Longtime Probate Judge Won’t Run for Re-election

To many people mourning a death or facing life’s hard decisions, he introduces himself as Bill Self.

Not Judge Self.

It’s meant to make people who’ve already suffered a loss feel a little more comfortable as they enter his office at the Bibb County Courthouse.

For more than two decades, Bibb County Probate Judge William J. “Bill” Self II has held uncontested hearings in the warmth of his office because for him, the job isn’t just to handle weighty court matters such as probating wills or deciding if warring family members should end medical life support for a loved one.

“For many people, it’s the first and only time they come to court,” he said. “They’re nervous.

Self, 63, announced that he won’t seek re-election when his term expires this at the end of 2012.

Self added a fiduciary compliance officer to his staff about 20 years ago to keep tabs on money spent by guardians and conservators appointed by the court. The compliance officer also checks to see if court orders are carried out.

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Longtime Bibb County Probate Court Judge Says He Won’t Run for Re-election

Financial Advisors and Insurance Agents Cautious About Selling to Person With Possible Dementia

Lake County, California, is said to be known for a few things besides having the state’s largest freshwater contained lake—pear production, bird watching, wineries, recent meth lab busts and Glenn Neasham, the convicted insurance agent who thought, he claims, he was selling a good product to a competent senior.

In the wake of Neasham’s felony conviction for theft, a jail sentence to go along with it, and his ongoing legal battle to get that conviction overturned, financial advisors and insurance agents are wondering if they might also fall into the same legal hole that Neasham cannot seem to escape. While the chances are slim for a replication of all of the factors and personalities in Neasham’s case to reassemble themselves elsewhere, there is no safe harbor in current law to prevent a jail sentence for an agent who sells an annuity to a customer who may turn out to have dementia or Alzheimer’s at the time of the sale.

As most readers who have followed the case know, a 12-person jury found former insurance agent Neasham, now 52, guilty of felony theft on Oct. 23, 2011 for selling an annuity to a then-83 year-old woman named Fran Schuber.

As ProducersWEB writes, Judge Richard Martin denied the motion for a new trial in February, refused to drop the felony charge to a misdemeanor and sentenced Neasham to probation and 300 days in jail. Martin stayed all but 90 days of the sentence. Neasham, out on bail, plans to appeal.

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Who Will Be the Next Glenn Neasham?

TN House Passes Conservatorship Protections

In brief discussion before the 95-0 vote, Rep. Gary Odom, a Nashville Democrat, said the bill would require those petitioning to place someone in a conservatorship to disclose their relationship to the target of the petition and to disclose whether they had a criminal record.The bill already has passed the Senate and is expected to go to the governor later this week.Alexia Poe, spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Haslam, said that the governor would review the measure when and if it gets to his desk, but added that she expected he would sign it.She said she understood the bill’s sponsors worked with the state Department of Human Services in drafting the measure.Odom said the bill would give judges key information about the motives of the petitioners and conservators.He said that still further protections are needed and those will be the focus of a study before the next legislative session.

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TN House Votes Conservatorship Protections

Zsa Zsa Gabor Conseratorship Battle Heats Up

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband Frederic Prinz Von Anhalt has fired back at his stepdaughter Francesca Hilton, continuing their legal battle over the actress’ conservatorship.

Both parties are demanding control over the 95-year-old actress’ financial affairs and medical care. In March, Hilton’s attorney filed a claim at a city court requesting that an independent conservator handle Gabor’s affairs, rather than Von Anhalt. A hearing is set for May 2.

“We are just seeking to bring her finances and healthcare out in the open, so to speak, within the confines of a conservatorship proceeding, so that independent third parties will determine that she is getting the best care she can,” the lawyer told OnTheRedCarpet.com’s parent company, KABC Television.

On April 20, Von Anhalt filed a formal objection with the Superior Court of Los Angeles, claiming that Hilton is the last person who should care for her ailing mother, due to her “past conduct.”

In the legal documents obtained by TMZ, Von Anhalt blames Hilton for the estate’s financial problems and claims he does everything he can to care for Gabor, including hiring help and “prudently” monitoring finances.

Hilton, a Los Angeles comedienne whose official first name is Constance, has squabbled with Von Anhalt for decades and has at times insulted him on stage at her stand-up comedy shows.

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Zsa Zsa Gabor’s Husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt Battles Stepdaugher Over Conservatorship

Judge Adds Britney Spears’ Fiance to Conservatorship

Britney Spears’ fiance has received a judge’s approval to join her father as a co-conservator and help manage the singer’s personal affairs.

A judge in Los Angeles approved a request Wednesday by Spears and her court-appointed attorney to add Jason Trawick to the case.

He joins Spears’ father Jamie Spears in controlling several decision-making aspects of the singer’s personal life but will not have a role in managing her assets.

The 30-year-old singer remains under a court-ordered conservatorship that has been in place more than four years after a series of high-profile incidents of erratic behavior and her messy divorce.

Spears did not attend Wednesday’s hearing, much of which was closed to the public.

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Judge Adds Spears’ Fiance to Conservatorship

NY State Introduces Bill to Strengthen Legal Protections Against Elder Abuse by Caregivers

Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle, D-Irondequoit, was joined by advocates for the elderly as he announced legislation aimed at protecting senior citizens from abuse by caregivers.

Under current law, the term “caregiver” only applies to paid or court-ordered aides. Morelle’s bill expands that definition to include all individuals, including volunteers and family members, responsible for the health and well-being of an elderly person.

“Anyone who neglects, injures, defrauds or otherwise harms a senior entrusted to their care must face the consequences of their actions, and we must give law enforcement the tools to make that happen,” Morelle said.

“With this, we close a dangerous loophole that leaves far too many of our elderly vulnerable to abuse, a situation more common than the public may realize.”

Morelle said his bill is based in part on a recent study conducted by Lifespan of Greater Rochester Inc., in conjunction with the New York City Department for the Aging and Cornell University. The report found that 141 out of 1,000 older New Yorkers have experienced abuse since turning age 60, and that nearly 90 percent of those responsible were not paid health care workers.

“The New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence study Lifespan released in 2011 confirmed that elder abuse occurs in every neighborhood regardless of demographics. The study also confirmed that in the majority of abuse and financial exploitation cases, the perpetrators are family members, friends and neighbors – often, allegedly, helping to ‘care’ for the victim,” said Ann Marie Cook, Lifespan President and CEO.

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Morelle Announces Bill to Strengthen Legal Protections Against Elder Abuse in New York State

Caregiving for Loved Ones New Normal for Boomers

Money was no object when the time came for Joan Lunden to find a senior care facility for her 88-year-old mother.

For years, the former host of “Good Morning America” had been a long-distance caregiver to her mother and brother in California, providing them with emotional and financial support from New York. After her brother’s death from complications from type II diabetes, Lunden needed to find a new home for her mother, who was suffering from the onset of dementia.

It was 2006 when Lunden flew from New York to Sacramento and drove around in search of a new home for her mom. She settled on an apartment in one of the fanciest senior communities in town, where her mother, Gladyce Lunden, would have the option of entertaining guests in her home or meeting other residents in a ballroom-style dining space.

It didn’t take long for Lunden to realize that she’d chosen a place for the mother she knew 15 years ago, not the one who had been depending on her brother for the last decade. Gladyce Lunden didn’t want to spend time with other residents, nor was she capable of living on her own.

“On paper, it was spectacular, but it didn’t serve her needs at all,” Lunden said. “She was completely stressed out and her emotional situation was deteriorating because she didn’t feel safe… she couldn’t operate on her own on a daily basis.”

It took several falls, a few broken bones and three more moves to find the right place. She now shares a ranch-style home with four others in a small residential care facility. There’s a health care aide on site at all times to help her get dressed or take care of daily needs.

“She needed more hands-on, day-to-day care,” Lunden said. “I didn’t understand that because I wasn’t living with her.”

Trying to create the best possible quality of life for an aging relative is “the new normal” for 43.5 million Americans caring for someone older than 50, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance.

It’s not just their parents: With about 10,000 baby boomers hitting age 65 each day, they’re becoming caregivers and also those needing care. With people living longer than ever, this is the first generation that might care for its parents as long as it cared for its children, experts said.

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Caregiving for Loved Ones New Normal for Boomers

Caregiver Deemed Competent

A 72-year-old former caregiver, now living in Arizona, is mentally competent and does not need a guardian to deal with accusations she schemed to benefit financially from the estates of the late June M. Farrington and her surviving brother, Worth Farrington, a court-appointed attorney said.

Joan Morgante’s mental competency had come under question as her relationship with both Farringtons was scrutinized.

“It is clear and convincing to me that presently she is not an incapacitated person,” attorney Arcangelo J. Petricca said in court papers.

Petricca had been asked by Erie County Surrogate Barbara Howe to report on her condition.

Petricca’s finding means Morgante could be compelled to testify if June Farrington’s contested multimillion-dollar estate is not resolved through a settlement.

Morgante, formerly the Farringtons’ caregiver, has been accused of participating in a “wrongful scheme” to steer their money to their former estate lawyer, Stephen M. Newman, and herself, at the expense of charities that had counted on collecting her assets.

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Caregiver is Called Competent

Expert: ND Prospective Wards Should Have Lawyer to Protect Rights

Having a court-appointed guardian take charge of a person’s life means fewer legal protections and potentially graver consequences than being sent to prison, said a medical school professor who is studying North Dakota’s guardianship system.

The consultant, Winsor Schmidt, told the North Dakota Legislature’s Human Services Committee on Tuesday that North Dakotans in guardianship proceedings should have the right to a lawyer and a jury trial on whether the guardianship is necessary. State law now gives them neither.

In a guardianship case, a judge decides whether the person is capable of making decisions about his or her life. If they are not, a judge appoints someone to make those decisions for them.

“You lose all of your rights. You become a non-citizen,” Schmidt said in an interview.

The committee hired Schmidt, a professor at the University of Louisville’s medical school, to study North Dakota’s guardianship system, and he presented his preliminary report on Tuesday.

His recommendations included providing an attorney at public expense if someone can’t afford to hire a lawyer for guardianship proceedings.

“With the criminal justice system, if you’re found guilty, at least you know there’s a term, and you get out of jail,” he said. “With guardianship, it’s indeterminate. Once you’re (judged to be) legally incompetent, you’re incompetent from then on.”

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Expert: Person Having a Guardian Appointed by ND Court Should Have Laywer to Protect Rights

Senate Aging Committee Hearing Spotlights Need to End Fragmented SNF Policymaking

Emphasizing the need to end fragmented policymaking for the U.S. skilled nursing facility (SNF) sector to help sustain quality gains and boost cost efficiency, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (AQNHC) praised U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) for convening today’s [4/18]Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing, and said repeated SNF Medicare funding cuts are no replacement for intelligent reforms that help coordinate care for an aging, increasingly disparate, higher acuity patient population.

“Because Medicare and Medicaid together pay for the care of three out of every four SNF patients, it is crucial to assess not just the impact both programs have on the ability of providers to continue delivering high quality patient care, but also how to improve cost savings by better coordinating today’s fragmented, siloed policymaking process,” said Alan G. Rosenbloom, President of the Alliance. “Funding reduction after funding reduction is no substitute for rational policymaking that can help patients and help stabilize a key U.S. health sector already slated to absorb $48 billion in funding cuts between FY 2012-21.”

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Senate Aging Committee Hearing Spotlights Need to End Fragmented SNF Policymaking