Ex Nun Files Federal Lawsuit After Confrontation for Refusing to Leave a Nursing Home She was Visiting

A 76-year-old former nun says she was roughed up by Columbus Police after refusing to leave a nursing home she was visiting, according to a federal lawsuit she filed. The woman, Elizabeth Bormann, had driven 540 miles to visit a 96-year-old friend at the nursing clinic, but when she got there she found out the man’s legal guardian had removed her from the list of approved guests. She insisted she wouldn’t leave until she could tell her friend herself she was removed from the list.

From the local TV station, ABC6: Police say the removal was a response to a series of scams perpetrated by multiple women that had cost the man more than $500,000.

Investigators do not suspect Bormann of involvement in the scams…

Columbus Police Officer Theodis N. Turner, III was dispatched to the nursing home, where he instructed Bormann to leave the facility.

That, according to Bormann, is when the situation became violent.

"He said to me, 'I've had enough of you,' and he charged into me, basically, and somehow or the other, charged into my side, took my arm. It all happened so fast.

"Before I know it, I was down on my knees and then, of course, I urinated, and I started a little crying, and pretty much I was just stunned.

"I was humiliated. I do believe that I've become a victim. It just was such a surprise and such a shock."

Full Article and Source:
Cop Roughed Up Ex-Nun Visiting Nursing Home, Lawsuit Alleges

Colorado Legislative Session Includes Protections for the Disabled

When the regular session of the General Assembly of the Colorado Legislature adjourned May 9, it left a legacy of two laws that are intended to protect people with disabilities and at-risk adults from harm.

The first, Senate Bill 78, was co-sponsored by our own Sen. Ellen Roberts and supported in the House by Rep. J. Paul Brown. This bill strengthens the language requiring certain professionals to report suspicions of abuse, exploitation, neglect and mistreatment of at-risk adults, including people with disabilities and elders. The bill also creates an Elder Abuse Task Force to make recommendations at the 2013 General Assembly for a process of reporting and response to allegations.

Full Article and Source:
Legislative Session Includes Protections for the Disabled

NJ Nursing Home Rebel Makes Herself Heard

Anyone who thinks nursing home residents are helpless and unable to speak up for themselves never met Donna Parisi.

Her voice works fine. In fact, she's hoping it will be heard all the way in Washington, where federal officials are reviewing sweeping changes proposed for New Jersey's nursing home industry.

The former teacher, who uses a wheelchair, is leading the rebellion against the state's plan to further privatize its Medicaid program. She has spent hours trying to enlist local politicians and citizens to join her cause. She hands letters about the issue to any visitor she spots at Preakness Healthcare Center in Wayne, where she lives. She's managed to gather 11,000 electronic signatures on a MoveOn.org petition.

"I ask everybody who comes in here if they want to sign the petition," she said. "I'm not done fighting this even though it is going to take a miracle to stop it, mostly because nobody seems to be doing anything to try to stop it."

The state's plan — for which federal approval is expected soon — involves turning the long-term-care portion of the $5 billion Medicaid budget over to the four insurance companies that manage the rest of New Jersey's healthcare program for the poor. Proponents say this will curb rising Medicaid costs in nursing homes while providing more funding for services and equipment for people who want to remain in their homes.

But Parisi has serious concerns about letting private companies rather than state regulators set the reimbursement rates for such care. She is worried that for-profit companies will slash reimbursements, forcing nursing homes to cut staff and reduce services.

"This is going to alter how we live here and how we're cared for," Parisi said.

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Nursing Home Rebel Makes Herself Heard

Santa Clara County Lacks Rules to Rein in Fees of Court-Appointed Conservators

In California, elderly and disabled adults, blessed with some savings but incapable of caring for themselves, foot the bill when judges appoint private business people to manage their finances or daily affairs.

But when it comes to racking up those charges, no place in the Bay Area stands out like Santa Clara County.

An examination by this newspaper found that in Contra Costa, Alameda and Marin counties, court-appointed conservators wouldn't get very far if they tried to charge the $330 maximum hourly rate that turns up on one San Jose professional estate manager's rate schedule, or the $295 an hour described on a well-known Campbell conservator's fee list. That's more than double what other courts allow.

And if estate managers burned through the life savings of a dependent adult in San Francisco or San Mateo counties, they would be expected to stay on the job the rest of their client's life -- for free.

But in Santa Clara County, this newspaper found, these court-overseen services can come at exorbitant costs in a probate court system with few specific rules to rein them in. When families can't care for elderly and incapacitated adults, these private professionals can be assigned as conservators or trustees to arrange everything from complex money management to rides to the grocery store.

In Santa Clara County, some work alone, charging top rates for their services. Others employ staff members, whose multiple tasks layered on top of fiduciary fees can also add up to astounding six-figure bills for a single year.

"The buck stops at the court, and we should have more guidelines and more factors to determine reasonable fees," said Victoria Tran Sood, a South Bay probate and trust attorney who represents the elderly and their families. "Here we don't have that, so people take their chances. The young fiduciaries charge according to what they're taught, and the older guys charge double and layer their bills because they can get away with it."

Full Article and Source:
Santa Clara County Lacks rules to Rein in Fees of Court-Appointed Conservators

See Also:
The Mercury News' "Loss of Trust" Series (Anchor article)

Editorial: Santa Clara County Judges Must Impose Tighter Rules for Managing Vulnerable Residents' Estates

Mercury News reporter Karen de Sá's report on the court-sanctioned raiding of vulnerable Santa Clara County residents' assets is heartbreaking and infuriating. How can this usually progressive county allow court-appointed conservators to prey upon people the courts are supposed to protect?

Other counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin, have guidelines that prevent conservators from charging exorbitant fees and draining the bank accounts of the elderly and disabled. Since de Sá began her inquiries, Santa Clara County is considering doing the same. No kidding. The pity is that it can't make the rules retroactive. Maybe the judges who have allowed this to go on could take up a collection for the victims.

Most conservators in Santa Clara County charge reasonably for their important work. But de Sá's six-month investigation found a small group of court-appointed personal and estate managers submitting huge, questionable bills -- and if people challenge them, they charge more. These are licensed professionals appointed to handle the affairs of clients who have resources but cannot manage them themselves.

Once the conservators -- and think of the irony of that label -- milk bank accounts dry, people who thought they were financially secure are faced with needing government assistance. And that means everybody pays for this predation.

Full Editorial and Source:
County Judges Must Impose Tighter Rules for Managing Vulnerable Residents' Estates

See Also:
The Mercury News' "Loss of Trust" Series (Anchor article)

Zsa Zsa Gabor's Relations Settle Conservatorship

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband and daughter are through fighting over her, for the time being.

Frederic von Anhalt and Constance Francesca Hilton have reached a settlement over the ailing actress’ conservatorship, or their attorneys have.

Von Anhalt will serve as her temporary conservator. A judge approved provisions Wednesday, which include financial oversight by several attorneys and the right for Hilton to visit once a month.

“Victory!” the retiring Von Anhalt declared outside the courthouse.

Hilton said she came to court “to protect my mother and me.”

Hilton's attorney Kenneth Kossoff said he is cautiously optimistic the arrangement will work. He will now receive monthly statements on Gabor's finances, be able to review her medical files and send out bills for doing so.

Full Article and Source:
Zsa Zsa Gabors Relations Settle Conservatorship

See Also:
Petition Filed to Conserve Zsa Zsa Gabor

The Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act Passes Senate Judiciary Committee Today

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s legislation to protect seniors from neglect and abuse by guardians passed the Senate Judiciary Committee today (Thursday, July 12) with a 15-3 vote, paving the way for a vote in the full Senate.

The Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act, co-sponsored by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), would protect seniors and persons with disabilities from neglect and financial exploitation by improving oversight and accountability for court-appointed guardians and conservators.

“While most court-appointed guardians are undoubtedly professional, caring and law-abiding, there is mounting evidence that some guardians use their position of power for their own gain,” Klobuchar said. “This is a positive step forward for this critical legislation that would help increase accountability and oversight of guardians and protect those who are most vulnerable.”

Klobuchar’s legislation would provide support to states to implement programs to increase oversight of guardians and conservators. Specifically, the bill provides funding for state courts to assess the handling of proceedings relating to guardian and conservators, and then make the necessary improvements to their practices. The bill sets aside a portion of the funding for states seeking to implement or improve systems for conducting background checks on potential guardians and conservators. It also authorizes state courts to implement an electronic filing system in order to better monitor and audit conservatorships and guardianships.

Full Article and Source:
Klobuchar Legislation to Protect Seniors From Neglect and Abuse Passes Committee

See Also:
Senior Klobuchar Pushes 'Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act," S.B. 1744

Loss of Trust Series - Santa Clara County's Court-Appointed Personal and Estate Managers are Handing out Costly and Questionable Bills

In a span of three years, two cars plowed into Danny Reed, leaving him brain-injured and partially paralyzed. But the San Jose man eventually earned a measure of relief -- a trust fund created for a lifetime of care.

Then he was hit again, this time in a seldom-watched branch of Santa Clara County Superior Court, when the man appointed by a judge to protect Reed's assets delivered the bill for 41/2 months on the job. With tasks charged at up to $250 an hour, the bill totaled $108,771.07 -- a pace of spending that would wipe out the cash in the 37-year-old's trust in about three years.

"I couldn't believe it," Reed said. "After I read through page after page of sickening page, it was just hard to believe that something like this could be permitted in the court system."

Believe it. While Reed's case stands out among the roughly 1,500 elderly and incapacitated adults whose lives and finances are overseen by Santa Clara County's probate court, a six-month investigation by this newspaper found a small group of the county's court-appointed personal and estate managers are handing out costly and questionable bills -- and charging even more if they are challenged. The troubling trend is enriching these private professionals -- working as conservators and trustees -- and their attorneys, with eye-popping rates that threaten to force their vulnerable clients onto government assistance to survive.

"In theory, they're looking at a person's estate and wondering: 'How much can I make here before they pass away?'" said Denis O'Neal, a former deputy Santa Clara County counsel, who is familiar with the group's billing practices and drew some sharp conclusions about the worst cases he saw in his 30 years in the field of elder abuse. "Their goal is to tap into that money."

Full Article and Source:
Santa Clara County's Court-Appointed Personal and Estate Managers are Handing out Costly and Questionable Bills

Santa Clara County Court-Appointed Estate Manager Quits Case After Questions About Fees, Judgment

Two years after a Los Gatos Jesuit center settled an explosive sex-abuse lawsuit, a Santa Clara County judge entrusted Russ Marshall to oversee the $2.5 million awarded to one of two mentally disabled dishwashers molested for decades by clergy.

Such a delicate and high-profile assignment seemed a natural fit for Marshall, one of Silicon Valley's premier estate and elder-care managers, overseeing $76 million in assets.

But late last year, with questions mounting over his billing practices, Marshall resigned from the case as court officials made a troubling discovery: The $50-an-hour personal companion he had hired to take his long-abused client on outings turned out to be a former priest.

"Appalled" that a former priest had been anywhere near the traumatized man, Judge Thomas Cain blocked Marshall from charging his client's estate $19,406 for the companion's trips to ice rinks, ballgames and other events during a 22-month period. Cain said hiring the companion "shows all kinds of problems with regard to not only background checks but judgment and everything else. He never should have been there to begin with."

A deeper look into Marshall's background shows this wasn't the first red flag.

Full Article and Source:
Santa Clara County Court-Appointed Estate Manager Quits Case After Questions About Fees, Judgment

See Also:
The Mercury News' "Loss of Trust" Series (Anchor article)