Save Gary Harvey's Life

Gary Harvey suffered a traumatic brain injury after a heart attack and subsequent fall down a flight of stairs.

His wife, Sara, has fought for over three years to free him from Chemung County Dept. of Social Services, his court-appointed guardian, which has confined Gary to a nursing home. Sara feels he is neglected and abused, and wants to bring her husband home so that she can care for him.

The guardian has deprived Sara of critical information and shut her out of the decision-making process regarding her husband’s care and restricted her to limited, timed, and “supervised” visits.

Now, the County plans to seek a court order to withhold Gary’s nutrition and water and put him on DNR status.

Gary Harvey is a Veteran. “Supporting the troops” should mean to support them when they need us; not just when we need them. Gary Harvey needs us now.

Please call Chemung County Attorney Bryan Maggs at 607-733-4635 and express your support for Sara Harvey to make life-and-death decisions for her husband – instead of the County or court. Tell Bryan Maggs to surrender the guardianship and let Gary Harvey go home.

See also:
The Gary Harvey Story

Daughters Seeking Guardianship

Tamara Carter and Renita Head are questioning why the staff at Heartland of Holly Glen did not know their father, 96-year-old Golden Braswell, disappeared from their watch.

Braswell was discovered by Toledo police crews sitting in the middle of traffic in his broken down motorized wheelchair, a mile away from the nursing care facility.

Before Saturday's disappearance, the family was already fighting to get him out of the nursing home.

The daughters are concerned that their father did not have his two monitors with him (one on his wrist and the other on his wheelchair). They also believe the stories from the police and the nursing home are conflicting.

Head: "We are petitioning the court to get legal guardianship over him. We hope to take him back to Georgia to our home, to love, to nurture him and to honor him."

Full Article and Source:
Braswell's daughters seek answers

When Court Intervenes

A woman, referred to as "Mary," didn't understand when her father was declared disabled and temporary guardianship was given to her brother, who she distrusts with her father's estate.

Mary: "Two doctors made the decision (of disability). Two visits, and they made testimony. A judge told us a criminal has more rights than a disabled person."

Mary said she thinks the Madison County Circuit Court, and the attorney it appointed, contributed to her father losing his rights to work, drive and testify on his own behalf.

Madison County Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder said attorneys are required to watch out for their elderly clients, even if loved ones do not agree with them. Crowder co-chairs the 3rd Judicial Circuit Family Violence Prevention Council.

Full Article and Source:
Courts may intervene in elder disputes

Alone and Afraid

My Mother, Mollie Florkey, was forced into Heartland Nursing Home, Hillsboro, OH in June of 2007 by her son and legal guardian.

She is alone; she is afraid; she suffers from negligent "care" and abuse. I believe she is drugged.

All she wants is to come home, with me, and let me take care of her for her remaining days. But, her son won't allow her peace, security, or the love and comfort of her daughter. And the court doesn't care.

I am afraid my beautiful and treasured Mother is going to die and I can't save her.

Astor Died Early

It occupies but a single line in box No. 5 of a tax document regarding Brooke Astor’s estate, and so small one might have to squint to see it. But the message is glaring: “Date of death: 2/7/2006.”

But it was not until a year and a half later that Mrs. Astor died, at age 105, and that discrepancy was a focus of testimony on Thursday in the trial of her son, Anthony D. Marshall, 85, in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

He is accused of fooling Mrs. Astor, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, into changing her will so that he could tap into millions of dollars that she intended to leave for charity.

G. Warren Whitaker, a trusts and estates lawyer who prepared the tax document, said that one reason he began preparing to probate Mrs. Astor’s will, something that does not happen until a person dies, was that Francis X. Morrissey Jr., another estate lawyer, regularly told him “that her death might be imminent.”

More than three years before Mrs. Astor’s death, Mr. Whitaker, along with Mr. Marshall and Mr. Morrissey, was preparing how to handle her will and estate.

In addition to Anthony Marshall, Mr. Morrissey is also on trial, on fraud and forgery charges.

Full Article and Source:
On Sample Tax Form, Mrs. Astor Died Early

Guardianship Fight Over Inmate

While Leon Toney lay in a coma at a Tacoma rehab facility, the state invalidated his marriage.

The move draws into question whether the women he married, Rene, can continue as his guardian and make key decisions about his medical care.

She was given the role in May after a court battle with Toney’s aunt, Charrene Robinson, who moved to Tacoma from California to help take care of him. Robinson said she plans to redouble her challenge now that the state has voided the couple’s marriage.

Rene, who has largely stopped working to be at Toney’s bedside, said that she was going to fight the revocation.

"I don’t know why we all can’t get along and heal Leon. I’ve been in this man’s life. He called me his wife. I called him my husband. Now they’re trying to twist everything around. He’s going to wake up and be like, ‘What happened?’"

To make matters more complicated, if Toney awakens, the state Department of Corrections has claim to him. The 31-year-old was incapacitated in September after trying to hang himself with a sheet in an isolation cell at McNeil Island Corrections Center.

Toney was sentenced to 28 years for shooting a man in the stomach. He had served 12 years.

Problems with Toney’s marriage were found by a Washington State Patrol detective who was investigating his suicide attempt at the Corrections Department’s request. Based on the detective’s findings, the state voided the couple’s marriage license.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianship fight centers on inmate in coma

Woman Wants Answers

Simply put, Monica Yepez wants answers.

She wants to know the details of what became of her dentistry practice after she was paralyzed. She wants an accounting of the sale of her $600,000 home in the Los Miradores neighborhood that went on the market while she was incapacitated. Now that she can speak again, she wants to know where her monthly $11,000 disability check is, and she wants to make sure no one is taking advantage of her.

Most of all, she wants to be in control of her life.

"I lost everything once," she said during a recent interview while sitting on a wheelchair. "Why take it away from me again? I'm not asking for miracles. Just give me what is mine."

Since June 2006, Yepez, who was a pediatric dentist for 13 years, has been a ward of the state. A medical procedure at Del Sol Medical Center in 2006 left her paralyzed. According to court records, she went to the hospital because she was dehydrated. Fluids that were supposed to help her instead caused her brain to swell, resulting in paraplegia.

Yepez lost not only her mobility but also her ability to speak.

For the past six months, Yepez's condition has been improving. She has regained the use of her hands, she can talk again and she can easily recall every detail of her life.

A year ago, she was not prepared to make decisions on her own. Now she is.

Full Article and Source:
Former dentist questions handling of estate

No Evidence of Criminal Activity

A state Attorney General's investigation into Macomb County Probate Court contracts with ADDMS Guardianship Services of Shelby Township found no evidence of criminal activity by the company or the court, according to a recent AG report sent to Michigan Supreme Court officials.

But the report did reveal questionable bookkeeping at ADDMS and possible breaches of fiduciary responsibility. David Tanay, chief of the Attorney General's criminal division, cited "deficiencies" in how the court is operated and recommended improved verification of bank receipts and prompt inventories of clients' assets to help correct the problems.

Source:
State finds no criminal actions at Probate Court

See also:
ADDMS and Fortuna Estate

State Probe of Guardianship Firm

"Nobody Gave a Damn"

The first time a beloved relative in his mid-70s wired several thousand dollars to strangers, believing he was paying taxes on huge lottery winnings, it seemed like a fluke, a mistake he would understand once we straightened him out.

Then it happened again. And again.

In less than a year, this Ivy League-educated professional sent at least $23,000 to slick con artists who came to know his personal interests, as well as his bank-account, credit-card and other personal information. Yet even more shocking than how effectively and efficiently scammers won his trust and his retirement savings was how impossible it was to stop them.

His children and stepchildren counseled him, cajoled him and took him to task. Experts, lawyers and his doctor were consulted. Law-enforcement agencies, from the local police to state officials to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were called. He agreed to give power of attorney to a son to help with financial matters. Yet he continued to send away money he couldn't afford to lose, fully expecting to see a huge reward in a matter of days.

"We never found a law-enforcement agency that cared," the son says. "To me, nobody gave a damn."

Full Article and Source:
A Family's Fight to Save an Elder From Scammers