Probate Court names 3 to oversee guardianships

Franklin County Probate Judge Robert G. Montgomery

The Franklin County Probate Court has named three people to oversee guardianships, making Franklin County the first in the state with such a program.

Probate Judge Robert G. Montgomery said in an email that he will work closely with the group to make sure that the county’s most-vulnerable residents are not exploited, abused or neglected by the people entrusted with their care.

He is referring to the thousands of county residents deemed by the court unable to care for themselves and who have court-appointed guardians.

A yearlong Dispatch investigation revealed that the patchwork system of rules for guardianship in Ohio is ripe for abuse, and that a lack of oversight has allowed some attorneys and family members to steal the dignity, money and freedom of those they promised to protect.

Montgomery, who has long known there were problems with the guardianship system in Ohio, set out more than a year ago to create the Franklin County Guardianship Service Board. The nonprofit board will be managed by three members appointed by him and by the board members of the county’s Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board and Board of Developmental Disabilities.

He announced local lawyer Larry H. James as his appointee to the board.

The ADAMH board appointed Jane Higgins Marx, another Columbus lawyer with a long history of work in probate and elder law.

The developmental disabilities board named William W. Wilkins as its appointee. Wilkins is a health-care consultant with a long history in state government.

In announcing the board’s charter members yesterday, Montgomery said that they will ensure the safety of county residents.

“I believe that this new board will elevate the level of service delivery to those citizens unable to protect themselves,” he said.

The board members will now hire an executive director to serve as guardian for the county’s hardest-to-serve residents, typically those with a mental illness who don’t live in a nursing home or other group setting.

The new agency is expected to hire social workers to serve the most-difficult people, while Montgomery’s vision is to deploy volunteers and interns to work with others and visit them to check on their welfare.

To create the board, Montgomery had to seek changes to Ohio law to allow social-services agencies and charities to donate to a fund to start and operate the agency.

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Probate Court names 3 to oversee guardianships

Hardin County woman indicted on mail, wire fraud charges

Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced today that Martha Marie Bizzell, 42, of Crump, was indicted earlier this week by a federal grand jury sitting in the Western District of Tennessee on charges of mail and wire fraud.

According to the 17-count indictment, Bizzell was appointed as guardian of a husband and wife who were disabled adults in Peoria County, Illinois. The couple needed the services of a guardian to ensure their physical and financial security and well-being.

The indictment alleges that after being appointed as guardian, Bizzell relocated the couple to the Western District of Tennessee and took over management of their finances. The couple's estate was then worth approximately $1.5 million. Assets were in the form of stock, real estate and cash, and included Certificates of Deposit valued at approximately $118,120; an investment account valued at approximately $638,098; Caterpillar stock valued at approximately $585,000 and 52 rental properties located in Illinois.

Bizzell allegedly ordered the sale of the Caterpillar stock, disposed of the couple's real estate holdings, and withdrew money from investment and savings accounts, according to the news release from the U.S. attorney. The proceeds were then deposited into Bizzell's bank accounts, the release said.

From between Nov. 10, 2011 through July 30, 2012, Bizzell took into her personal possession approximately $1,082,342 in funds belonging to the disabled couple, authorities said.

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Hardin County woman indicted on mail, wire fraud charges

Shocking nursing home abuse caught on camera

WINTER HAVEN, Florida (WFLA) – A hidden camera placed inside a patient’s room at a Winter Haven, Florida nursing home captured images that have two employees facing criminal charges.

It shows an employee rubbing her hand down a 76-year-old Alzheimer’s patient’s face, making punching motions, threatening to hit him.

Later, the camera captures an employee stepping back and lunging toward the man, throwing his legs to one side and grabbing his wrists as he struggles to pull away, making him hit himself in the face and keeping him from sitting up and holding his legs down.

Then an employee acting like she’s going to slap him, he tried to shield himself, she slaps him with her other hand then runs away.

The man’s son spotted bruises, so he hid a camera.

“I am so sorry for what he had to endure here. I said I had no idea what was happening to you. I said, I know there were people in here being mean to you, they can’t be mean to you anymore, they’re gone, I promise,” said Dale Wilson.

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Shocking nursing home abuse caught on camera

Mentally ill man's home to be sold by state-appointed guardian

GENESEE COUNTY, MI (WNEM) -  A mid-Michigan man is upset after his rights have been stripped to care for his mentally ill son and now the son's home is being sold by his state-appointed guardian.

Lendon Chambers says his wife, Emma, has a terminal illness and his adult son suffers from a mental illness. A Genesee County Probate Court says Chambers can not care for both of them so the court has named a guardian to deal with his son's needs.

Chambers says he is frustrated and worries about his son's assets.

The son's home is now up for sale and Chambers wonders where the money from the sale will be going.

The guardian says if an incapacitated person has assets, the money from that sale is first used to pay for funeral home expenses. The rest of the money is used for food, clothing and medical needs for the patient.

The guardian also says that every cent is monitored by the probate court. She also says that frustration felt by family members is not unusual.

She also says that family members can seek legal action in probate court if they have concerns about their loved one's care.

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Mentally ill man's home to be sold by state-appointed guardian

Jones named in guardianship dispute

State superintendent’s candidate Jana Jones has been named in a civil case over the guardianship of her husband’s elderly parents.

In the civil complaint, one of Jana Jones’ brothers-in-law says the candidate and her husband received a loan from Ross V. Jones and Lorraina R. Jones and convinced the couple to write off the debt. Jana Jones says no debt is outstanding — and she provided a 2013 document, signed by her in-laws, in which they say they have willingly made many gifts of money to their children.

The guardianship case was initially filed on July 23, but the loan question surfaced in a document filed on Oct. 16. Jana Jones says the claim was filed in an attempt to gain “notoriety.” Attorneys for the family say the filing was politically motivated; Al Barrus, an attorney for Ross V. and Lorraina Jones, called the filing a “smear campaign.”

The case will be heard in a Cassia County magistrate court on Nov. 7 — three days after Jones, a Democrat, and Republican Sherri Ybarra vie for the open state superintendent’s post.

Until then, the civil case amounts to claims and counterclaims.

In the Oct. 16 document, Michael Von Jones of Twin Falls says his parents made a $150,000 loan to Jana Jones and her husband, Ross J. Jones.

Some years later, Jana and Ross J. Jones had the means to repay the loan, Michael Jones says in his filing. But instead, he said, they “unduly influenced and prevailed upon” Ross V. and Lorraina Jones to forgive the debt.

Jana Jones says her husband received the loan from his parents for his business, and his parents were granted a lien on Jana and Ross J. Jones’ home. The home deed was turned back over to Jana and Ross J. Jones in October 2010. Jana Jones says she was not involved in the loan — but said it was for far less than $150,000.

Al Barrus, an attorney for Ross V. and Lorraina Jones, says he learned of the Oct. 16 claim on Wednesday, and discussed it with his clients later that day. He has prepared an affidavit that says his clients are not owed any money.

“They were adamant that (Ross J. Jones) does not owe them any money whatsoever,” Barrus said Thursday.

The crux of the July 23 filing centers on custodianship.

Michael Jones says his parents need a guardian, and a conservator to oversee their material assets. A doctor has examined the parents and found them to be capable of living independently, said Jeffrey Rolig, Michael Jones’ attorney. Rolig wants to get a second opinion on their condition — a motion opposed not only by Ross V. and Lorraina Jones, and by Michael Jones’ siblings.

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Jones named in guardianship dispute

How New York’s Elderly Lose Their Homes to Guardianship

A prominent New York attorney is caught in the middle of apparent abuses of the elderly and allegedly pilfers their estate during the guardianship process, according to relatives of victims who hope to bring exposure that will stop her actions.

Mary Giordano is a partner with the New York State law firm, Franchina and Giordano, and among her duties is that Giordano is routinely chosen by the Nassau County Superior Court system to be a guardian for elderly guardianship cases.

But two relatives involved in cases in which Giordano was a guardian say their relatives were forcibly removed from their homes, their assets plundered, and their family members had the life sucked out of them until they died depressed and isolated.

Diane Wilson found her mother Dorothy Wilson lying helpless on the floor of her home and unable to get up on December 8, 2008. Advised due to long standing family disputes to enter her mother into guardianship, Wilson said by March 2009, at the order of then Nassau Supreme Court Judge Joel Asarch (pictured above) Asarch appointed Giordano as the court appointed guardian, even though Diane had filed to be her mother's guardian.

As Wilson’s guardian, Giordano was given power over nearly every decision in Wilson’s life including how her money was spent, where she lived, and her medical care.

Giordano ordered a reverse mortgage be placed on Dorothy Wilson’s home which netted about $275,000 and along with Wlson’s pension of about $2,300 month, Judge Asarch claimed in court the money would last for five years.

But it only lasted two years, and Diane Wilson told RebelPundit that proper accounting of the expenses were never provided by Giordano.

Worse yet, in November 2010, Wilson was tricked and forced to move out of her home and into a nursing home.

“Dorothy Wilson is currently placed in the Bristal, an assisted living facility in Massapequa. She was taken there on November 3, 2010, on the pretense of having lunch, by her daughter, Candice Bruder,” Diane Wilson said in a complaint to the New York State Unified Court Grievance Committee. “After she was there, she was told she was moving in there and her clothes were brought later that same day. She is not allowed to leave the Bristal at all, including Thanksgiving. The family is only permitted to go there and visit.”

The elder Wilson, who was 87 at the beginning of the process, was miserable and felt like a prisoner her entire time at Bristal.

“On November 15 (2010), after placing three phone calls during a 3 ½ hour period, I was finally able to speak with my mother. During the entire phone call her “caseworker”, Tracy, sat next to her while my mother begged me to come and pick her up and take her home. She had no privacy. When I went to visit her in the evening, she cried the entire time, begging me to take her home, asking me over and over again why I never came, why no one visited her, why no one called,” Diane Wilson said the same complaint.

Wilson was force to stay in the facility for thirty days at a cost of $53,000, and Giordano never provided a line by line breakdown of why the costs were so high.

On August 22, 2011, on the direction of Giordano, Dorothy Wilson was again moved to Meadowbrook Care Nursing Home in Freeport, New York again against her will.

On September 2, 2011, Giordano again moved Wilson into another nursing home Maria Regina Nursing Home in Brentwood, NY. Giordano also attempted to sell Wilson’s house.

What followed was a series of furious court maneuvers until on October 18, 2011, Giordano resigned as guardian but still Judge Asarch kept Dorothy Wilson in the nursing home. She died there on October 23, 2011.

Throughout the process Dorothy Wilson sent a series of letters to the judge begging to be allowed to be cared for by her daughter.

“It’s very strange that my daughter Diane is not allowed to go into my house.” Dorothy Wilson said in a letter dated October 20, 2011. “She is the only one I trust.”

Dorothy Wilson also made a series of You Tube videos begging to be released.


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How New York’s Elderly Lose Their Homes to Guardianship

Sibling Rivalry in Probate Disputes

Siblings can become involved in probate litigation in many ways. A sibling may try to challenge a parent's will. One sibling may try to set aside a conveyance of real estate, or transfer other assets that a parent made to another sibling. Several cases concern whether a sibling who is an executor is fulfilling his or her duties to the other beneficiaries.

Many conflicts begin when a parent treats children unequally in a will or trust. A testator certainly can do what he or she wants with his or her property. The profligate son or nasty daughter may very well not deserve an equal share. Or it may seem unfair if the CEO son receives as much as his schoolteacher brother. But it is very difficult for a child of any age to accept unfair treatment. Wealth or professional status often does little to mitigate the myriad motions someone feels when a parent treats a brother or a sister more favorably. These emotions can fuel litigation. While all litigation should be based on good faith legal claims supported by facts, very often these emotions – right or wrong – prolong and complicate the litigation.

Parents, when devising estate plans, should consider sibling dynamics, and should consider both the emotional and financial consequences of treating children differently. There are good arguments for treating each child equally. There are also good arguments for recognizing each child's economic circumstances. Well-drafted estate plans can greatly reduce the types of legal claims a disgruntled child can make.

But sometimes the caretaker child is not quite a saint. This child may feel entitled and try to exert undue influence upon the parent to convey assets or change estate plans for the child's benefit. The courts are filled with cases where a child misuses a power of attorney or otherwise takes advantage of a vulnerable parent. These cases are challenging because the caretaker child may be part martyr and part scoundrel. The distant sibling may have a hard time contradicting the closer sibling's testimony about what the parent said or did. The closer sibling may rationalize, exaggerate or outright lie.

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Sibling Rivalry in Probate Disputes

See Also:
NASGA:  An Open Door

Planning with POLST

POLST, or Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, is an approach to end-of-life care that encourages discussions between patients and their health care providers. The goal of POLST is to enable patients to choose the treatment they want or do not want, and to ensure that those preferences are honored.

With POLST, patients discuss with their doctors their diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment alternatives, including the benefits and burdens of life-sustaining treatment, as well as the patients’ values, beliefs, and goals for care. Based on these conversations, patients (or their health care agents) and their health care providers complete a POLST form, which documents the patient’s wishes with respect to end-of-life care. The POLST form is signed by the patient’s health care provider and becomes a part of the patient’s medical record. The form serves as the patient’s standing medical orders for that patient’s particular treatment preferences in the event of a medical emergency.

On a POLST form, the patient selects (1) whether or not they wish to be given CPR; (2) what degree of medical intervention they want in an acute situation: “comfort measures only,” “limited additional interventions,” or “full treatment;” and (3) the extent to which they want artificial nutrition to be administered, if at all. The POLST form is a single page, brightly colored, and designed to be immediately recognizable and used by doctors and first responders alike.

The POLST form is signed by the patient’s doctor (or, in some states, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant) and is a medical order. A copy is kept in the patient’s medical record, so it can be easily accessed in an emergency. Some states allow the forms to be logged into an electronic registry.

The POLST Paradigm, the national organization behind POLST, advises that POLST forms are not for everyone. They are recommended for “seriously ill or frail patients for whom their physicians would not be surprised if they died in the next year.”

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Planning with POLST

New Massachusetts Guardianship Law

On January 1, 2015, the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJ) takes effect in Massachusetts. The law supplements existing guardianship laws in the state to provide a mechanism for resolving multi-state jurisdictional disputes. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed the legislation which makes Massachusetts the thirty-ninth state to adopt the UAGPPJ. A similar bill was presented previously to the legislature in Rhode Island and is expected to be re-introduced this year.

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New Massachusetts Guardianship Law