Reviewing Minnesota’s Electronic Conservatorship System

As graduation time is upon us, it’s time to honor those dedicated court professionals who have completed the Institute for Court Management’s Fellows Program. Congratulations! Each graduate must complete a research paper as the final requirement of the program. I am pleased to highlight an exceedingly timely project report on Minnesota’s electronic conservatorship system, written by ICM Fellow Sherilyn Hubert of Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District, Protecting the Assets of our most Vulnerable in Minnesota, Sherilyn has carried out a very worthwhile research project that will benefit all courts that are considering the automation of the conservatorship reporting process.

In 2011, the Minnesota Judicial Branch implemented a statewide web-based program for conservators to enter their account information online to the courts—the Conservator Account Monitoring Preparation and Electronic Reporting (CAMPER) Program. In FY 2012/13, the program will evolve into CAAP (Conservator Account Auditing Program), which will feature a centralized unit to focus on auditing of accounts. The program, which was first piloted in Ramsey County, was created with the intent to eliminate accounting errors, deter financial exploitation, create workload savings for conservators and court staff, reduce paperwork, improve the identification of overdue and incomplete accountings, provide ready access to expense and receipt details, improve documentation and analysis of conservatorships, and improve the court’s auditing function. The system is used in all 87 counties in 10 judicial districts. It is the first statewide automated conservatorship system in the nation. Since voluntary implementation of the CAMPER program started in July 2010, over 4,000 protected persons have been entered into the database. In August 2011, the total amount of assets of protected persons was almost $400 million.

Sherilyn focused on three objectives for her paper: (1) to determine user satisfaction with the new system; (2) to examine and document past cases of financial loss by conservators; and (3) to research various registration systems relevant to Minnesota’s plans to implement a conservator registration system in 2013. For this blog, I am going to note some of the issues pointed out in regard to financial loss.

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Reviewing Minnesota’s Electronic Conservatorship System

Winter Park attorney among 22 disciplined

The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 22 attorneys, suspending eight and disbarring 10, including a Winter Park attorney.

Four attorneys were publicly reprimanded and three were put on probation.

Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion doesn’t alter the effective date of the discipline.


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Winter Park attorney among 22 disciplined

Florida Brain-Injury Center Gets Surprise Inspection

Investigators from three state agencies conducted a surprise inspection today of the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation, a brain-injury treatment center where some patients were allegedly abused or neglected.

Florida state officials didn’t say what they found at the 196-bed institute, a closely held company known as FINR. The center is one of the largest in the country and draws patients from across the U.S.

“We are all concerned about the care, safety and well- being of the residents of the Florida Institute of Neurological Rehabilitation,” said Liz Dudek, secretary of the state Agency for Health Care Administration, which licenses the center.

In addition to that agency, investigators from the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Health participated in the inspection of the FINR campus in Wauchula, Florida, about 50 miles from Tampa.

The agencies said in a news release that they will review the information gathered and determine the most appropriate plan of response depending on the findings.

Full Article and Source:
Florida Brain-Injury Center Gets Surprise Inspection

See Also:
Abuse of Brain Injured Americans Scandalizes U.S.

Dartmouth man sentenced for bilking elderly man

BOSTON—A Dartmouth man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for bilking an 84-year-old widower he had befriended out of his entire $750,000 estate.

Richard Souza was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston to four years and three months in prison and three years of probation.

Authorities say the 47-year-old Souza persuaded the victim to buy real estate and take out an $85,000 loan, which Souza then withdrew from banks in small increments to avoid detection.


Full Article and Source:
Dartmouth man sentenced for bilking elderly man

See Also:
Man Charged With Bilking Elderly Man Out of His Entire Estate

Alzheimer's is really just 'type-3' diabetes, new research shows

NaturalNews) Emerging research on the widespread degenerative brain disease known as Alzheimer's suggests that this prevalent form of dementia is actually a type of diabetes. Published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, a recent study out of Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) confirms that Alzheimer's is marked by brain insulin resistance and corresponding inflammation, a condition that some researchers are now referring to as type-3 diabetes.

Dr. Suzanne de la Monte from RIH is the one responsible for making this fascinating connection, having found in her research that diabetes is closely associated with several key neuronal factors implicated in dementia. It turns out that Alzheimer's progresses as a result of the brain developing resistance to insulin, which in turn prevents proper lipid (fat) metabolism. Over time, these lipids build up in the brain rather than properly absorb, which results in increased stress and inflammation, as well as the symptoms commonly associated with dementia.

"This study points out that once AD (Alzheimer's Disease) is established, therapeutic efforts should target several different pathways -- not just one," says Dr. de la Monte. "The reason is that a positive feedback loop gets going, making AD progress. We have to break the vicious cycle. Restoring insulin responsiveness and insulin depletion will help, but we need to reduce brain stress and repair the metabolic problems that cause the brain to produce toxins."

Full Article and Source:
Alzheimer's is really just 'type-3' diabetes, new research shows

OBRA SPECIAL NEEDS POOLED TRUSTS and IL State Senate Bill 2840

We at ProbateSharks continue to have concerns about OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts. OBRA Trusts were created to allow people who have special needs to qualify for Medicaid by depositing their money into these trusts. The intention of these trusts was to preserve estates of disabled people by allowing them to qualify for public aid nursing homes while preserving their estate for their special needs.

Unfortunately, these trusts are being abused by certain guardians in Cook County. Elderly disabled people with large estates are being targeted for guardianships through unscrupulous methods including: Illegal removal of Powers of Attorney, deceit of the elderly by owners of guardianship companies, and inaccurate medical reports being submitted into court records to make the elderly appear to be disabled with dementia. Once the rich elderly disabled person becomes a ward of the court, the unscrupulous guardians place the wards' estates into OBRA trusts, place the ward into for-profit Medicaid-funded nursing homes, and then deplete the estate through guardian fees, care management fees, and attorneys fees.

In other words, OBRA Trusts are being used by some to financially exploit the elderly disabled while profits are obtained for the guardians, attorneys, case managers, and for-profit nursing home owners. This is being done at the expense of the wards, and the taxpayers in the state of Illinois.

In June of this year, Governor Quinn signed Senate bill 2840, which became Public Act 97-0689.It is called the Save Medicaid Access and Resources Together (SMART) Act. Its impact is anything but friendly to Illinois seniors, especiallly those who are wards of the 18th floor of the Daley Center.

Unlike the January 1st rules changes, which were driven by federal laws, these new rules changes are almost entirely due to the well-known Illinois budget problems. The new law cuts $1.6 billion from the Medicaid budget, primarily by modifying eligibility requirements and benefits.

The biggest change made by SMART is the elimination of Pooled Payback trusts (also called OBRA d(4)(c) special needs trusts) in Medicaid planning for those over the age of 65, UNLESS THEY ARE WARDS OF THE STATE OR PUBLIC GUARDIAN!!!

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OBRA SPECIAL NEEDS POOLED TRUSTS and IL State Senate Bill 2840

MADDEN BILL TO RECTIFY ADULT GUARDIANSHIP ISSUES BETWEEN STATES SIGNED INTO LAW

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Fred Madden (D – Gloucester, Camden) that will establish uniform procedures to address interstate conflicts regarding adult guardianship issues has been signed into law.

“For too long confusion has reigned regarding this issue. Arguments and questions over which state had jurisdiction have simply delayed the more important issue of establishing guardianship and protective orders. This law will remedy all of that and is, frankly, long over due,” said Madden.

The bill, known as the “New Jersey Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act,” (S1755) will establish that a New Jersey court will have jurisdiction to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order for a person if: New Jersey is that person’s “home state”; on the date the petition is filed New Jersey is a state with a “significant connection”; or if the home state and all significant connection states have declined jurisdiction.


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MADDEN BILL TO RECTIFY ADULT GUARDIANSHIP ISSUES BETWEEN STATES SIGNED INTO LAW

GAO Calls for Asset Transfer Rules for VA Pension Applicants, Legislation Planned

About 200 organizations are marketing financial and estate planning services to help pension claimants with excess assets qualify for the VA’s Aid and Attendance and other pension benefits, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes after a year-long investigation.

Citing abuses among these firms, the agency recommends that Congress consider establishing a look-back and penalty period for pension claimants who transfer assets for less than fair market value prior to applying for pension benefits, similar to Medicaid. The GAO says the VA agrees that look-back and penalty periods for asset transfers are needed, and the New York Times reports that a bipartisan group of senators plans to introduce legislation giving the VA look-back authority. The Times also notes that a senior official at the VA says the department is drafting new regulations that would clarify the types of asset transfers that might disqualify a pension applicant.

The GAO unveiled its findings in testimony at a June 6, 2012, Senate hearing, where lawmakers also heard from a VA official, veterans advocates and a woman whose father was victimized by one of the unscrupulous “pension poachers,” as Senate aging committee chair Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) dubbed them.

“While these organizations may be legally entitled to operate,” said witness Lori Perkio of the American Legion, “it is unclear as to whether or not they are truly serving the best interests of the veterans and their families.” In Florida, for example, Perkio claimed that “American Legion service officers have run across a growing number of lawyers specializing in elder law who contact veterans directly through assisted living facilities (ALFs) with promises of how to divert income and assets to qualify for VA pension. Many of these attorneys do not provide follow up assistance with the ultimate pension claims process.”


Full Article and Source:
GAO Calls for Asset Transfer Rules for VA Pension Applicants, Legislation Planned

Guardianship Case Highlights Plight of Elderly

WW2 veteran Guadalupe Olvera’s right to move in with his daughter in Aptos was disputed by Nevada authorities for three years

Last month Guadalupe Olvera, 93, rode in the Aptos Fourth of July parade. A survivor of the Battle of the Bulge, Olvera cruised through town in a vintage World War II jeep with his fellow VFW members. They waved at the families lining the streets, who saluted from the sidewalk and shouted, “Thank you for your service!”

It was a lovely day, but it’s been a long road for Olvera and his family to the Aptos parade. For most of the last three years Olvera and his daughter, Rebecca Schultz of Aptos, have been entangled in a messy and expensive guardianship dispute with his court-appointed guardian, Jared Shafer, a professional guardian and fiduciary who operates a business in Las Vegas.

Guardianship, also referred to as conservatorship, is a legal process where a judge appoints a third party individual to care for a “ward,” usually an elderly or disabled person. The guardian takes direct control over the ward’s life, both personally and financially. The guardian is often responsible for big decisions such as where the ward will live, who is allowed to visit with the ward and even whether to continue with life-support systems.

But the three-year dispute with Shafer wasn’t over the finer details of Olvera’s care. It was over who was entitled to serve as guardian of him and his nearly $1 million estate: Shafer or Schultz, Olvera’s only living child.

Schultz, an artist given to impassioned exclamation over injustices, sees more than a troublesome series of lawsuits for herself over the course of the ordeal. She sees at best a system weighted against families and at worst a conspiracy to steal from the elderly, sanctioned by Nevada courts and overlooked by the federal government.

She claims that Shafer has stolen outright from her father, saying that a year’s worth of Olvera’s carpenter pensions and social security payments are missing and have “never been accounted for.”

She says Shafer fabricated bills and withdrew excessive funds from Olvera’s Wells Fargo checking account, depleting it by almost $300,000 since November 2009.

“I went into this not knowing anything about guardianship. Not knowing anything about lawyers. I’m just an artist. I’m just a normal person. I didn’t know how bad Nevada was. I didn’t know how corrupt it was,” says Schultz.

Full Article and Source:
Guardianship Case Highlights Plight of Elderly

See Also:
Former Public Guardian

Lupe Olvera - Nevada/California Victim

Marcy E. Dudeck - Nevada/California Victim