Probate Judges Urged to Use Mediation More Often in Emotionally Charged Cases

Probate court cases are often emotionally charged, with family members arguing about such topics as the terms of a will or how to best handle an elderly parent's care.

While probate court judges routinely hold hearings and issue decisions, probate courts also offer mediation, a chance for the parties to resolve their disputes amicably and in a less formal setting. The state's probate court leadership is pushing for more cases to be resolved this way.

As part of this push, on March 9 the Quinnipiac University School of Law's Center for Dispute Resolution hosted about 60 probate judges from around the state for a daylong training session in mediation. The probate courts approached Quinnipiac about doing a custom program for the judges, and Quinnipiac did the program for free.

Probate Court Administrator Paul Knierim said mediation is a "perfect fit" for probate cases. "I say that because almost all probate cases are filled with emotion," Knierim said. "The techniques used in mediation help parties better come to terms with those emotions and understand each other better while working toward a settlement."

The mediation program has been in place for several years, but there aren't any statistics for how often it is used. However, there is a system in place allowing parties to pick a mediator from a panel of probate judges and retired judges. The overall goal, according to Knierim, is to have more cases get resolved through mediation.

"My hope is that the exposure of all of our judges to this training will keep it at the top of their minds, and will result in judges discussing the topic of mediation more frequently with parties," Knierim said. "Sometimes it takes encouragement from judges before people who are at odds will think about working toward a settlement."

Mediation provides a neutral third party to facilitate negotiations and get the parties thinking about solutions that will please everyone, said Carolyn Wilks Kaas, an associate professor of law at Quinnipiac and co-director of the school's dispute resolution center.

"The mediator is trained to run the process so people can express what brought them into this conflict," Kaas said. "With probate court, it is almost always families. It could be a case where the mother has Alzheimer's disease, but the children have different ideas about how to help her. Through mediation, people can sit and talk and more creatively come up with a solution, like taking turns caring for their mother. The mediator doesn't decide the case, they help the parties decide their own case."

In the probate system, a mediator can be any judge other than the one normally assigned to the case. If the mediator is unable to help the parties reach a settlement, the case goes back to the presiding judge for a decision. The push to have more cases resolved through mediation could mean more work for retired judges, according to Knierim.

The probate courts' rules on mediation also were updated in recent months with the goal of increasing its use, Knierim said. The maximum daily mediation fee was set at $350, for example.

Probate courts often handle cases such as contested wills, disputes in the settlement of estates, hospitalization of people with psychiatric issues and guardianships of children if a parent can't care for a child due to substance abuse or incarceration.

"You are dealing with family dynamics and emotional situations all the time in probate court," Knierim said. "Most of our cases involve disputes among family members. It is better if they can find a way through mediation to come to their own agreement rather than fight it out and have a judge decide it for them."

When families choose mediation, they have a better chance of coming out of their dispute with relationships intact, according to Knierim. "A settlement which family members agree on themselves is far more promising for the long-term health of family relationships than a litigated outcome," Knierim said.

Knierim would like to have events like the one at Quinnipiac on a regular basis, approximately once every couple of years. The March training included discussion of mediation essentials, including what approaches work best and how to handle difficult parties or attorneys. There was also a simulated mediation involving a will being disputed by stepsiblings.

Kaas, the Quinnipiac associate professor, asserted that mediation isn't used enough in the probate courts now. Echoing Knierim, she said: "At the core of so many probate disputes are family matters. Mediation helps preserve ongoing relationships. Sometimes mediation can have the therapeutic result of mending fences. It is definitely something that should be used more."

Kaas said she hopes the training event provides a foundation for future sessions and more advanced training. "While all the judges have settlement experience, not all have mediation training," Kaas said. "Mediation is different, and the courts wanted to improve the training of all judges. I know the probate court is trying to increase the use of mediation."

Meriden probate judge Brian Mahon, who attended the training, said while the courts have had a mediation program, it hasn't been used much. Typically, probate judges have suggested it for the more difficult cases, he said. "It has not been used extensively, and it is hoped that in the future, we could use it more," Mahon said. "The seminar was to give us really good training in techniques and methods to use." •

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Probate Judges Urged to Use Mediation More Often in Emotionally Charged Cases

Lawmakers propose sweeping judicial discipline reform in wake of email scandal

Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed sweeping judicial discipline reform in the wake of the email scandal that has led to the departure of two state Supreme Court justices.

"The email conduct plus the direction the court has taken with regard to judicial discipline shows that it's legal fiction to consider them less fallible to failure and equally blind to their own prejudices and mistakes," said Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks County.

Last week, J. Michael Eakin became the second justice — following Seamus McCaffery — to step down over involvement in an exchange of lewd and offensive emails that included judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys.

The Judicial Conduct Board (JCB), which investigated his involvement, has since asked for one of the misconduct charges against Eakin to be dropped in the Court of Judicial Discipline (CJD).

An earlier deal between Eakin and the JCB, which serves as prosecutor in the case, was rebuffed by the court, which can hand down various sanctions, including a ruling that could trigger the automatic forfeiture of Eakin's pension.

In recent years, the handling of the email scandal has brought renewed scrutiny of the entire process, with Schwank and other court observers saying it's problematic for the court to be involved in selecting individuals who could end up disciplining its members.

Schwank said that exchange has also called into question the ability of ordinary citizens to get a fair hearing across the state.

"If you're a woman, a minority (or) LGBT, these emails reveal just how so many people charged with protecting you and your interests view you and talk about you in private," she said.  (Continue Reading)

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Lawmakers propose sweeping judicial discipline reform in wake of email scandal

How to Spot Elder Abuse and Neglect in the ER: Things Are Not Always As They Seem

ER

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When older adults in severely debilitated states show up for treatment in the emergency department, emergency physicians and staff must be able to identify and document their symptoms and decide whether to report their concerns to adult protective services.  This is a difficult decision as the patient's symptoms may stem from willful neglect, unintentional neglect or sub-acute symptoms caused by an underlying illness than manifest as neglect. Two papers published online last Friday in Annals of Emergency Medicine highlight a problem that promises to grow rapidly with the aging of the Baby Boom generation.

"Given the aging of the population, emergency physicians need to be prepared to balance their obligations to the patient by documenting findings, reporting suspicions and referring patients to appropriate agencies," said Marguerite DeLiema, Ph.D, of the Stanford University Center on Longevity in Stanford, Calif., the lead study author of "The Forensic Lens: Bringing Elder Neglect into Focus in the Emergency Department." "Emergency physicians can also help prevent misunderstandings about elder neglect by encouraging patients to document care preferences, involve others in care planning and communicate with their caregivers about how to fulfill their wishes." 

Ms. DeLiema's team documented two case studies in which seemingly similar symptoms of elder neglect (severe malnutrition, skin ulcers and other physical problems), resulted from very different caregiving situations. In one instance, the patient's daughter had become frustrated with medical providers after a home health care agency refused to care for him when his condition deteriorated. The daughter believed she could provide better care on her own and brought her father home from the hospital against medical advice. In the other case, the patient's son intentionally neglected his father for his own financial gain. He reported that he refused to provide medical care because his father didn't "need to see a doctor or take medicine because he is dying."

The second paper ("Identifying Elder Abuse in the Emergency Department: Towards a Multi-Disciplinary Team-Based Approach") recommends a team-based approach across disciplines to identify elder abuse, including emergency medical providers, triage providers, nurses, radiologists and technicians, social workers and case managers. Opportunities to detect abuse occur throughout the episode of emergency care, from when paramedics and EMTs enter a patient's home to the clinical exam in the emergency department through intervention by social workers and/or law enforcement. 

"Currently, most victims of elder abuse and neglect pass through our emergency departments with a life-threatening condition unidentified," said the latter paper's lead study author, Tony Rosen, MD, MPH, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, N.Y. "A multi-disciplinary, team-based approach supported by additional research and funding has the potential to improve the identification of elder abuse and improve the health and safety of our most vulnerable patients."

Annals of Emergency Medicine is the peer-reviewed scientific journal for the American College of Emergency Physicians, the national medical society representing emergency medicine. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research, and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies. For more information, visit www.acep.org.

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How to Spot Elder Abuse and Neglect in the ER: Things Are Not Always As They Seem

Shocking Nursing Home Abuse and Death of Wrestling Legend Leads for Calls for Nursing Home Oversight

The first shock was when the family of wrestling legend Chief White Owl experienced his untimely death from shocking abuse after only a temporary stay turned into a nightmare at a Florida nursing home. “He was only supposed to go in for 120 days for evaluation on the meds he was on for senile dementia and return home,” says his wife Patricia, “and never did.”

The Chief was diagnosed with malnutrition, dehydration, overmedication, had lost 32 pounds in 8 weeks, had Decubitus Ulcers on both feet to the point that the hospital recommended amputation of both feet. bed sores Stage 4, had lost upper and lower parcel plates, and both rotary caps in both shoulders were turned where he had been dropped.

The second shock was when 50% of the $1.1 million punitive damages awarded by the Jury was mandated to go back to the state’s own Health Care Administration Agency – which neither the jury nor family were informed of at any point before, during or after the trial.

Now, the family of Chief White Owl aka George Dahmer are leveraging his name recognition with their own outrage at a list of egregious mistreatments and abuse in petitioning the state to strengthen its oversight of senior nursing homes, and increase transparency.

Join the growing global community at http://www.Everyone-Matters.com who believe that EVERYONE matters.

The petitions – https://goo.gl/3nMkXZ - and here – https://goo.gl/3pyXWq - petition the Florida House Of Representatives, as follows:

We the people of the United States Of America demand stiffer laws and harsher penalties on all nursing homes. The elderly and disabled need maximum protection to keep them healthy and Safe. Let's make this a better world to live in for everyone. The Dahmer family is striving for:

• 1. Require nursing homes to have background checks done before commencement of all employees, and then every third year on all employees. Prohibit convicted felons. (The director of nursing at Lake Worth Manor was a convicted felon. Armed robbery, theft, assault, and drug charges.)

• 2. Make sure every nursing home is fully staffed at all times. (Lake Worth Manor was EXTREMELY UNDERSTAFFED.) The nursing facility will be fined $10,000 per occurrence for not being fully staffed. (Being understaffed means the quality of care suffers.)

• 3. Health inspections done every 3 months instead of every 15 months.

• 4. Make sure there is a doctor on site 7 days a week. If not, then there needs to be ready access to an after hours doctor for residents. (There was no doctor assigned at Lake Worth Manor.)

• 5. Make sure there is a minimum coverage of $1,000,000 per resident coverage living in nursing facility for negligence or death and $10,000,000 global coverage. (Lake Worth Manor covered $10,000 per resident coverage.)

• 6. Surveillance camera's put in residents rooms upon request (school's, nursery's, etc have them, so why not nursing homes?)

• 7. Nursing homes must have a 4 or 5 star rating or fined $10,000 per occurrence when below 4 stars.

• 8. ALL the above Nursing Home requirements and regulations shall not be State funded. The owner, owners, Or corporations shall be fully responsible to make sure every Nursing Home Facility has maximum protection and maximum safety on each resident staying or living in Nursing Home Facility. Make sure that all residents rights are GRANTED!! Each resident should get the best care there Is. Treat each resident with dignity and respect. The way it should be.

We need to Make Sure That ALL the Residents Rights are GRANTED!! Each Resident Should Get The Best Care There Is. They ALL NEED TO Treat Each Resident With Dignity and Respect. That's the Way It Should Be.

"CHIEF WHITE OWL'S LAW"

The video feature was by Sheila MacVicar, with Joie Chen,
for America Tonight by Al Jazeera TV

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Shocking Nursing Home Abuse and Death of Wrestling Legend Leads for Calls for Nursing Home Oversight

Nursing homes legally kidnapping elderly patients to collect on medical bills

(NaturalNews) Every last vestige of American culture and decency is being gutted, it seems, by the insatiable greed of the ruling class den of vipers, which is now voraciously targeting the hard-earned estates of elderly nursing home patients and their families. A recent report in The New York Times (NYT) explains how a law created to protect the aging from being financially exploited is now being used for just that, leaving behind a devastating wake of pecuniary ruin.

It is known as the "guardianship statute" in New York State, and it was enacted in 1993 for the purpose of protecting those who are no longer able to manage their financial affairs due to incapacity. It was meant to be particularly helpful for elderly individuals without friends or family members in their lives to effectively manage their estates, establishing that a court-appointed person, typically a lawyer, be assigned to act as guardian in lieu of these deficiencies.

But this guardianship clause has been hijacked by money-hungry nursing homes like Mary Manning Walsh (MMW) in Manhattan, which is using it to extract money from patients who can't or won't pay disputed medical bills. In the case of 90-year-old Lillian Palermo, whose co-pays not only doubled recently out of the blue but who also hasn't been cared for adequately by MMW, according to her husband, the care facility filed a six-page petition for full control over her money due to unpaid bills.

For many nursing homes today, it's all about the money

This sinister tactic, which goes largely unreported in the media, can bankrupt a patient if successful. Though not all judges honor such petitions -- the guardianship clause was never intended to be used as a method of bill collection by nursing homes -- some do, and the consequences for patients and their families can be devastating.

"It's a strategic move to intimidate," stated Ginalisa Monterroso, chief executive of Medicaid Advisory Group, an elder care counseling business that had represented Dino Palermo, Lillian's husband, in his billing dispute case, to the NYT. "Nursing homes do it just to bring [in] money. It's so cruel. Mr. Palermo loves his wife, he's there every single day, and they just threw him to the courts."
According to a lawyer representing MMW, who claims he's brought 5,000 guardianship cases himself before the courts during his 21 years of practice, taking advantage of the guardianship clause in this manner is completely legitimate. But Judge Alexander W. Hunter Jr., a longtime State Supreme Court justice in the Bronx and Manhattan, says it's completely abhorrent.

"It would be an understatement to declare that this court is outraged by the behavior exhibited by the interested parties -- parties who were supposed to protect the person, but who have all unabashedly demonstrated through their actions in connection with the person that they are only interested in getting paid," wrote Hunter Jr. in one of the few decisions where he granted guardianship to another nursing care facility, Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale, in order to collect payment.

Adult protective services biggest exploiter of guardianship clause

Nursing homes aren't the only entities taking advantage of the guardianship clause, known specifically as Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law. According to preliminary data collected by the Brookdale Center on Healthy Aging at Hunter College, most guardianship cases are filed by Adult Protective Services, with friends and family of the patients and hospitals coming in second and third.

"It has become a system that's very focused on finances," stated Jean Callahan, director of the school, to the NYT.

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Nursing homes legally kidnapping elderly patients to collect on medical bills

Rare full restitution to victims of law firm chief's $1.2B fraud takes some defendants off the hook

With the help of a major judgment against a bank used by former law firm chief Scott Rothstein in connection with a $1.2 billion fraud, a rare outcome has occurred.

Federal prosecutors say victims have been made whole for their financial losses, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. So that means some of the dozens of defendants in related criminal cases are no longer laboring under a lifelong burden of hefty restitution they are unlikely to be able to pay in full.

One of the latest to get off the hook, after the recapture of Rothstein’s own extensive assets by the U.S. government and civil litigation, is Debra Villegas, the newspaper reports.

Villegas, who was once Rothstein’s right-hand woman at the now-defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm in Fort Lauderdale, was released in 2014 after serving about one-third of her original 10-year prison term, thanks to her cooperation with prosecutors.

“It’s a relief and the end we all had hoped for,” Villegas told the newspaper, through her lawyer, Sabrina Puglisi, after learning that a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale had vacated a $363 million judgment against her last week.

Puglisi said her client had worked very hard to repay victims.

Those subject to federal restitution orders are required to contribute half of their income to reimburse victims while they are in prison and 10 percent once they are released. Plus, any unexpected windfall such as winning a lottery jackpot also goes toward restitution, the Sun Sentinel explains.

Rothstein, who was disbarred, is serving a 50-year federal prison term at an undisclosed location under the witness protection program.

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Rare full restitution to victims of law firm chief's $1.2B fraud takes some defendants off the hook

Queens Lawyer Jailed for 30 Days After Admitting He Raided Late Judge's Estate

A Queens attorney was thrown into jail for 30 days after admitting he raided the late Judge John (Kung Fu) Phillips’ estate for two years, the Daily News has learned.

Frank Racano, who worked as an attorney for Rev. Samuel Boykin — Phillips’s nephew — has been locked up since March 1 for not complying with a court order telling him to account for funds from the more than $2 million auction of the Slave Theater building and nearby property in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Racano, 54 of Howard Beach, was hauled into Brooklyn Supreme Court by city sheriffs Wednesday. He wore an orange jumpsuit and needed a cane to walk because of a foot injury.

“I tried to stay afloat and it all just snowballed,” Racano told Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Laura Lee Jacobson.

Racano admitted that he “robbed from Peter to pay Paul” by writing checks from Phillips’ estate’s escrow account and putting the money into his personal accounts to pay off debts.

“This estate was used as everyone’s honey pot ... He took an oath as an officer of the court and he violated them,” said Jacobson.

Judge John L. Phillips

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Queens Lawyer Jailed Raiding Late Judge's Estate

See Also:
Facility Kept Dying Judge Hostage, Lawsuit Claims

Joe Roubicek: Joe's Cases: Rich Grandma, Poor Grandma

How badly would you like to win the lottery?

Gertrude Townsend, an 87-year-old woman from the “bad part of town,” went from rags to riches when she won 2.68 million dollars in the Florida Lottery. Her family held her hostage while stealing the spoils and attorneys battled for guardianship on her dime, to determine who would control the fortune.

Mark Twain said history does rhyme and nest eggs are still wiped out by pretentious “do-gooders.” Poor Grandma!

Lotto Grandma Lives In Poverty, Feels Heartbreak
August 15, 1998|By TESSIE BORDEN Staff Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE — Winning $2.68 million in the Florida Lottery did nothing to improve 87-year-old Gertrude Townsend’s life.

In fact, detectives say, the windfall brought her only unpaid bills, a bedridden existence and the heartbreak of a grandson who stole her money.

On Thursday morning, that grandson, Eric Jones, was arrested as he tried to cash a $650 check in Townsend’s name at the Nations Bank branch at 1300 Southeast 17th St. Police charged Jones, 25, with grand theft, passing a forged check and financial exploitation of the elderly.

“She’s technically a millionaire,” said Fort Lauderdale Detective Joe Roubicek. “But her phone is getting turned off. She’s living in squalor.”

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Joe Roubicek:  Joe's Cases:  Rich Grandma, Poor Grandma

Former Attorney Avoids Prison in Larceny Case Involving Disabled Client

John Fritz told a judge recently that his former attorney's theft of his money left him severely depressed, nervous, angry and distrustful of lawyers, the courts and people in general.

Fritz, a disabled Wethersfield resident, had a chance to address Judge Joan K. Alexander before she sentenced his long-time former attorney and conservator, Michael Schless, at Superior Court in New Britain on March 18.

Newington police last year charged Schless with stealing about $48,000 from Fritz. Schless, 78, entered a no contest plea to first-degree larceny in February.

"Michael Schless stabbed me in the back and he only looked out for himself," Fritz said.

Fritz told the judge he has had cerebral palsy his entire life, and he had received $120,000 from his late mother, money which Schless was supposed to help him manage.

"I think he was stealing money for a long time," Fritz said. "In the past I trusted people, and trusted lawyers and the courts. Now, I don't trust people anymore. I told the probate court something was wrong and the court ignored me."

According to Fritz, what happened made him severely depressed. He stopped eating properly and lost over 80 pounds. For years, he had a home health aide to help him brush his teeth, but Schless claimed he couldn't afford an aide and cancelled that service, Fritz said. He told the judge his lower teeth rotted and had to be pulled out. "It was awful for me," Fritz said.

Fritz said Schless wasn't paying his bills or rent properly, subjecting him to fines and penalties. When he complained, he said probate court officials didn't do anything about it........

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Former Attorney Avoids Prison in Larceny Case Involving Disabled Client