The Oregon Attorney General's Race and Veteran/Conservatorship Ward Ben Alfano

Most of us, I believe, confront the ballot with prism in hand, the imperfect lens through which we measure the quality of the candidates and the relevance of the election.

In the Oregon attorney general's race between Ellen Rosenblum and Dwight Holton, your prism may be marijuana, prosecutorial passion or John Kroger.

My prism is  Ben Alfano.

In the last two months of the veteran's life, which I chronicled in February, Alfano was wrenched from the assisted-living facility he loved and dumped in a Gresham dementia-care unit. Alfano died there on Feb. 26, 2011, an especially bitter turn for four of his children, who had complained about conservator and guardianship issues for years.

Those objections were typically met with smug disdain, or worse, by the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs, and its well-paid bodyguard at the Department of Justice.

When Alfano's two sons sought a change in conservators, ODVA Director Jim Willis wrote a letter to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., saying Steven Alfano had no legal status in his father's case, when he, in fact, had Ben's legal medical power of attorney, and accusing him of a "financial conflict of interest."

When Alfano's children sought help from state Rep. Mike Schaufler, D-Happy Valley, Kathy Andreas -- ODVA's conservatorship manager -- responded to Steven Alfano's meticulous detailing of the family's problems with the agency as follows:

"It obviously took Steven many hours to organize and document his findings. That could explain why he has been spending less time lately with his father."

There's more where that came from, believe me.

When the four children looked to the state for help, they discovered that D. Kevin Carlson, one of Kroger's senior assistants, was not only defending ODVA but billing Ben Alfano's estate for his legal muscle and expertise.

Over the last two years, Carlson billed the estate more than $45,000. He also recommended in March that a Washington County judge reserve "at least $150,000" of what remains in the veteran's estate to deal with the children's federal civil rights' claims against ODVA and the guardian, Chris Farley.

We have, then, another glaring example of the AG's office defending state agencies to the extreme even when they're in the wrong.

Full Article and Source:
Justice and the Oregon Attorney General's Race Between Dwight Holton and Ellen Rosenblum

See Also:
Following Benjamin Alfano's Money

Editorial: Nursing Homes May Be Inevitable; Abuse Is Not

When I served as special counsel to the U.S. Senate Aging Committee, we investigated fraud and abuse in public assistance programs. Medicaid provided health care to those that could not afford it and Medicare funded seniors’ medical needs. Both systems were rife with corruption and abuse.

Our undercover operations proved that not only was the medical care poor but government programs were being ripped off by unscrupulous providers. When it came to nursing homes, only one, in all we investigated, delivered appropriate care.

Full Article and Source:
Nursing Homes May Be Inevitable, Abuse Is Not

Caring for Elderly Parents Catches Many Unprepared

Last July, Julie Baldocchi's mother had a massive stroke and was paralyzed. Baldocchi suddenly had to become a family caregiver, something that she wasn't prepared for.

"I was flying by the seat of my pants," says Baldocchi, an employment specialist in San Francisco. Both of her parents are 83, and she knew her father couldn't handle her mother's care.

The hospital recommended putting her mother in a nursing home. Baldocchi wasn't willing to do that. But moving her back into her parents' home created other problems.

With help from the Family Caregiver Alliance, she eventually hired a live-in caregiver. "But even if you plan intellectually and legally, you're never ready for the emotional impact," Baldocchi says. In the first two months after her mother's stroke, she lost about 30 pounds as stress mounted.

More than 42 million Americans provide family caregiving for an adult who needs help with daily activities, according to a 2009 survey by the AARP. An additional 61.6 million provided at least some care during the year.

And many are unprepared.

Full Article and Source:
Caring for Elderly Parents Catches Many Unprepared

Man Accused of "Milking" Aunt's Accounts of $500K

A Hatfield man has admitted to embezzling more than $500,000 from his elderly aunt for whom he was power of attorney, money he claimed he partly used to attempt to start a music business.

Francis X. Stagliano, 53, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to multiple felony charges of theft by unlawful taking or disposition in connection with incidents that occurred between January 2006 and August 2011.

Judge Garrett D. Page deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Stagliano, who remains free on bail pending sentencing. Stagliano faces a possible maximum sentence of 17 ½ to 35 years in prison on the charges.

With the charges, prosecutors alleged Stagliano stole money from various bank and investment accounts held by the victim, ranging from $47,356 to $179,882, for a grand total of $504,721, between 2006 and 2011.

Full Article and Source:
Hatfield Man "Milked" Accounts of Elderly Aunt

North Carolina Guardianship Proposal

New Hanover County's Department of Social Services serves as the court-appointed guardian for 66 elderly and disabled people to ensure their health, safety and well being.

On July 1 that number could swell to at least 81, or by 22.7 percent, if a court-ordered plan by the state Department of Health and Human Services is approved by the General Assembly.

Under a draft guardianship proposal, county departments of social services in North Carolina would be tasked with providing or contracting for guardianship for people with mental health issues, developmental disabilities and substance abuse issues.

The guardianship cases previously were handled by state mental health agencies such as the Southeastern Center for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services in Wilmington.

In a statement about the reasoning behind the switch from mental health to DSS for guardianship, DHHS Assistant Secretary Beth Melcher said, "… the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have determined there would be a conflict of interest if these agencies continued to serve as public guardians while also managing the financial aspects of their clients' care."

Currently there are 1,691 people across North Carolina who receive guardianship services through the public mental health system. The average annual cost to provide guardianship to each of those people was $2,543.

Full Article and Source:
General Assembly to Consider Guardianship Proposal

Longtime Probate Judge Won't Run for Re-election

To many people mourning a death or facing life’s hard decisions, he introduces himself as Bill Self.

Not Judge Self.

It’s meant to make people who’ve already suffered a loss feel a little more comfortable as they enter his office at the Bibb County Courthouse.

For more than two decades, Bibb County Probate Judge William J. “Bill” Self II has held uncontested hearings in the warmth of his office because for him, the job isn’t just to handle weighty court matters such as probating wills or deciding if warring family members should end medical life support for a loved one.

“For many people, it’s the first and only time they come to court,” he said. “They’re nervous.

Self, 63, announced that he won’t seek re-election when his term expires this at the end of 2012.

Self added a fiduciary compliance officer to his staff about 20 years ago to keep tabs on money spent by guardians and conservators appointed by the court. The compliance officer also checks to see if court orders are carried out.

Full Article and Source:
Longtime Bibb County Probate Court Judge Says He Won’t Run for Re-election

Financial Advisors and Insurance Agents Cautious About Selling to Person With Possible Dementia

Lake County, California, is said to be known for a few things besides having the state’s largest freshwater contained lake—pear production, bird watching, wineries, recent meth lab busts and Glenn Neasham, the convicted insurance agent who thought, he claims, he was selling a good product to a competent senior.

In the wake of Neasham’s felony conviction for theft, a jail sentence to go along with it, and his ongoing legal battle to get that conviction overturned, financial advisors and insurance agents are wondering if they might also fall into the same legal hole that Neasham cannot seem to escape. While the chances are slim for a replication of all of the factors and personalities in Neasham’s case to reassemble themselves elsewhere, there is no safe harbor in current law to prevent a jail sentence for an agent who sells an annuity to a customer who may turn out to have dementia or Alzheimer’s at the time of the sale.

As most readers who have followed the case know, a 12-person jury found former insurance agent Neasham, now 52, guilty of felony theft on Oct. 23, 2011 for selling an annuity to a then-83 year-old woman named Fran Schuber.

As ProducersWEB writes, Judge Richard Martin denied the motion for a new trial in February, refused to drop the felony charge to a misdemeanor and sentenced Neasham to probation and 300 days in jail. Martin stayed all but 90 days of the sentence. Neasham, out on bail, plans to appeal.

Full Article and Source:
Who Will Be the Next Glenn Neasham?

TN House Passes Conservatorship Protections

In brief discussion before the 95-0 vote, Rep. Gary Odom, a Nashville Democrat, said the bill would require those petitioning to place someone in a conservatorship to disclose their relationship to the target of the petition and to disclose whether they had a criminal record.The bill already has passed the Senate and is expected to go to the governor later this week.Alexia Poe, spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Haslam, said that the governor would review the measure when and if it gets to his desk, but added that she expected he would sign it.She said she understood the bill’s sponsors worked with the state Department of Human Services in drafting the measure.Odom said the bill would give judges key information about the motives of the petitioners and conservators.He said that still further protections are needed and those will be the focus of a study before the next legislative session.

Full Article and Source:
TN House Votes Conservatorship Protections

Zsa Zsa Gabor Conseratorship Battle Heats Up

Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband Frederic Prinz Von Anhalt has fired back at his stepdaughter Francesca Hilton, continuing their legal battle over the actress' conservatorship.

Both parties are demanding control over the 95-year-old actress' financial affairs and medical care. In March, Hilton's attorney filed a claim at a city court requesting that an independent conservator handle Gabor's affairs, rather than Von Anhalt. A hearing is set for May 2.

"We are just seeking to bring her finances and healthcare out in the open, so to speak, within the confines of a conservatorship proceeding, so that independent third parties will determine that she is getting the best care she can," the lawyer told OnTheRedCarpet.com's parent company, KABC Television.

On April 20, Von Anhalt filed a formal objection with the Superior Court of Los Angeles, claiming that Hilton is the last person who should care for her ailing mother, due to her "past conduct."

In the legal documents obtained by TMZ, Von Anhalt blames Hilton for the estate's financial problems and claims he does everything he can to care for Gabor, including hiring help and "prudently" monitoring finances.

Hilton, a Los Angeles comedienne whose official first name is Constance, has squabbled with Von Anhalt for decades and has at times insulted him on stage at her stand-up comedy shows.

Full Article and Source:
Zsa Zsa Gabor's Husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt Battles Stepdaugher Over Conservatorship