organization in Great Falls, said that five million Americans and about 25,000 Montanans have Alzheimer’s or related dementias, with an annual cost of about $100 billion.

If nothing changes, by 2050 as many as 16 million Americans will be affected, costing the economy $1.2 trillion annually. Currently the U.S. economy is about $17.3 trillion.

Walsh noted that about 48,000 Montanans care for someone with Alzheimer’s or other dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates the value of Montanans’ unpaid care reached $677 million in 2013. Nearly two-thirds of those providing care are women, and about two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women.

Carlson said increased Alzheimer’s research funding is sorely needed, since there are no therapies capable of even slowing Alzheimer’s effects. For every $28,000 the federal government spends on caring for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, $100 goes to support research. “Research is at a pivotal point,” he said. “It is largely a matter of our elected representatives deciding that a cure is worth funding.”

Full Article and Source:
Walsh Holds Hearing on Alzheimer's:  "Sooner or later, we will all be affected."

Tennessee State Senator Wants Judicial Discipline Panel to Investigate Nashville Judges

State Sen. Randy McNally has asked the Board of Judicial Conduct to investigate whether two Nashville judges had “too close a relationship” with a lawyer involved in getting a client released from jail without spending a 12-hour “cooling off” period he was charged with domestic assault.

 The Oak Ridge Republican said he was inspired to send a letter to the BJC by newspaper reports of General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland moving to promptly release Nashville contractor David Chase when Chase was charged with assaulting his girlfriend, whereupon Chase returned to the woman’s home and brutally beat her again, authorities allege.

Current state law allows a judge to order someone charged with domestic violence to spend 12 hours in jail as a “cooling off” period before release. But Moreland waived the requirement at the request of Chase’s attorney, Brian Lewis. Another judge, Night Commissioner Thomas Nelson, waived the 12-hour rule after Chase’s second arrest.

The Tennessean reported that Lewis and his wife had donated $3,000 to Moreland’s re-election campaign last November. Moreland also told the newspaper the two were close friends and had vacationed together.

Full Article and Source:
Senator Wants Judicial Discipline Panel to Investigate Nashville Judges

Judge to Senator: Get Your Hands Out of That Trust Fund

A court has ordered state Sen. Judith Zaffirini to stop paying herself out of funds that she is supposed to be managing in trust for the heir of two wealthy sisters.

Zaffirini and her associates have paid themselves more than $1.2 million in various attorney’s fees and executor fees out of a cluster of interlocking partnerships, trusts, and an estate they control for the ostensible benefit of Rocio G. Guerra.

Guerra sued Zaffirini and her associates, alleging that they are effectively looting the inheritance that her mother and aunt left her and her two children. That inheritance, mostly real estate in a fast-developing part of Laredo, has been valued as high as $150 million.

In response, Zaffirini’s side filed papers arguing that Guerra, her distant cousin, should forfeit her inheritance. They also cut off her monthly support payment last September, after a dispute over a car purchase.

In orders filed during the past three weeks, Judge Jesus Garza rejected the argument that Guerra should forfeit her inheritance, ordered Zaffirini and her associates to continue monthly support payments to Guerra, and restricted their attorney’s fees to $15,000 a month, payable to the lead attorney.

Zaffirini’s side had been billing fees upwards of $100,000 a month through the beginning of this year. She and her associates had already collected $420,000 in executor fees from estate that only had $107.169  in cash and receivables.

Garza found that if Zaffirini’s side kept scooping so much money out of the trust, it would “make ineffectual a judgment in favor of Rocio Guerra, in that it may cause the irretrievable loss of substantial assets that were meant to benefit… Rocio G. Guerra and her two minor children …”

The court also ordered  Zaffirini and associates “to desist and refrain from … (p)aying their legal fees and expenses from the Fiduciary Assets … (and u)sing any of the Fiduciary Assets for their own personal benefit …”

Source:
Judge to Senator:  Get Your Hands Out of That Trust Fund

Florida: Two State Agencies on Hotseat

The state departments that are supposed to protect children and mentally-retarded inmates are being challenged in the wake of incidents that led to preventable deaths.

First, State Sen. Eleanor Sobel accused the Department of Children and Families (DCF) of a “cover-up and a whitewash” after the agency said no records were generated during an internal investigation into a previous alleged cover-up, the  Miami Herald reports.

Second, there are questions about suspicious deaths of inmates at prisons in the state that were never investigated by the Department of Corrections, the Miami Herald reports in a separate article.

Regarding DCF, the genesis of the cover-up accusation was the discovery that a regional office that covers Broward, Palm Beach and three other counties failed to write and send in reports on the deaths of 30 children known to the agency as being at risk of harm. At the time, last fall and early 2014, the Herald was known to be preparing a report on such deaths.

That report, Innocents Lost,  was published in March. It said 477 children supposedly under DCF watch had died in Florida over a six-year period. The series led to legislative hearings and bills to overhaul the agency.

More recently, the Herald reported that the 30 deaths from Southeast had been withheld from the total. DCF Deputy Secretary Pete Digre was assigned to investigate.

When he finished, Digre said Regional Administrator Dennis Miles may have violated the letter of the law, but didn’t intentionally “shield information from anyone,” the Herald reported. DCF Secretary Mike Carroll gave Miles two days of suspension without pay.

“I can assure you that no information was destroyed, and no child deaths were unaccounted for,” Carroll said.

When the Herald tried to obtain the records of the investigation, Digre and Carroll said there were not any — nothing on paper, nothing digital.

Sobel, a Democrat who chairs the Senate’s Children, Family and Elder Affairs Committee, said the agency is engaging in a huge cover-up to preserve its public image. “They are obstructing information, they are obstructing justice, and they are obstructing transparency,” she told the Herald.

Full Article and Source:
Sarasota Crooked Lawyers:  2 State Agencies on Hotseat

Innocents Lost

Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm Column: Protecting Seniors From Abuse & Exploitation

April 24th 2014 Column by Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm:

Across the country, thousands of older Americans face abuse, neglect and exploitation every year. Many of these older victims are particularly vulnerable because they depend on others to help them with the most basic activities of daily living.

Senate Democrats have worked this session to establish a comprehensive system to prevent elder abuse, provide community support, offer legal options when intervention is necessary, and prosecute those who commit elder abuse. These items were included in SF 2239, which the Senate passed unanimously on March 4. When the Iowa House took up the bill, however, they removed elder abuse support and intervention services that would have been provided in local communities by the Aging & Disability Resource Centers.

Fortunately, there is still time to make progress. The Senate has now approved an amendment to SF 2239 that defines elder abuse and financial exploitation of an elder, allows victims of elder abuse to secure protective orders to stop the abuse, and authorizes criminal penalties for financial exploitation.

This will build on protections approved earlier this session in the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, which has already been signed into law. According to Iowa AARP, it is the most important thing we can do to fight financial abuse of elders.

SF 2168 specifically addresses financial exploitation of Iowa seniors, which often occurs at the hands of family members or caretakers. Based on recommendations of Iowa’s Elder Abuse Task Force, the Iowa Uniform Power of Attorney Act will help prevent and detect power of attorney abuse.

Full Article & Source:
Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm Column: Protecting Seniors From Abuse & Exploitation

Mental Health Inspector Quits Over Deeds Report

State Sen. Creigh Deeds reacted with dismay Tuesday to news that the state investigator probing the circumstances preceding his son's death has resigned.

In his resignation letter, G. Douglas Bevelacqua said he was quitting because of officials meddling with his work.

"It would be a grave disappointment to me if the investigation were sanitized," Deeds told reporters during a brief interview, in which he complimented Bevelacqua.

Since 2010, Bevelacqua had served as inspector general for behavioral health and developmental services, a unit of state government now under the Office of the State Inspector General.

Bevelacqua remained with that agency, keeping his focus on mental health issues. As such, he oversaw the inquiry into the Nov. 19 death of Deeds' son, 24-year-old Austin "Gus" Deeds, who stabbed his father at their Bath County home before taking his own life hours after undergoing a mental health evaluation.

The release of the report into the incident has been delayed. In a resignation letter to Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Bevelacqua said agency revisions to it "will diminish the Report's usefulness as policy makers consider changes to the Commonwealth's emergency services response system."

"If I were responsible for publishing this report, it would have been issued weeks ago and it would have contained conclusions that were removed because they were considered speculative or too emotional," Bevelacqua wrote in a letter dated March 1.

Proposals to overhaul mental health laws and boost funding for psychiatric treatment have been a focus of the 2014 General Assembly session.

Deeds' SB260, which would lengthen to 24 hours the term of emergency custody orders, is the subject of legislative negotiations with the House of Delegates. The bill would require the state to set up a psychiatric bed registry and establish a bed-of-last-resort rule in state hospitals so there is always a place to accommodate people in crisis.

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Mental Health Inspector Quits Over Deeds Report

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