Mayor, commissioners will not follow up on audit that criticized oversight of Guardian program

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ORLANDO, Fla. — WESH 2 News is investigating the state's Guardian Program.

It's designed to care for people, often elderly, who are incapacitated.

WESH 2 News investigative reporter Greg Fox explains why Orange County's mayor and commissioners are not going to follow up on an audit that criticized oversight of the program.

Rebecca Fierle is a former professional guardian who is charged with aggravated abuse and neglect of the elderly, related to the death of one of her wards, Steven Stryker.

Jan Garwood was a former Fierle Ward, whose attorney persuaded a judge last fall to restore her rights.

"And I said, 'please, if anybody is reading this, please help me. I've been kidnapped and forced into a locked facility,'" Garwood said.

Fierle was just one of the professional guardians whose questionable financial control over their wards was exposed in a March audit by Orange County's comptroller. It also suggested that the clerk of courts who oversees the Guardian program was not doing an adequate job.

After examining 3,300 cases, the audit revealed in just 14 cases, "unsupported expenses" of $1.25 million, for living facilities, medical expenses, and for "other" unexplained expenses.

But Clerk Tiffany Moore Russell pushed back, saying comptroller Phil Diamond doesn't understand how the program works.

"That this could still happen? That's really the saddest point," Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe said.

That's why Uribe asked for a commission workshop, to learn more.

But at a recent Public Safety Coordinating Council meeting, Russell rejected the idea.

"This is not the venue," Tiffany Moore Russell, Orange County Clerk Of Courts, said, "to address those issues regarding Guardianship."

Instead, she referred WESH 2 News to the Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers Association. In an email, a spokesman told WESH 2 News a new task force will "focus on Guardianship in Florida and make recommendations on improvements to the process."

"We will continue to work with our judiciary as far as our processes in making sure we are doing our best to protect those most vulnerable," Russell said.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said what the clerk really needs, is more money from the state.

"To look at legislative relief and funding to better fund the guardianship program," Demings said.

But critics, who believe local clerks and judges can be manipulated by guardians and their attorneys, want lawmakers to establish a statewide court and jury.

The Clerk and Comptroller Association could not provide a timetable for the new task force beginning or completing its work.

 

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Mayor, commissioners will not follow up on audit that criticized oversight of Guardian program

Nursing homes with serious violations could receive fewer inspections under Florida bills

A patient at a Central Florida nursing home near The Villages died after being left out in the sun for three hours.

Another was rushed to a Melbourne emergency room after staff administered anti-psychotic medications at 80 times the prescribed dose.

And at a nursing home between Gainesville and St. Augustine, one patient died after staff waited five minutes before starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and another nearly died after he was overdosed on morphine.

Over the last three years, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration cited all three low-rated nursing homes with Class 1 violations – the most severe violations the agency can levy. By state law, AHCA was required to ramp up oversight, inspecting the homes every six months for two years.

But that oversight would be cut back under two bills making their way through the Florida Legislature that would reduce inspections at problem nursing homes. Advocates say it's a threat to patient safety. ACHA leaders say they're already going into poor-performing homes frequently and need more flexibility around inspections. 

And with fewer inspections, AHCA’s inspection fine would be cut in half from $6,000 to $3,000.

The nursing home provision is part of a larger legislative push by AHCA to give the agency more flexibility in how it deploys staff across the health care spectrum.

Other parts of the legislation would give AHCA leeway to extend inspection deadlines at highly rated assisted living facilities and exempt “low-risk providers” – nurse registries, home medical equipment providers and health care clinics – with excellent regulatory histories from regular inspections.

Mary Mayhew, secretary of the
 Florida Agency for Health Care
Administration (Photo: Florida
 Agency for Health Care
Administration)

The two bills – Senate Bill 1726 and House Bill 731 – have received little pushback in Florida’s regulation-averse Legislature.

AHCA Secretary Mary Mayhew said in an interview that the purpose of the legislation is to give AHCA the ability to spend less time in good health care facilities and more time inspecting problem providers. The agency’s resources are increasingly strained as the state’s population and the number of health care providers increase, agency leaders said.

“We wanted to make sure that as we look at our workload, that we are able to have a clear focus on higher-risk and poor performing providers,” Mayhew said.

But critics of the legislation worry about the ramifications of cutting back on AHCA’s mandates.

Rep. Margaret Good,
D-Sarasota (Photo: Florida
House of Representatives)

“In my opinion, oversight and inspections are critical to ensuring quality care and that residents are safe,” said state Rep. Margaret Good, D-Sarasota, who was critical of the legislation during an early February health care committee meeting. “I’m concerned that requiring fewer inspections could lead to worse outcomes to those that are most vulnerable.”

The state's nursing homes came under scrutiny in 2017 after 12 residents of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills died following a power outage caused by Hurricane Irma.

A 2018 investigation by The News-Press and the Naples Daily News that found dozens of Florida’s worst nursing homes have long records of failing to meet state and federal standards and operate with little risk that regulators will shut them down.

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Nursing homes with serious violations could receive fewer inspections under Florida bills

Bogus 'guardians' steal money, sometimes life | Opinion

Editorial Board, Lakeland Ledger

The concept of “retirement,” along with government social welfare programs to support old folks who no longer worked, dates to the 1880s. That’s when German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck concluded that a little socialism for the elderly — Germany set retirement its age at 70 — was better than blanket entitlement programs for all his constituents.

As Bismarck’s idea circulated across the Atlantic, Florida didn’t take long to catch on. The New York Times noted a few years ago that by 1910 middle-class retirees joined the wealthy in discovering the Sunshine State as an appealing place to live out their golden years. Retirement communities began popping up within the next two decades.

Thus, for a century Florida has marketed itself and catered to the elderly, becoming a top destination of elders seeking a retirement pasture.

But that influx of senior citizens made Florida a target-rich environment for hucksters, shysters and ne’er do wells out to con them — or harm them in other ways. And on occasion that abuse came from those entrusted to watch out for their interests.

Now, state Rep. Colleen Burton has joined an effort to better protect our seniors.

The Lakeland Republican has sponsored a bill that would toughen oversight of the state’s guardianship program for seniors, which is managed by the state Department of Elder Affairs.

At a guardian hearing in Judge Lisa Davidson's courtroom at the Moore Justice Center in Viera, guardian Manda Wright replaced Rebecca Fierle for two Brevard residents as their guardian. Judge Lisa Davidson at the hearing.  (Photo: MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)

Focus on this arm of the tiny agency began last summer after media reports surfaced about Rebecca Fierle, an Orlando-based guardian. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated her after one of her clients, Steven Stryker, 75, died from choking on food while hospitalized in Tampa. Fierle reportedly filed a “do not resuscitate” order, which precluded hospital staff from treating Stryker, without permission from either Stryker or his family.

Subsequently, an audit by Orange County determined Fierle had billed Advent Health more than $4 million over 10 years, double-billing the hospital system and court for the same services. Fierle also had clients in Volusia and Flagler counties, and after news of the Tampa case broke, Volusia County Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson started requiring that guardians seeking a DNR appear before her for an evidentiary hearing with medical testimony and notice to the ward’s family.

A few months before Stryker’s case became news, the website RealClearInvestigations.com reported on Lillie White, an 88-year-old from Palm Coast. During an August 2016 doctor’s appointment, while her niece remained in the waiting room, a guardian took White and declined to say where she went. Two years later White’s family learned that her sole granddaughter, who had been cut out of White’s will, had persuaded a judge White needed guardianship.

White, who was worth $4 million, was housed in an assisted living facility 35 miles from home. The guardian, without White’s family’s knowledge, sold her house and some of her other assets to pay the fees of the guardian as well as a court-appointed lawyer and other people overseeing her case.

WFTS in Tampa recently reported on a Pinellas County guardian charged with draining her 92-year-old client’s bank account of $541,000 in just 10 months. She had convinced him to grant her power of attorney over his affairs and proceeded to pay herself $1,600 a day.

Meanwhile, the state’s director of the program resigned last year amid a lengthy backlog complaints about guardians — which the Department of Elder Affairs now says has been addressed.

In response, Burton and Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, have filed bills that will strengthen protections for the more than 3,800 Floridians managed by guardians. Included in the proposals are requirements that:

• Judges look more closely at possible conflicts of interest and other disqualifying factors before appointing a guardian;
• Guardians seek court approval for DNR orders, and be prohibited from seeking their own appointment;
• Guardians could not recieve bonuses, referral fees, commissions or other potential kickbacks from service providers.

We believe that most of the state’s 500-plus guardians are professional, conscientious, devoted to the best interests of their wards and law-abiding.

But as noted above, some are not. In order to protect Florida’s elderly who need this service, as well as the state’s reputation as a haven for senior citizens, we must have stricter rules governing this program. For working for that, we applaud Rep. Burton and Sen. Passidomo.

This editorial was originally published in the Lakeland Ledger.

Full Article & Source:
Bogus 'guardians' steal money, sometimes life | Opinion

DeSantis launches probe of office overseeing guardians after death, resignation; advocates want action

Carol Berkowitz

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday his administration is “vigorously” investigating the state office overseeing professional guardians in the wake of its director’s sudden resignation, adding he may ask for legislation to fix the beleaguered system.

The Orlando Sentinel reported this month that a man died after professional guardian Rebecca Fierle of Orlando issued a “do not resuscitate” order against his wishes. A judge found Fierle had “abused her powers” by filing such orders for numerous incapacitated clients without permission from their families or the court. Fierle resigned from 95 Orange County cases during a July 11 hearing.

The next week, she resigned from additional cases in Seminole County during an emergency court hearing, but it was not immediately clear how many cases were involved because the hearing was closed to the public.

Carol Berkowitz, executive director of the Florida Office of Public and Professional Guardians, which oversees investigations and discipline of the more than 550 professional guardians in the state, abruptly resigned July 12, three days after the Okaloosa County Clerk of Court and Comptroller produced an investigative report on Fierle. The state’s Department of Elder Affairs confirmed Berkowitz’s resignation Tuesday but has not said what led to her departure.

 “We were obviously concerned with some of the reports,” DeSantis said at an event at the Florida’s Turnpike headquarters in Ocoee. Richard Prudom, the secretary of Elder Affairs, “is pursuing it, and I told him to pursue it vigorously.”

He said he told all agencies to “take six months, you’ll figure out what’s going on, figure out what needs to be done,” adding the agency heads have been reporting back to him over the course of July.

Full Article & Source:
DeSantis launches probe of office overseeing guardians after death, resignation; advocates want action

Abbott Veto is a Major Setback for Oversight of Troubled Adult Guardianship System

Note:  This is an older article that we repeat again as a reminder that States have a long way to go to protect their elderly.  Doing so will first involve a major change in thinking and priorities.

 The statewide oversight system for adult guardianships had overwhelming support. “I am truly shocked and dismayed” by Abbott’s decision, said one lawmaker.

Rosamond Bradley testifies before the
Senate State Affairs committee about
her difficulty getting her guardianship
case reviewed in Lubbock County. 
Texas House of Representatives

In one of his line-item vetoes announced Monday, Governor Greg Abbott effectively canceled a statewide program to inspect guardianship cases for signs of fraud or abuse against vulnerable Texans who are under court protection.

Abbott achieved a $5 million cut from the $217 billion state budget by eliminating a program that would, for the first time, offer a full accounting of how many elderly and incapacitated Texans are being neglected or swindled by their court-appointed guardians.

In a pilot program over the last two years, state auditors have reviewed more than 17,000 cases in 18 counties and found that more than half the cases are out of compliance with state law, missing reports from guardians appointed by a judge to look after an elderly or incapacitated person. Judges rely on these reports to ensure guardians aren’t exploiting the people in their care.

As the Observer has reported in a series of investigations, most counties in Texas either can’t or don’t pay for court staff to monitor these cases. Judges are left to oversee thousands of cases on their own, an impossible job they must handle on top of the new cases.

Without that oversight, people simply fall through the cracks. Last summer, the Observer featured the story of Rosamond Bradley, who remained stuck in a guardianship in Lubbock County for years after she recovered from her illness, despite her letters asking the county judge to restore her rights.

At the same time, a married couple in Lubbock collected thousands from the estates of elderly people, selling off houses and other investments under their authority as court-appointed guardians, with no local oversight.

In April, the Observer reported the story of Patricia Ellis, who spent three years under a temporary guardianship from Smith County, an order that should normally last just two months. Her husband used his authority as her guardian to order electroconvulsive therapy for his wife, while the rest of Ellis’ family waited years to contest the guardianship in front of a judge.

Bradley told her story again for the Senate State Affairs Committee last September, and it made an impression. Last session, the entire committee — seven Republicans and two Democrats — signed on to co-author a bill by Senator Judith Zaffirini that would expand the guardianship audit to cover the whole state, at a cost of $2.5 million a year. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 30 to 1.

In the Texas Capitol, it was that rarest of double-rainbow unicorns: a problem so grave, with a remedy so clear, that lawmakers gladly forked over the money to fix it.

But to Abbott, it was “unnecessary bureaucracy and unnecessary spending,” he explained on Monday. And anyway, he wrote, “I signed multiple bills to reform the guardianship process.”

Zaffirini told the Observer she never saw Abbott’s veto coming. “I was truly shocked and dismayed, and that is an understatement. I was just flabbergasted,” she said. “We didn’t even worry about a veto. Not of this bill.”

Her best guess? That $5 million budget line was too juicy for Abbott to ignore, so he cut first and asked questions later.

“I cannot imagine that he would veto this bill if it were explained to him, and if the history were to be explained,” she said. “The governor is correct that he signed other guardianship bills, but this was the centerpiece. This was the cornerstone of the guardianship package.”

David Slayton, the director of the Office of Court Administration, said that Abbott’s veto zeroed out funding even for the limited audit that began in 2015.

“We’re going to have to step back and figure out what happens with the project,” he said. “The pilot project’s findings were shockingly disturbing, and we felt like the need for this was immense, and we felt like there was good support.”

Slayton said the program has been so popular that counties are lined up on a waitlist for auditors to visit. After Abbott’s veto, that list could be cut very short.

Full Article & Source:
Abbott Veto is a Major Setback for Oversight of Troubled Adult Guardianship System

Poor Patient Care at Many Nursing Homes Despite Stricter Oversight

Cheryl Powers fixing the hair of her mother, Elaine Fisher

In 2012, Parkview Healthcare Center’s history of safety violations led California regulators to issue an ultimatum reserved for the most dangerous nursing homes.

The state’s public health department designated Parkview, a Bakersfield, Calif., nursing home, a “special focus facility,” requiring it to either fix lapses in care while under increased inspections or be stripped of federal funding by Medicare and Medicaid — a financial deprivation few homes can survive. After 15 months of scrutiny, the regulators deemed Parkview improved and released it from extra oversight.

But a few months later, Elaine Fisher, a 74-year-old who had lost the use of her legs after a stroke, slid out of her wheelchair at Parkview. Afterward, the nursing home promised to place a nonskid pad on her chair but did not, inspectors later found. Twice more, Ms. Fisher slipped from her wheelchair, fracturing her hip the final time.

The violation drew a $10,000 penalty for Parkview, one of 10 fines totaling $126,300 incurred by the nursing home since the special focus status was lifted in 2014.

While special focus status is one of the federal government’s strictest forms of oversight, nursing homes that were forced to undergo such scrutiny often slide back into providing dangerous care, according to an analysis of federal health inspection data. Of 528 nursing homes that graduated from special focus status before 2014 and are still operating, slightly more than half — 52 percent — have since harmed patients or put patients in serious jeopardy within the past three years.

These nursing homes are in 46 states. Some gave patients the wrong medications, failed to protect them from violent or bullying residents and staff members, or neglected to tell families or physicians about injuries, inspection records show. Years after regulators conferred clean bills of health, levels of registered nurses tend to remain lower than at other facilities.

Yet, despite recurrences of patient harm, nursing homes are rarely denied Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Consequences can be dire for patients like Ms. Fisher.  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
Poor Patient Care at Many Nursing Homes Despite Stricter Oversight

New Mexico lags in guardianship reform

The New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts reported in a 2009 legislative analysis “that there is no system in place in New Mexico to assure effective oversight and monitoring of court-appointed guardians.”

Four years later, another legislative analysis found that conservatorships and guardianships were becoming more common, but “in New Mexico, there is limited regulation of what is known as ‘corporate guardianship,’ ” which involves court appointment of a for-profit or not-for-profit entity that is paid to be the legal guardian – either from the ward’s assets or by the state.

Little has changed since then, as New Mexico lags behind other states, including Texas and California, that have made reform of the system a top priority.

“We are focused on making sure that these people are protected, and it’s a big issue, a hot topic all throughout Texas,” said Jeff Rinard, guardianship certification program director in Texas.

“Nationwide, it’s a big deal, especially as the population ages.”

But in New Mexico, which has one of the most secretive guardianship/conservatorship systems in the nation, the state doesn’t know how many people are living under a court-approved guardianship or conservatorship.

In a special project funded two years ago by the Legislature for the 2nd Judicial District, the Albuquerque-area court identified about 6,000 “active” guardianship or conservatorship cases in Bernalillo County alone, some dating back to the early 1950s. Two special masters have been spot-checking cases and have made home visits to find out if wards are OK and to check their living conditions – if they are still alive.

The rest of the state? State court officials say the courts’ computer system can only show the number of guardianship cases that have been active since 2016, but efforts are underway to improve tracking of cases prior to that time.

No records

A judge in New Mexico typically sets a 30-minute closed hearing to make a potentially life-changing, and often irrevocable, decision on whether to place an allegedly incapacitated person in the hands of a family member guardian or guardianship firm.

If the request is granted, based on reports presented to the court, the incapacitated person is stripped of virtually all his or her rights, with the guardian/conservator assuming authority to make decisions on every aspect of that person’s life and finances.

The guardianships break down into three general categories:

• Cases in which a family member is appointed guardian, which account for the vast majority.

• Cases in which a for-profit or not-for-profit guardian is appointed for someone with few assets and is paid by the state – $3,650 a year for each incapacitated person.

• Cases in which the allegedly incapacitated person has assets and a commercial guardian/conservator is appointed and paid from the assets, often charging hundreds of dollars an hour and hiring others to provide services that could include help with personal hygiene, grocery shopping and even dog walking. Conservators have virtually total control over financial decisions.

Family members interviewed by the Journal have complained that commercial guardians/conservators ignored the incapacitated person and wasted estate assets against the wishes of that person and family members.

They said efforts to complain to the judge who made the appointment are often futile.

Among their complaints: Guardians and conservators can charge excessive fees with little justification required by the court.

And they say a family member who hires a lawyer and files a petition for guardianship is in the driver’s seat from then on, partly because judges typically appoint that lawyer’s recommended team to advise the court whether to grant a guardianship. That practice has been rejected, for example, in California, where judges use a court investigator on staff to investigate the need for a guardian.

A 2013 legislative analysis said there is no specific mechanism in New Mexico for complaints against corporate guardians who don’t have contracts with the state Office of Guardianship. Texas has overhauled its system to put licensure for guardians in place, along with a complaint system.

The Office of Guardianship, which contracts with for-profit and not-for-profit firms to provide guardian or conservator services to low-income individuals, does have the authority to investigate complaints against its guardian contractors.

But the 2013 legislative analysis said that because the office works closely with its contractors, “there is an inherent conflict of interest.”

And what about the complaints the office has investigated?

Records custodian Justin Moore told the Journal: “The Office of Guardianship has no public records showing the number of complaints filed against any particular contractor. Moreover, such complaints are exempt from inspection because they related to “client complaints against a contractor,” which he said are exempt from public inspection.

The state’s Adult Protective Services Department investigates complaints against guardians and makes referrals to the state Attorney General’s office, but a spokesman last week said the agency’s tracking doesn’t distinguish how many referrals have involved guardians.

Reforms elsewhere

A federal Governmental Accountability Office report in 2011 noted that many states reported having limited resources for monitoring guardians. But that didn’t stop some, including Delaware and Texas, from recruiting volunteers to help oversee guardians.

Delaware officials reported that their volunteers serve as liaisons between guardians and the courts, visit guardians and wards, and report to court officials about once every six months.  (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
New Mexico lags in guardianship reform

Attorney General increases funds to combat guardianship abuse

Isolation. Double-billing. Entire life savings spent with no oversight.
That's what we found in a Contact 13 Investigation of our guardianship system. 

Nevada's Attorney General is stepping up to fight the abuse

Adam Laxalt wants $400,000 sent to the Legal Aid of Southern Nevada to help fund pro bono work for vulnerable exploited by those who are supposed to protect them. 

The program is part of a larger new unit in the AG's office to combat financial fraud and it will not cost taxpayers as funding comes from mortgage settlement funds.

Full Article & Source:
Attorney General increases funds to combat guardianship abuse

Tonite on T.S. Radio: Guardian Abuse: Can You Spot the Predator?

In every State, elders and vulnerable adults are targeted by the "protection" industry for profit.

Probate courts can remove all or some of an elder's civil rights, leaving guardians and those who work with them in control the elder's life and assets.

• Loopholes created by the law have allowed a criminal element into a system that has few protections for elders in place.
• There is little or no monitoring in many counties of what happens to elders and their assets under guardianship.
• There is no oversight by any entity outside of the court to ensure that it's proceedings are fair.   

For predators in the business of trafficking elders, it's all about the money.                  

• Tonight, guest Marcia Southwick will be joining me to talk about the people who work under color of law.
• Who are they?
• Who do they target, and why?
• How do they use the court system?
• And how do they find their marks?
• Is there any way to recognize them? And how can you avoid them?                                

Tune in for answers. Calls will be taken during the second half of the show.

5:00 pm PST … 6:00 pm MST … 7:00 pm CST … 8:00 pm EST

LISTEN LIVE or listen to the archive later

Washoe County District Judge Authors, "Who is Guarding the Guardians?"

The Jason Hanson and Guadalupe Olvera cases are not isolated. The exploitation of the disabled and elderly illustrated in both cases is just the tip of the iceberg in a racketeering enterprise running rampant throughout Nevada and the US.  

A Washoe County District Court Judge has authored the following paper to help improve guardianship systems and monitoring in his county, something completely lacking in Clark County. 

The reform that Judge Hardy recommends would put a stop to the abuse caused in Clark County Family Court by appointed "Guardianship Commissioners" like Jon Norheim - a former mob lawyer - - who rubber stamps everything greedy private guardians like Jared E. Shafer want. - SM

Source:
AmericanMafia.com

Who is Guarding the Guardians?  A Localized Call for Improved Guardianship Systems and Monitoring

By: Judge David Hardy, Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County, Nevada

 

What is generally described above remains specifically accurate in Washoe County, Nevada. A statistical analysis of local guardianships demonstrates that Washoe County guardianships do not compare well to “exemplary” courts in which best practices exist. As but a few examples, 64% of all Washoe County guardianships begin as temporary guardianships in which an order is entered before the proposed ward is given notice of the action and an opportunity to respond. The judges granted 99% of the ex parte petitions for temporary guardianship. Few proposed wards are represented by counsel or guardians ad litem. Only 7% of the petitions sought limited authority in recognition of the proposed wards’ situational capacity. Inventories, personal status reports, and financial accountings were late or missing in alarming numbers. There were also recurring substantive problems relating to the content of petitions and medical evidence, sufficiency of notice, consistency of orders and financial accountings, statutory noncompliance with inventory requirements, widely divergent administrative expenses, and post-death property disposition orders. Finally, judges have no county resources with which to investigate the propriety of guardianship or monitor the performance of their guardians. Washoe County can improve its guardianship systems and adopt best practices by implementing several reforms, each of which is fully discussed in this article.

READ "Who is Guarding the Guardians? A Localized Call for Improved Guardianship Systems and Monitoring "

See Also:
The Jason Hanson - Jared E. Shafer Story"  "Special Administrator" Jared E. Shafer Takes House and Inheritance From 24-Year-Old Man With Cerebral Palsy

Guadelupe Alvera, NV/CA Victim

Marcey E. Dudeck, NV/CA Victim

Cleveland attorney questioned about Chizek estate; his home damaged after water pipes froze and burst in May

WNIR talk show host Howie Chizek,
who died in June of 2012 is shown in
 an undated photo. (Shane Wynn Studio)

A Cleveland attorney named by local radio icon Howie Chizek as the executor of his $1.6-million-plus estate is in hot water in Summit County Probate Court over an apparent oversight that caused extensive damage to Chizek’s Twinsburg home earlier this year.

Testimony at a probate hearing Tuesday morning showed that Chizek’s home was not properly winterized in the months after his June 2012 death.

Water lines eventually froze inside the two-story home and, some time later, burst during the spring thaw, causing more than $118,000 in damage from flooding and extensive development of mold, according to testimony.

The flooding was so serious, Chizek’s brother Larry said during the hearing, that water could be seen gushing out the front doors. He said that Twinsburg police notified his wife about the problem in May.

The apparent oversight, along with the fact that Chizek’s estate has not closed in probate court some 18 months after his death, could lead to the removal of the estate’s executor, attorney Charles M. Morgan.

Chief Probate Magistrate George R. Wertz told attorneys from both sides that he would take the matter under advisement and notify them about a decision.

Morgan, who was granted three extensions on the filing of probate documentation because of his involvement in a Cleveland murder case, declined to comment following Tuesday’s hearing.

But in sworn testimony to direct questioning by Wertz, Morgan told the magistrate: “As far as winterizing, I went over and I thought I had turned off the water. Obviously I probably turned it the wrong way. I thought I had turned it off.”

Morgan went on to testify that he remembered being at Chizek’s home about five or six weeks before the May flooding call by Twinsburg police.

“That five or six weeks, that’s a guess,” Morgan said. “I didn’t write down every day I was there.”
Morgan said he “peeked inside” the home before it flooded, but did not walk through it to check on whether everything was secure.

An assistant to Twinsburg police Chief Christopher Noga told the Beacon Journal later Tuesday that the department received a call about the flooding on May 20. Someone who lived in Chizek’s neighborhood made the call.

Full Article and Source:
Cleveland attorney questioned about Chizek estate; his home damaged after water pipes froze and burst in May