Billionaire Chace’s Will Was Changed in Final Days of His Life — He Was “Completely Incapacitated”

Liz Chace and Malcolm Chace
prior to the litigation at a Wolf
School dedication.

In the next few months, one of the biggest legal battles in Rhode Island history is expected to head to trial.

The players are in a high-stakes fight over the control of one of the trusts of the late Rhode Island billionaire Malcolm “Kim” Chace, the man whose family had direct involvement with the establishment of the famed investment fund Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Just days before Chace died in 2011, two lawyers from a prominent Rhode Island law firm traveled to Florida and executed a “second” codicil to his will — an amendment — that made significant changes worth tens of millions of dollars including impacting the control of millions of dollars of art and increasing the annual payment to Kim Chace’s second wife Liz from $400,000 to $800,000 a year.

Just one problem, at the time of the lawyers' visit, Kim Chace was hospitalized, and according to family members and attorneys for his son Malcolm Chace, Kim was “completely incapacitated" and non-communicative.

Who exactly were these lawyers representing is one of the lingering questions now playing out in courtrooms in Florida and Rhode Island. And, how did the non-communicative Kim Chace seek these substantial changes to the distribution of his fortune? The "second" codicil substantially benefitted Liz Chace.

This battle over the codicil is just one component of the legal dispute between members of the Chace family. GoLocal was first to report on the different factions and the litigation in April of 2022.

Buff Chace is locked in litigation with Malcolm Chace in RI

Rhode Island Litigation Expected to Go to Trail This Year

On one side are Kim Chace’s children, their spouses, and grandchildren. Leading the effort is Kim Chace's son Malcolm Chace, who heads the investment firm Canton Hathaway in Providence. His business partners include Jim Procaccianti, President and CEO of Procaccianti Companies — “a firm that claims more than $10 Billion of diversified real estate investments in more than 130 cities across 31 states coast to coast.”

The Malcolm Chace faction has sued cousin Arnold “Buff” Chace and William Saltonstall [Kim Chace’s stepson and Malcolm Chace’s step-brother] individually as well the trust managing the money — M2K Trust. Liz Chace is also named in the suit.

The plaintiffs in the mega suit in Providence Superior Court— Malcolm Chace's group — allege that Buff Chace and Saltonstall violated the tenet of the trust by investing funds into Buff Chace’s real estate projects — they claim that this was specifically barred by the terms of the trust. The Rhode Island litigation is expected to start in 2023.

Legal Battle Over "Second" Codicil in Court in Florida

The dispute over the change to the will pits Malcolm Chace’s faction primarily against his stepmother Liz Chace.  She married Kim Chace on February 8 of 1975, according to a wedding announcement in the New York Times.

Lawyers for Malcolm Chase’s group, both in Rhode Island and in Florida, say the will was changed days after he was incapacitated after surgery and was left non-communicative.

A first codicil of the will was executed in 1990, which provided for Liz Chace to receive an annual payment of $400,000 from the trust upon Kim Chace’s death, and provided for an art collection worth tens of millions to remain with Liz Chace during her lifetime and then revert back to Kim Chace’s children — the Malcom Chace group.

But the so-called second codicil changed key provisions. It doubled her annual payments from $400,000 to $800,000 annually and changed the provisions regarding the art collection — to Liz Chace's benefit.

“During my wife's lifetime if she survives me, the trustee shall pay to my wife from the net income of such trust the sum of Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars ($800,000) annually provided, however, that (i) to the extent such income is insufficient to make such payment, the trustee shall use principal for such purpose, and (ii) such amount shall be prorated in the year of my death,” states the second codicil.

The changes made in the final days have raised concerns of Malcolm Chace's attorneys.

"It causes tremendous concern that a codicil appeared last minute changing the wishes of Mr. Chace days before his death.  There is strong evidence Mr. Chace was completely incapacitated at the time of the alleged codicil.  It is impossible for a client to have testamentary capacity to make important choices regarding their estate plan while incapacitated,”  said Florida-based Marianne Moran, Attorney for the beneficiaries of the Malcolm G. Chace Declaration of Trust.

Robert Corrente, who is representing Malcolm Chace in the Rhode Island litigation, told GoLocal in a phone interview, "There is additional and related litigation in Florida…there is a relatedness to the whole thing as the changes they made were significant as to what they did and what they affected as it relates to dollars and cents. And the change to the second codicil was executed every very close to [Kim Chace’s] death. There were substantial questions about his medical condition."

Corrente is the former U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island.

Painting Worth Millions

The paintings in question, according to the "second "codicil, are:

"Bow of a Beam Trawler" by Edward Hopper

"Glass of Water" by Eastman Johnson

"Fulton Fish Market'' by George Luks

"Landscape #1" by Charles Sheeler

"Cosmetic Counter" by Wayne Thiebaud

According to the parties, the paintings are worth millions, with the most valuable by Hopper.

That piece of art may be worth as much as $10 million. The record for a Hopper, according to the New York Times, is in excess of $91 million. "He is America’s most celebrated painter of the solitary realities of 20th century life. But Tuesday night at Christie’s, Edward Hopper joined the unreality of today’s art market when his 1929 painting 'Chop Suey' sold for $91.9 million, with fees, an auction high for the artist."

Signed While Noncommunicative

The two lawyers who executed the second codicil were prominent attorneys at Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP — Robert Petix, Jr. and Doris Licht.

Licht is a partner with the firm and refused to answer questions about her role in the execution of the second codicil.

She also refused to say who her client was.

“You know I am not going to be able to say anything,” said Licht in an interview with GoLocal. 

Doris Licht, Partner at Hinckley Allen
PHOTO: Firm

Petix, who signed the second codicil on behalf of Kim Chace while he was allegedly incapacitated. is no longer with Hinckley Allen and is no longer a practicing attorney. 

GoLocal reached Petix in his new home Austin, Texas, and he said he was unaware of the lawsuit and the disputes.

Petix, when reached by phone, said that he had to check with legal counsel at his former firm Hinckley Allen before he could comment.

Petix and Licht’s roles are now the subject of legal action in Florida. And according to court documents, Malcolm Chace’s Florida attorney Moran will have the opportunity to depose both Licht and Petix.

A spokesperson for Liz Chace, Bill Fischer, told GoLocal in an email, “The two Hinckley Allen attorneys you reference served as Kim’s estate planning attorneys. The second codicil was made at Kim’s request. I cannot speak to the motivation of this codicil nor do I represent Hinckley Allen in this matter. All I can tell you is this codicil did not originate as a request from Liz.”

When GoLocal informed Fischer that Malcolm Chace's family and attorneys told GoLocal that at the time of the execution of the second codicil, he was reportedly incapacitated and uncommunicative, thus how did he request this change -- Fischer declined to comment.

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Billionaire Chace’s Will Was Changed in Final Days of His Life — He Was “Completely Incapacitated”

Former lawyer from SC pleads guilty to bilking veterans, retirees in $31M fraud scheme

By Phillip Walter Wellman

Candy Kern, a former attorney from Anderson, S.C., pleaded guilty to federal charges in a $31 million fraud that took advantage of veterans and the elderly, the Justice Department said April19, 2023. (LinkedIn)

A South Carolina attorney who used her law firm to orchestrate a $31 million fraud scheme targeting veterans and the elderly faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty this week to conspiracy.

Candy Kern, 55, carried out a nationwide scam from 2012 to 2021 that took advantage of cash-strapped veterans and clients who were seeking a secure retirement investment, the Justice Department said in a statement Wednesday, the same day as the plea agreement.

The scheme offered veterans cash in exchange for temporary rights to their pensions and disability payments, usually until their loans were repaid with interest.

Kern was the managing partner at the law firm and “served as the banker, legal counsel, and debt collector” in the scheme, which bilked victims out of $31.4 million, according to the DOJ.

Despite knowing that the contracts were illegal, Kern and her associates persuaded retirees to fork over the money lent to the veterans, saying the payments would eventually yield returns, the Justice Department statement said.

She filed lawsuits against those who defaulted, even though the contracts were void.

Over time, some veterans realized that the pension assignments were illegal and stopped paying, according to the statement.

This led to the collapse of the scheme after more than eight years. Kern and an undisclosed number of associates pocketed over $1.4 million, the DOJ said.

“This elaborate scheme preyed upon and exploited some of our most vulnerable populations, and when it collapsed, it left thousands of veterans in financial ruin and scores of retiree-investors without adequate resources to retire,” Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s civil division, was quoted in the statement as saying. 

Kern surrendered her law license in 2021. As part of her plea deal, she agreed to help prosecutors in their ongoing investigation.

“It is reprehensible that a former member of the South Carolina state bar would participate in such a scheme and use her standing as a lawyer to give victims a false confidence,” Adair Boroughs, the U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina, said in the statement.

The date of Kern’s sentencing was not provided in the statement. Besides prison time, she also faces a $250,000 fine.

Full Article & Source:
Former lawyer from SC pleads guilty to bilking veterans, retirees in $31M fraud scheme

All vulnerable New Mexicans must be protected

By Iolene Brown, Jorja Armijo-brasher, Karen Duprey, David Heeter, Lorraine Mendiola, Marji Messer, Emily Darnell Nunez And Reina Romero / Members, N.M. Family Guardianship Conservatorship Coalition 

The New Mexico Family Guardianship Conservatorship Coalition is extremely pleased Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has taken swift and decisive action regarding the recent incidents of abuse of developmentally disabled adults under the state’s DD Waiver.

The governor stated in her March 20 press release “if you are in a position of caring for a developmentally disabled adult and you abuse that responsibility, take note, because we are coming for you. We are using every tool at our disposal to protect these vulnerable individuals and to make sure that incidents of abuse, neglect and exploitation do not happen ever again in our state.”

We implore Lujan Grisham to take action to investigate and address predatory guardians, conservators, guardian ad litems, attorneys and judges who violate an individual’s human, civil and financial rights. Incidents of neglect and exploitation are occurring in court-appointed guardianships with elderly and disabled individuals. These populations are already susceptible to exploitation because of their vulnerability and the subsequent isolation after a court-ordered guardianship is put in place. All New Mexicans deserve to be protected from abusive perpetrators.

The Department of Health rewrote its Rules and Regulations Policy to include boarding homes to be licensed and monitored by this agency; however, we found out through an IPRA request only three boarding homes in the entire state have been licensed by DOH. What happens to those individuals who are living in unlicensed boarding homes? Who is protecting these individuals who may live in horrific conditions such as bed-bug infestations, lack of nourishing food or being physically or sexually assaulted?

In some cases the guardian uses their power to keep families and friends away from the protected person. The nursing home rules state they welcome and encourage visits, but a bad guardian can make the situation very difficult.

How are elderly individuals being treated in nursing homes? Do they have any type of activity to stimulate their body and brain? Do they have the opportunity to socialize with other residents, family and friends? Or are they being drugged so they are easier to manage and compliant with staff?

These are horrible incidents to discuss, however, they are happening daily to too many vulnerable New Mexicans. Everyone will experience getting older; it’s a fact of life. Mental illness is not a character flaw; it’s a disease. Developmentally disabled people exist. All people deserve to be treated with respect, empathy and a sense of protection. Families are critical partners in the lives of the most vulnerable, however, the guardianship system rarely allows families to be involved.

It’s time for all three branches of government – the executive in Gov. Lujan Grisham, the legislative in the N.M. Legislature and the judiciary in our courts – to work together to ensure all vulnerable New Mexicans retain their human and civil rights along with their financial status. Accountability and oversight could provide preventative measures by all state agencies involved with guardianships. The state of New Mexico could also begin by exposing current guardianship practices that disregard the individual’s documented wishes; promote isolation from families, friends and their established communities; and squander resources when the individual and family members are at their most vulnerable.

The N.M. Family Guardianship Conservatorship Coalition is willing to work with Gov. Lujan Grisham and any state agency on this important issue to ensure all vulnerable New Mexicans receive the needed services and protection from corrupt and exploitative predators. In the words of Ghandi “a nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.”

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All vulnerable New Mexicans must be protected

Guardianship reform being considered in Michigan legislature

Jehan Crump-Gibson, managing partner of the Great Lakes Legal Group, explains the importance of understanding who is overseeing finances within a family and the need for reform for guardianship rules in Michigan

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Guardianship reform being considered in Michigan legislature

Here’s why 8 Florida nursing home violations were not in state records

Destin Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, the only nursing home in the popular Panhandle beach town, had four serious violations last year. But until recently, details about them were difficult to find. [ Google Maps ]

By Hannah Critchfield

The Florida nursing home’s final inspection report painted a grim picture.

More than 100 residents were rushed out of Destin Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and shuttled to nearby nursing homes after state inspectors found “grossly inadequate” staffing at the Panhandle facility.

A nurse wept when he discovered that a woman with dementia had been left alone for so long that a plant grew in the crook of her arm, sprouting two leaves and roots.

Another resident was found with two fentanyl patches on their arm, exposing them to possible overdose.

A third had a wound dressing that hadn’t been changed in nearly 20 days.

Until earlier this month, the May 6 inspection report detailing these violations was absent from state records that help the public vet nursing homes.

The Tampa Bay Times found that eight of 83 serious violations in Florida nursing homes last year were missing from the state website that publishes inspections.

The website promises a “complete list of inspections” and is run by the regulator of the state’s long-term care facilities, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. While the agency isn’t legally required to publish nursing home inspections under state or federal law, it refers consumers to these findings, agency documents show, to help them select a nursing home.

The agency posted the missing reports to its website the day after a Times reporter asked about them.

Spokesperson Bailey Smith said that the omission was caused by a “technological glitch,” and that agency employees followed normal protocol in reporting and uploading these inspections.

But nursing home advocates and families of residents say the missing inspections exact a steep toll: When consumers need to choose a nursing home quickly, they often struggle to find information about a facility’s prior history of care.

“When we have to make determinations about life and death … we should have the best tools possible,” said Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a New York-based nonprofit that advocates for nursing home residents’ rights.

Destin Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center shut down in May 2022. A year later, the beach town’s only nursing home has been transferred to a new owner, though its licensure is still pending.

The owner at the time of its shutdown, 195 Mattie M. Kelly Boulevard Operations LLC, as well as its management company, Independence Living Centers, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Nor did representatives for the new owner that applied to run the facility, Destin Senior Care LLC, or its management company, VIP Senior Living Solutions LLC.

Starting this week, the nursing home is able to admit new residents.

Missing reports

Violations at other Florida nursing homes were missing from the state’s inspection data until April 4, the day after the Times notified the agency about the website’s missing reports.

Among those was one in January 2022: Inspectors found that nursing home staff at a Fort Walton Beach facility asked police to remove a resident with dementia from the property without notifying them of his condition, leading him to wander the streets alone for almost an hour.

Another missing inspection, from February 2022, detailed how a resident ran away from a Pensacola nursing home. A second resident escaped out of the same door a month later, it said.

At a nearby Pensacola facility that April, a partially paralyzed resident who needed supervision while smoking was left alone with a cigarette between his lips. It fell onto his neck pillow, where embers began to burn before an inspector brushed them off. This report was also missing online.

Most of these inspections were still posted on Care Compare, a federal website established in 2008 that shows how nursing homes rank on inspections, staffing and quality of care.

Destin Healthcare’s four serious violations, which were detailed in two inspections from last April and May, were not.

When a nursing home fails to meet basic health and safety requirements, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may pull its federal funding. The move is generally considered a “last resort,” made only when “all other attempts to remedy the deficiencies at a facility have been exhausted.”

When that happens, its profile disappears from Care Compare.

Destin Healthcare’s federal funding was revoked in May 2022, shortly after it was cited for serious violations detailed in the missing inspection reports.

A spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees nursing homes and runs Care Compare, said the agency doesn’t receive or post information about places that no longer get federal funding.

Inspections for these nursing homes can still be found in archived data and on its Quality Certification and Oversight Reports database, a website often used by researchers and providers.

But a consumer must know how to dig for this information, advocates say.

“I can’t imagine most family members doing that,” Mollot said. “Most people don’t have a lot of time (to select a nursing home) and are not looking at this with any kind of background — and they shouldn’t have to be.”

The Agency for Health Care Administration’s website periodically posted information about these serious violations in other types of filings.

Destin Healthcare’s April violations, for example, were mentioned in a 17-page emergency order.

The nursing home’s administrator and the attorney representing its former owner settled with the state in December, agreeing to pay $114,000 and transfer the facility to a different owner.

Details of the May 6 violation became available in settlement filings at that time, but remained missing from the facility’s “Inspection Reports” page.

According to that database, Destin Healthcare had not had a violation since 2021.

Inspections given to federal government

Agency for Health Care Administration staff didn’t identify any missing inspection reports beyond those that the Times found, Smith said.

The state agency doesn’t have to make these reports public, she said, and inspections can usually be found on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ website.

Even though it hadn’t posted the inspections online, the Agency for Health Care Administration provided all of them to the federal government in a timely manner, Smith said.

It’s unclear exactly when Destin Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center will officially reopen. But as of Monday, the new owner could start admitting residents while its licensure application is pending, according to Smith.

The facility is actively hiring care and administrative staff, according to online job postings.

Earlier this month, the new owner applied to change the facility’s name to “Destination Health and Rehabilitation Center,” according to Smith. It has not yet been approved.

The change of ownership application, which the Times obtained through a records request, suggests the nursing home aims to eventually reenter the Medicare & Medicaid program, which will require the facility to show it can comply with federal regulations.

The federal agency did not comment on the status of this reinstatement process.

Full Article & Source:
Here’s why 8 Florida nursing home violations were not in state records

Coastal Manor employee accused of elder abuse following incident with 90-year-old resident

An employee of the Coastal Manor nursing home in Ludowici is being charged with elder abuse following an incident with one of its residents.

According to a Ludowici Police Department incident report, an officer responded April 10 on the report of elder abuse from the day before. An employee told the officer that the suspect approached a 90-year-old resident to take her outside. The employee said that the suspect looked at the 90-year-old woman and said, “You put the hell in health care.”

The employee also said that the patient had been distraught prior to her encounter with the suspect and that after he spoke to her allegedly in an inappropriate manner, it upset her more.

The employee added that as the suspect was pushing the woman in her wheelchair across the threshold of the doorway, he allegedly used enough force to push the wheelchair forward and throw the patient out of the wheelchair and on to the ground, causing a skin tear on one of her legs.

The employee stated that they did not witness the incident but that another employee had observed the encounter and reported it to her supervisor, later making a statement to the police after the initial report had been made to authorities.

The suspect was arrested on April 11 and made bond on $5,000 bail.

The elderly patient also complained of pain to her arm and shoulder.

Full Article & Source:
Coastal Manor employee accused of elder abuse following incident with 90-year-old resident

Former administrator facing charges for locking out a resident who chose to leave nursing home

by Jessica R. Towhey

The former administrator of an Iowa nursing home is facing charges from the state licensing board for allegedly locking a resident out of the facility overnight after the resident chose to leave. Charges include professional incompetence and negligence.

Scott Morton, the former administrator at Dubuque Specialty Care in Dubuque, IA, is accused of leaving a resident on the sidewalk outside of the facility for 11 hours overnight on June 22, 2022, after the man reportedly told staff that he wished to leave the facility, according to local news reports. 

The patient allegedly was upset about a new policy that prohibited resident smoking. After telling staff he was “getting the hell out of here,” he was asked to sign discharge papers that expressed he was leaving against medical advice and that he would not be allowed to return to the nursing home.

The patient reportedly went to the end of the facility’s driveway at 5 p.m. to wait for a ride, but eventually moved his wheelchair to the sidewalk across the street and stayed there until 4 a.m. until finally calling for a taxi. The Telegraph Herald reported that the man fell and soiled himself when he tried to get into the vehicle. The taxi driver called for an ambulance, which took to a hospital where he was given pain medicine and discharged. Local reporting said the man went to a hotel for a few days before returning to the hospital after feeling weak. 

State inspectors interviewed the resident, Morton, and several staff members and found that the facility did not provide the patient with food, his medicine, including insulin, treatments or transfer assistance during the 11 hours he was outside. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services fined the facility $131,640 over the incident.

Restrictive smoking policies have led to major conflicts before, with one Tennessee nursing home facing a stop on admissions after it sought to expel a resident who refused to stop smoking. More recently, CMS officials have warned providers not to violate residents’ rights in searching for cigarettes or other contraband.

A woman who answered the phone on Monday at Dubuque Specialty Care referred McKnights to the corporate headquarters for Care Initiatives, which did not respond to a further email request for comment. 

Morton’s hearing in front of the Iowa Board of Nursing Home Administrators is scheduled for May 23. He is charged with professional incompetence; negligence in the practice of the profession; and violating unspecified regulations, rules or laws related to the practice of nursing home administrators. The Telegraph Herald reported that it was “not known” if Morton was working in another Iowa nursing home.

Full Article & Source:
Former administrator facing charges for locking out a resident who chose to leave nursing home

Employee charged with stealing more than $58,000 from nursing home residents

By Nancy Bowman

TROY — A not guilty plea has been entered in a Miami County court for a Piqua woman accused of theft from residents of the Stillwater Skilled Nursing Facility in Covington.

Tamara O’Toole, 40, faces one second-degree count of felony theft from a person in a protected class. The charge alleges theft from an elderly person(s) of property valued at more than $37,500 but less than $150,000.

A report from the Covington Police Department states police were called to the business Jan. 19 on a fraud complaint. A business representative said an employee was suspended and that patients were missing money from their accounts.

Police said the investigation showed O’Toole allegedly placed checks into her personal account and said she was purchasing items for some patients.

“Some of the patients were aware and some of them were not,” the report stated.

Police further stated she paid back " a good portion” of the money in checks, cash and Walmart gift cards after she allegedly was told law enforcement was involved. It was determined $58,718 was taken, with all but $16,989 returned, according to the report.

A written not guilty plea was made earlier this month in Common Pleas Court by an attorney representing O’Toole. A date for O’Toole’s next court hearing was not included in online court records.

A LinkedIn account listed O’Toole’s position at the time as director of social services.

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Employee charged with stealing more than $58,000 from nursing home residents

Selfless teen one in a million after helping veterans and elderly in mental health charity

A teenage volunteer who dedicates his time to helping out veterans, elderly people, and hoarders every single week by helping them clean and offering them support has been recognised with an award. 

Joel Bailey spends his Thursdays every week volunteering at Jigsaw, a mental health charity aimed at helping people with hoarding issues and other mental health problems. 

The selfless teen who is studying health and social care at college has spent the last two years volunteering for care homes and a mental health charity to help people suffering with their mental health by lending an ear to listen and offering support to help them in their homes. 

At just 18-years-old Joel has built up a shining reputation within the community, and friendships with a lot of the people who attend a weekly group in Mansfield. 

He has now been selected as the winner of the Bringing People Together Award 2023.

Source:
Selfless teen one in a million after helping veterans and elderly in mental health charity