VI Officials Ponder Uniform Guardianship Jurisdiction Legislation

One of AARP Virgin Islands most recent advocacy projects involves helping community opinion leaders and local legislators to appreciate the importance of adopting the national Uniform Law Commission’s Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act, also known as UAGPPJA.

In a nutshell, the legislation would establish three very basic legal premises that would be recognized by all other states who also adopted the UAGPPJA. First, it would determine which court has jurisdiction over a guardianship case. Next it would create a system where courts could communicate and formally recognize one state’s guardianship orders by another state or, in the Virgin Islands, territory. And, lastly, this new law would facilitate interstate transfers of guardianship cases when travel between jurisdictions would benefit the person under guardianship.

While many of us may feel that such a law seems straight forward and clear, history has proven that it isn’t. Too many times, some of the most vulnerable, incapacitated adults have become victims of battling family members wishing to exploit guardianship solely to gain control of the incapacitated person’s estate.

Like the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act, that preceded UAGPPJA, the law will recognize and protect the legal rights of the parent or guardian, providing legal consistency from one jurisdiction to another.

AARP VI feels that enactment of this law will help to prevent elder abuse, neglect and exploitation as well as help expedite medical care unavailable within the territory to be rendered without having to “re-establish” legal guardianship in the new jurisdiction.

During a two-day event, AARP VI first trained key AARP volunteers on the topic and then on the following day educated the President of the 30^th Legislature, a key Judge, attorneys from the public and private law sectors and officials from the Department of Human Services. All agreed that the adoption of the UAGPPJA will prove invaluable to the residents of the Virgin Islands, our legal system as well as  to others from other jurisdictions planning to interact with the territory.

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VI Officials Ponder Uniform Guardianship Jurisdiction Legislation

Ageism in the Media: An Interview with Emmy-Award Winning Actress, Doris Roberts

"Would you tell Picasso he couldn't paint anymore because was too old?"—that's just the type of treatment that older people are faced with in the media these days, says veteran actor Doris Roberts, who was awarded an Emmy Sunday night for her co-starring role as the strong-willed Marie Barone on CBS's Everybody Loves Raymond. Roberts will also be seen leading the cast in The Hallmark Channel's A Time to Remember. 

The Parents Television Council recently talked with Roberts about the depictions of seniors in advertising and on television. Why the push towards reaching younger audiences?  Roberts feels that advertisers target a young demographic because older audiences consider their consumer choices more carefully than young people. "They don't want an older audience because we have a brain." The message that Roberts wants to give advertisers is "change our minds by working harder—I will buy a different car if you tell me it's safer or give me instructions on how it works better for me." Marketers target youth because they are easier to convince. Ms. Roberts finds the quest by advertisers to target young buyers puzzling when more than three quarters of the wealth in the United States is controlled by older Americans. "Young people can't afford to buy cars. Young people don't buy houses" she asserts. So why then, the push for youth-oriented marketing strategies?

Advertisers are influenced by what Roberts refers to as "image-makers" and this image-consciousness is what leads to the ubiquitous ads featuring young, beautiful woman in advertisements for anything from alcohol, to cars, to magazines. "Nowhere do you see a picture of a woman over the age of 45 on a magazine cover. They're airbrushing us out of society."

The rise of television programming rife with sex and violence is because these image-makers are attempting to draw young viewers in with racy, envelope-pushing content. Clean shows that appeal to older viewers -- such as Diagnosis Murder and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman -- even though they may perform better in the ratings, are bushed aside because that's not the image the networks want to project, and that's not the audience they want to attract.

Roberts says that the problem is further exemplified in the portrayals of seniors in television programming. Seniors are not seeing accurate representation of themselves on television.  "[Seniors] do not see themselves portrayed and when then do, it's in a demeaning manner. They're referred to as ‘over the hill,' ‘old goats' and ‘old farts'—oh please, ugly ways of talking about us."

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Ageism in the Media: An Interview with Emmy-Award Winning Actress, Doris Roberts

Linda Kincaid Reports: California Senate Judiciary Committee vote to curb elder abuse by conservators

AB937 & Conservatees' Rights: Senate Judiciary Committee 6/11/13

AB937 will clarify that a conservatee retains basic personal rights guaranteed in the California Constitution. These rights include the right to receive visitors, the right to telephone calls, and the right to personal mail, unless specifically limited by court order.

This most basic right to engage in personal relationships is routinely violated by California conservators. The bill’s author, Assembly Member Bob Wieckowski writes in the bill analysis:

They then use their incorrect belief of absolute control to completely isolate conservatee from the outside world. No visitors, no phone calls, no mail from life partner, family, friends, neighbors, clergy, and/or advocates.
AB 937 clarifies the Probate Code to state that in a conservatorship, the conservatee still retains personal rights such as the right to receive visitors, telephone calls and mail, unless these rights are limited by court order or need to be limited to protect the conservatee from abuse.

The bill analysis adds comments from an advocate whose mother was the victim of an abusive conservator.

My mother, Carol Hahn in San Bernardino County, was isolated by her conservator for fifteen months in 2010 and 2011. The conservator allowed no visitation and severely restricted phone calls. Mom's right to visitation was finally restored by a restraining order against continued isolation. That effort cost family $70K in legal fees. The cost to my mom was far greater. During the time she was isolated, Mom lost her memories of loved ones and she lost the ability to walk.

I soon learned of other victims of the same type of abuse. The Santa Clara County Public Guardian isolated Gisela Riordan and Lillie Scalia beginning in 2010. Gisela was allowed no visitors, phone calls, or mail for two years. Lillie was completely isolated from family for one year; then she was allowed some limited visitation the second year.

Personal rights were restored to Gisela and Lille as a result of media coverage by ABC7 in San Francisco. Lillie has been returned to her home, and Gisela is now allowed visitors. Without media coverage, both women would likely still be prisoners.

The San Joaquin County Public Guardian isolated Maria Jordanou from her husband and son for the last month of her life in 2012. Maria died believing that her family had abandoned her.

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California Senate Judiciary Committee vote to curb elder abuse by conservators

See Also:
Linda Kincaid Reports: California Assembly Judiciary Committee vote to curb elder abuse by conservators

 Linda Kincaid Reports: Elder Abuse of June Guinn by Modesto, California Conservator

 'David Fettgather: Dependent Adult Abused by Californial Conservator'

 Linda Kincaid Reports: Silicon Valley Tax Dollars Fund Elder Abuse: Public Guardian Takes Control of Gisela Riordan

 Linda Kincaid Reports: Isolation and False Police Report in CA Facility

Newport Twp. police investigating elder abuse claim

Newport Township police are investigating a report of abuse against a resident at a local nursing home.

Police were recently notified about the allegations and have been interviewing employees at Guardian Eldercare Center, 147 Old Newport St., to determine what happened, Newport Township police Chief Jeremy Blank said today. One instance of abuse has been reported, he said.

Blank declined to specify what the alleged abuse entailed, citing an ongoing investigation, but said the allegations were not sexual in nature.

The Guardian Eldercare Center released a statement saying administrators learned about an alleged incident of abuse on Wednesday and contacted police, as required by law.

“The facility is working in conjunction with local law enforcement and all other appropriate regulatory agencies to ensure ongoing resident safety,” the statement said. “Guardian Eldercare Center takes allegations of resident abuse very seriously and has a zero tolerance policy for any violation of resident rights.”

The statement did not address the nature of the alleged abuse, nor whether any staff members had been disciplined.

The center has had some troubles in the past, according to records from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

An inspection Jan. 31 resulted in the agency recommending the center develop and implement policies for screening and training employees as well as for identifying, investigating and reporting abuse and neglect, according to an HHS report.

The inspection revealed a bed-ridden resident who requires the assistance of two people to be transferred from bed and one person for using the bathroom had fallen out of bed in August, prompting his responsible party to ask, “Did he get pushed out of bed?” according to the report.
The man, who was unable to describe what happened, had a 3 centimeter tear on his right elbow, the report says.

Despite a roommate who was able to talk being present and the resident’s responsible party questioning the fall, administrators failed to ask the roommate what happened, the report concludes.

The report also faults the center for failing to provide a resident a suitable meal, failing to report a resident’s high blood sugar to a medical doctor, failing to respond timely to call bells — causing some residents to have accidents — and running out of prescription medications.

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Newport Twp. police investigating elder abuse claim

Caretaker accused of spending $94K of elderly, disabled man's savings

Investigators say a disabled, elderly man was evicted from his home and near death after his caretaker used more than $94,000 of his money to fund his own lavish lifestyle and left the man, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, alone for days.

Anthony Kehle, 75, of Jupiter, was arrested Sunday by city police. He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on fraud and exploitation of the elderly charges.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies began investigating in July 2010, after a woman filed a theft and fraud complaint on behalf of her uncle, Daniel Hull. Stacey Heathcote, 44, of Shadyside, Ohio, said while visiting her uncle, she discovered piles of invoices for unpaid bills, according to Kehle's arrest report. His phone rang constantly with bill collectors trying to get payment.

Heathcote said she looked through her uncle's bills and saw his money being used for spa treatments and expensive dinners. Further investigation showed it paid for jewelry, clothing, dinners at Morton's steakhouse, a plane ticket to Venezuela and a membership at the International Polo Club, among other expenses. It also funded companies owned by Kehle.

Hull died about a year ago. But news of Kehle's arrest was welcomed by Heathcote, who's being sued by Kehle for money he says her uncle owed. She said that after learning of his financial state, she moved her uncle to her Ohio home to care for him.

"Who goes and takes somebody's life savings away from them like it's theirs?" Heathcote said Monday. "Who does that?"


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Caretaker accused of spending $94K of elderly, disabled man's savings

Area Organization to Investigate Abuse Against Disabled

Wandtv.com, NewsCenter17, StormCenter17, Central Illinois News-

DECATUR-The governor signs legislation to better protect the elderly and disabled from abuse and exploitation. The act is supposed to expand protective services for disabled adults who live at home.
  
At the Community Home Environmental Learning Project, or CHELP, they've been investigating elder abuse for 27 years. Diane Drew oversees cases of elder abuse. But now with a new state law she'll be looking over different cases.

"We will also be looking at citizens 18 and older with a disability,"Drew says.

Before cases were handled by the inspector general.

"They only had five people statewide to investigate,"Drew says.

And as the Belleville News Democrat uncovered, it was not enough. The deaths of 53 severely disabled adults who lived at home were not investigated because they were ineligible for services.
  
At the Decatur-Macon County Senior Center, Director Leslie Stanberry says the act will be a big help.

"We do see a lot of disabled people under sixty who use our services who come in," Stanberry says.
 
Before the law passed if they got a call about abuse for someone under 60, "basically what we would have done would have done is say you need to call the police" Stanberry says.

Now they can refer the cases to CHELP.

" I definitely think it's going to be a good thing for our citizens with disabilities," says Drew.

More eyes to look over cases, more hands to help a vulnerable population.

At CHELP it means more training for some workers. They're already going through it.

The law also sets up a division to investigate suspicious deaths of disabled people.

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Area Organization to Investigate Abuse Against Disabled

Preliminary hearing set in financial crime case

FORSYTH — A preliminary trial has been set for a man facing charges for financial crimes and theft.

Kent Tangeman, 55, of Branson, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing for two counts of financial exploitation of an elderly person, class A felonies, and one count of stealing property more than $25,000, a class B felony, according to Missouri court records.

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Preliminary hearing set in financial crime case

Financial Elder Abuse

DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

Judge Rules That 'Unscrupulous' Lawyer Must Pay For Ripping Off Friends

Attorney Lawrence Mulligan and his wife were like family to Bruce and Pamela Jalbert of Southbury.

Over a 10-year period, the couples traveled together, dined together and often socialized at each other's homes. So it was no surprise that Larry Mulligan would handle the Jalberts' legal matters.

But while the Jalberts thought Mulligan was working diligently to represent them in a property dispute, he was actually ripping them off for hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. To make matters worse, it has since been discovered that he wasn't even doing any work on the case.  

The Jalberts sued Mulligan and a Waterbury Superior Court judge recently ruled that the lawyer must pay the Jalberts $746,842. That money includes treble damages and interest on the $219,750 the Jalberts paid Mulligan for legal work pertaining to a property that the Jalberts purchased in 2004 for $295,000.  

In issuing his written ruling, Judge Robert B. Shapiro used words like "immoral," "unethical," "oppressive" and "unscrupulous" to describe Mulligan's actions.

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Judge Rules That 'Unscrupulous' Lawyer Must Pay For Ripping Off Friends