When Guardianship Goes Wrong

A recent Associated Press article describes the legal ordeal of 54-year-old Nashville songwriter, Danny Tate, who fought to regain control of his life after being declared incapacitated. The apparently ill-conceived guardianship process in Tennessee that wrested Tate’s financial, medical, and legal rights from him underscores the value of Vera Institute’s innovative Guardianship Project.

In 2007, a judge declared Tate mentally disabled and appointed his older brother, David, as his conservator—Tennessee’s term for guardian. Danny—whose costly crack addiction led his brother to petition the court—was neither present nor represented by a lawyer at the hearing that gave David the power to make his medical, financial, and legal decisions. Danny maintains that despite his drug addiction—which he has since overcome—he has always been capable of managing his own affairs. Three doctors reached the same conclusion, leading the judge to restore Danny’s constitutional rights in late May after a two-and-a-half year legal battle that drained his once-sizeable estate.

The Tate case exemplifies guardianship’s ethical complexities and where it can go nightmarishly wrong. The appointment of a guardian—whereby a court transfers decision-making power to a third party—should be made only when a person is truly incapacitated. It is crucial that the alleged incapacitated person be properly represented by counsel in court, and that the court follows an exhaustive process to determine his or her level of capacity, if any.

The Guardianship Project, where a team of lawyers, accountants, and social workers handle each court-appointed case, is a cost-effective solution to flaws in many existing guardianship systems—including that of New York State, which has no public guardianship program. This model of institutional guardianship marshals an array of resources to serve the best interests of clients that a private guardian cannot, and every effort is made to evaluate whether or not a guardian will be beneficial to a client.

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When Guardianship Goes Wrong

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Protection Racket – You Can Steal More With a Pen Than a Gun!

Picture this – a knock on the door – the police are there to remove you; and you don’t know why; you’re not a criminal!

By the time you find out why, you are no longer in control of your life, liberty or property; you can’t even hire a lawyer without money.

Not until after your assets are seized and secured by an unlawful court order which you knew nothing about, do you get notice telling you to come to court for a hearing.

That’s what happened to NASGA member musician/songwriter Danny Tate in 2007 when the nightmare scenario described above came true when he found himself in the longest “temporary” conservatorship we’ve ever heard of, with no way out.

After an almost three-year battle, he was recently freed. Why? Because the money ran out and the lawyers will not work for free!

So much for constitutional due process, civil rights, human rights, life, liberty and happiness! What happened to NASGA member Danny Tate can happen to anyone! On this day of World Elder Abuse Awareness, NASGA presents the case of Danny Tate – an able-bodied man in his early 50’s, capable of speaking up and fighting back – who was, however, driven to the brink of bankruptcy by his court-appointed “protectors.” Many of the elderly don’t have Tate’s strength, voice, nor his connections in the music world – imagine how many are abused, their estates plundered, while they are forced to suffer in silence.

The protection program as presently operated across the states has now become “THE PROTECTION RACKET”! That’s why NASGA asked Congress to intervene (even before we learned about Danny’s story): http://www.AnOpenLetterToCongress.info.

81-Year-Old Man Wins His Freedom, $500K Later

We interrupt the sad story of Marie Long – where fully a dozen lawyers were in court this week , gearing up to fight the old lady’s attempt to get some of her money back – to bring you the tale of another person protected by probate court.

This one, an 81-year-old man who is on the hook for $500,000 in legal fees – more than half of that for a lawyer who spent most of his time fighting the old guy’s wishes.

Some of you may recall R.B. Sleeth, whose battle with his son over his desire to marry his girlfriend ate up more than a year of his life, including 10 weeks in a lockdown Alzheimer’s unit — never mind that he didn’t have Alzheimer’s.

R.B.’s battle began in December 2007, when his son Mark stopped his wedding to Marge Foley and petitioned to become his father’s guardian and conservator. Mark contended that Marge, then 73, was a gold digger and that his father had long ago asked Mark to assume control should he become mentally incapacitated.

Marge and R.B. battled Mark through 2008, culminating in R.B.’s 10-week stay in a lockdown unit. Marge claimed that R.B. was being overmedicated and that Mark was trying to cut her out of R.B.’s life, against his wishes. Mark claimed that Marge was freeloading and taking advantage of his father’s fragile condition.

In December 2008, Commissioner Richard Nothwehr sided with Mark, lauding his “love and affection for R.B.” but removed him as guardian anyway, saying that keeping R.B. and Marge apart wasn’t in R.B.’s best interest. Mark retained control of his father’s finances.

In February 2009, Jane Anne Geisler, an independent guardian, was brought in and R.B. was weaned from an array of medications, including a powerful anti-psychotic. One month later, he was sprung from assisted living, married Marge and returned to his Paradise Valley home to find the house a mess, his utilities cut off due to non payment of bills and his $1.4 million net worth reduced to “virtually zero,” court records say.

In October, the guardianship was terminated as doctors pronounced R.B. “mentally and physically stable”. It seems R.B. never had dementia, just an overabundance of medication.

By then, court records show that Mark had already relinquished control of R.B.’s money amid discoveries that the older man had a stack of unpaid bills and his long-term care insurance had lapsed. One of the conditions of Mark’s stepping aside: no talking to the media (read: me) about what was going on.

I understand why, especially after seeing some of the 2008 and 2009 e-mails that have recently come to light in court records.

The nasty ones from Mark about how he despised his father – not exactly the picture of “love and affection for R.B”, as described by Commissioner Nothwehr.

And the ones from Scott Ferris, the attorney for Mark while he was R.B.’s guardian, trustee and conservator. I particularly like the one Ferris sent to Mark and others the day after I wrote about R.B.’s plight in December 2008 – a few weeks before Mark was removed as guardian.

“After considerable thought yesterday and today, I am more convinced that the best approach to the current financial circumstances is to liquidate everything in the Conservatorship and the Trust irrespective of the status of the current market for any asset,” Ferris wrote. “Use such proceeds to pay all Estate expenses and reimbursement, with the remainder … for all future expenses related to R.B. – period. If that means he is insolvent and must apply to ALTCS, it’s not like you did not warn of such circumstances …”

Full Article and Source:
$500,000 Later, an Old Man Wins His Freedom From Probate

State of Georgia Raises Costs of Appeals 567%!

Lawmakers unwittingly have handed Georgia’s legal system a knee-buckling case of sticker shock — a 567-percent increase in the cost of appeals that lawyers and judges say will shut the courthouse door to litigants statewide.

In their haste to raise revenues, lawmakers hiked the cost of copying and preparing a case record for an appeal from $1.50 per page to $10 per page. That means the cost of preparing an appeal with a massive 10,000-page record, for example, just spiked from $15,000 to $100,000. And the less-complicated appeals typically pursued by individuals or small businesses in civil cases now will cost more than $10,000.

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Court Fee Hike Staggers Justice System

Governor Christie: New Jersey Judicial System is in Serious Need for Housecleaning

Dear Governor Christie:

You were elected to serve the people by administering a government that reflects the will of the people.

One of the most troubling areas of your administration from a civil rights and ethical standpoint is – the Office of Public Guardian, in conjunction with the New Jersey Probate system. This office is supposed to advocate for New Jersey residents that are developmentally disabled or people over age 60 who are ill or disabled but instead the Office the Guardian with the rubber stamp from New Jersey judges is being used to exploit the Ill, Disabled, and Elderly.

Please see the following three stories linking to three guardianship cases in the state of New Jersey that have been pleading with your office and the Judiciary to stop the abuse in the courts and in the New Jersey Office of the Public Guardian:

Matthew Taylor
Kewal Chopra
My Father, a Vietnam Vet With a Purple Heart, is Having His Estate Stolen by New Jersey’s Government

Full Editorial and Source:
Chris Christie: New Jersey Judicial System is in Serious Need for Housecleaning

Disbarred NY Lawyer Faces Grand Larceny

A former lawyer who practiced in Monroe has been indicted on charges that he stole more than $50,000 of a client’s money from an escrow account.

Orange County District Attorney Frank Phillips announced that J. Bennett Farrell, 67, of Brant Lake, NY has been indicted on a single count of second-degree grand larceny. The charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

Farrell disappeared from his practice in the Village of Monroe in the summer of 2007, leaving a partially emptied office and abandoning confidential client files.

Misconduct charges were filed against Farrell, including for failing to finish client work, mishandling money in escrow and for failing to properly dispose of the client files. A state appeals court disbarred Farrell in May 2009, although he had surrendered his license the previous December.

Phillips said that between May 30, 2006 and Nov. 8, 2007, Farrell had pilfered $66,000 that had been held in escrow for a client.

Farrell, who surrendered voluntarily, pleaded not guilty, and was released on his own recognizance pending further court proceedings.

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Disbarred Lawyer Faces Grand Larceny Charge

Trial Begins in Exploitation Case

Circuit Court jurors began hearing evidence in the trial of Jo Marie Weeks, a Lakeland woman accused of stealing more than $100,000 from an elderly relative with dementia.

Weeks and her husband, Eric Weeks, were arrested in December 2009.

Deputies say the couple drained money away from Jo Marie Weeks’ great-great-aunt, Lelia Boyd, who is 89. An arrest report accuses the couple of taking more than $138,000 from Boyd.

She faces charges of exploitation of an elderly person, scheme to defraud, theft and money laundering.

Her husband’s trial is scheduled to begin June 21, according to court records.

Full Article and Source:
Lawyer: Jo Marie Weeks Misused Position to Exploit Money From Elderly Relative

Danny Tate, Forced to Pay Brother’s Legal Fees

A judge ruled Friday that a Nashville singer-songwriter who was recently given back control of his life still has to pay up.

There was a lot of what the judge called theatrics Friday in the ongoing saga involving Danny Tate’s conservatorship. Fans of the man — who, for many, was an 1980s icon — showed up in court wearing T-shirts in support of him.

In 2007, Tate’s brother, David, was granted control of his life following concerns and evidence of Danny’s cocaine abuse. That temporary conservatorship was dissolved in May, but the bitter battle continued Friday with attorneys on both sides fighting about who should be responsible for paying legal fees and other court costs that range in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Danny’s attorney said he’s on the verge of bankruptcy and should not have to pay his brother’s attorney’s fees. The opposing counsel disagreed.

In the end, probate Judge Randy Kennedy had the last say, forcing Danny to pay reasonable court costs and attorneys’ fees.

Full Article and Source:
Singer Must Pay for Brother’s Legal Fees

See Also:
Free Danny Tate!!!

Facebook: Friends for Danny Tate’s Defense

Britney Spears Conservatorship Continues

Britney Spears’ dad has had a secret meeting in court to discuss the singer’s conservatorship.

Jamie Spears had a meeting with Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Reva Goetz in chambers on June 3.

According to a report on RadarOnline.com, the top-secret meeting also included Jamie’s lawyer Geraldine Wyle, Britney’s court-appointed lawyer Sam Ingham, and Andrew Wallet, who along with Jamie is co-conservator over Britney.

Under discussion were the findings of a court-appointed custody evaluator appointed by Goetz.

In California, an evaluation usually happens when there are concerns or unresolved issues surrounding a parent’s mental health problems and parental skills that could have a negative impact on a child.

In a legal document obtained by RadarOnline, it was revealed Goetz reviewed and discussed the report with the child custody expert, Britney’s dad, and all the lawyers in a chambers meeting that lasted a little over 70 minutes.

Goetz ordered the expert to prepare a report quarterly for the conservatorship, with the first report due no later than September 30, 2010.

The next scheduled status hearing for Britney is July 27, 2010.

Full Article and Source:
Secret Court Meeting Held to Decide Spears’ Future

Scott Rothstein Gets 50 Years in the Federal Pen

Former lawyer Scott Rothstein was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison Wednesday for using his Fort Lauderdale law firm to run a $1.2 billion Bernie Madoff-style Ponzi scheme that brought him yachts and sports cars and allowed him to make sizable contributions to Florida politicians.

Rothstein had faced up to 100 years behind bars after pleading guilty in January to two counts of fraud and three counts of conspiracy. The sentence imposed by Judge James Cohn, however, is ten years more than prosecutors requested, and 20 years longer than the term Rothstein had hoped to receive because of his reportedly extensive cooperation with federal investigators.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Wilfredo Ferrer said that the “rags-to-riches-to-jail saga” of Rothstein, who rose from blue-collar roots in the Bronx to the society pages of South Florida, was a “humbling reminder of what can happen when greed and ambition run amok.”

“Today’s sentence punishes the defendant for his thievery,” said Ferrer, “and hopefully brings some sense of justice to the victims of this massive fraud.”

Full Article and Source:
Scott Rothstein Gets 50 Years in 1.2 Billion Ponzi Scheme