ug. 14—ROSCOMMON — A probate court judge ordered a new medical
evaluation for a woman whose family is seeking to have her status as a
ward of the court terminated, after unexplained spending by a previous
guardian prompted the sale of the woman's house and forced her to move
into a long-term care facility.
"Kay, take care of yourself and
keep improving," Roscommon County Probate Court Judge Mark D. Jernigan
told Kay McGinnis, 82, at the close of an Aug. 8 petition hearing.
The petition, filed by one of McGinnis' sisters, Loreli Haddad, 83,
also of Roscommon, sought to have McGinnis' current guardian and
conservator removed and have the judge either terminate guardianship
altogether, or appoint McGinnis as her own guardian.
"I do not
understand what their criteria is, for someone to remain a ward of the
state," Haddad said. "Once you get one of these guardians, even if your
health gets better, it's like you never escape."
If
all court appointments for McGinnis are terminated, no further contact
with the probate court would be required. If McGinnis is allowed to be
her own guardian, annual reports on housing, medical services, income
and expenses would still be required, but McGinnis would submit these
reports herself.
Sheila Englehardt of St. Helen will continue for
now as McGinnis' guardian and conservator, pending the outcome of the
new medical examination, the judge said.
The judge appointed
psychologist Eric R. Harvey, who happened to be in the courtroom
preparing to testify on another case, to conduct the new evaluation of
McGinnis.
"We'll set a time and I'll come to you," Harvey told
McGinnis after the hearing. "And you can have whomever you want be there
with you."
The judge's decision, and Harvey's approachable
manner, seemed to satisfy the several members of McGinnis' family and
her longtime friends, who attended the hearing in support of McGinnis'
ability to care for herself and make her own decisions.
"Finally, maybe some good news," said Peggy Olsen, 87, McGinnis oldest sister.
McGinnis has had four court-appointed guardians since suffering a stroke in 2016, court records show.
She
and her family say the initial appointment of McGinnis' longtime
partner, John Kutz, as guardian was warranted, as McGinnis was
temporarily unable to care for herself or manage her affairs.
When
Kutz died of liver cancer in 2019, however, a series of new
court-appointed guardians and conservators succeeded Kutz, even after
McGinnis and her sisters said McGinnis had sufficiently recovered to
make her own decisions.
One of those guardians, Mary "Minnie"
Lovely, of Grayling, was investigated by the Michigan State Police and
later arraigned on an embezzlement charge, after being accused of
spending about $9,000 of McGinnis' money on cell phones, lottery tickets
and casino gambling.
Mortgage payments on McGinnis' Stuckey
Avenue home were not made during this time, court records show, and the
house went into foreclosure.
A bench warrant for Lovely was issued
after she no-showed a court date earlier this year. Calls to a cell
phone number listed in court documents was not returned.
Englehardt was appointed to replace Lovely, although the family says that appointment also has been problematic.
Englehardt
received permission from the court to sell McGinnis' Stuckey Avenue
home to protect McGinnis' equity, but she has not provided the family
with details on proceeds and expenses, they said.
"She helped
uncover Minnie's spending," said Haddad, "and I do think she invested
the money from the house, but when we asked her for an accounting, she
told us she only has to provide that to the court once a year."
Michigan
law states court-appointed guardians and conservators are required to
submit annual reports to the probate court, with guardians reporting on
housing and medical issues of those they are appointed to serve and
conservators reporting on income and expenses.
Those listed in the
court case as "interested parties" must receive copies of these annual
reports, the law states, and can object to anything they find
suspicious, incomplete or inaccurate.
Englehardt did not attend
the hearing after submitting a letter to McGinnis' court-appointed
attorney, Michael Edwards, that she was unavailable.
Calls to
Englehardt seeking comment went unanswered and a recording stated her
voice mailbox was full and couldn't receive messages.
The letter
from Englehardt, and a previous medical evaluation by a Grayling doctor
consisting of a single word — "Dementia." — pleased neither Judge
Jernigan nor McGinnis' family.
Haddad said it is McGinnis' speech,
and not her intellectual ability, that bears the effects of the stroke,
and that speech difficulties alone should not preclude someone from
having autonomy over their own life.
The judge decided he wanted more information about that issue, before deciding whether to grant Haddad's petition.
"I
don't know that you suffer from dementia," Jernigan told McGinnis. "I'm
not convinced one way or the other that you still need a guardian or a
conservator. Do you feel you are able to make your own decisions?"
"Please, please, yes, your honor," McGinnis said.
A new hearing will be scheduled once McGinnis is evaluated by Harvey, the judge said.
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