Guardians Needed

The need for legal guardians for people with disabilities and for the elderly is on its way to a crisis point, with more than 100 people who once lived in the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center or another state institution on a state-funded guardianship program waiting list. Add to that the number of young adults with disabilities each year who reach 18 and must have a court-appointed guardian.

The nonprofit Volunteer Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana and Easter Seals Arc are hosting a free informational meeting at the Allen County Public Library for parents and caregivers of teens or adult children with disabilities. It is an educational outreach of VLP’s Volunteer Advocates for Seniors and Incapacitated Adults, which finds volunteer guardians for adults with no family or friends able or willing to oversee services such as housing or health care. A guardian of the estate may also be appointed.

Although Tuesday’s forum is targeted at families with adult or soon-to-be adult children with disabilities, training for volunteer guardians for older adults and others through VLP-VASIA will be offered later this year. In some cases, an incapacitated person may have medical or other urgent issues requiring intervention but even when family is found, “They will not step up because they’re afraid of being financially responsible,” said attorney Catherine Christoff with Christoff & Christoff, also active with VLP-VASIA.

Although no one denies the guardianship need is significant, just how serious of a problem it is remains uncertain, said Julie Cameron, coordinator of Mental Health in America in Allen County’s Adult Guardianship Services. There is no good tracking in Indiana’s public or private guardianship programs of how many people on waiting lists may die before a guardian is found or perhaps a distant relative accepts the role. The guardianship process needs to be deliberate and taken very seriously, Houk said, noting “We’re talking about suspending people’s civil rights. It’s important there are barriers.”

Full Article and Source:
Needed: Guardians for Indiana’s disabled, elderly

>Guardians Needed

>

The need for legal guardians for people with disabilities and for the elderly is on its way to a crisis point, with more than 100 people who once lived in the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center or another state institution on a state-funded guardianship program waiting list. Add to that the number of young adults with disabilities each year who reach 18 and must have a court-appointed guardian.

The nonprofit Volunteer Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana and Easter Seals Arc are hosting a free informational meeting at the Allen County Public Library for parents and caregivers of teens or adult children with disabilities. It is an educational outreach of VLP’s Volunteer Advocates for Seniors and Incapacitated Adults, which finds volunteer guardians for adults with no family or friends able or willing to oversee services such as housing or health care. A guardian of the estate may also be appointed.

Although Tuesday’s forum is targeted at families with adult or soon-to-be adult children with disabilities, training for volunteer guardians for older adults and others through VLP-VASIA will be offered later this year. In some cases, an incapacitated person may have medical or other urgent issues requiring intervention but even when family is found, “They will not step up because they’re afraid of being financially responsible,” said attorney Catherine Christoff with Christoff & Christoff, also active with VLP-VASIA.

Although no one denies the guardianship need is significant, just how serious of a problem it is remains uncertain, said Julie Cameron, coordinator of Mental Health in America in Allen County’s Adult Guardianship Services. There is no good tracking in Indiana’s public or private guardianship programs of how many people on waiting lists may die before a guardian is found or perhaps a distant relative accepts the role. The guardianship process needs to be deliberate and taken very seriously, Houk said, noting “We’re talking about suspending people’s civil rights. It’s important there are barriers.”

Full Article and Source:
Needed: Guardians for Indiana’s disabled, elderly

Forum on the Ins and Outs of Guardianship

Easter Seals Arc and the Volunteer Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana are working together to host an informational forum on the ins and outs of guardianships in relation to those with special needs. This event will be held in the meeting rooms of the Allen County Public Library, in downtown Fort Wayne, on Tuesday, June 16, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. There is no cost to attend.

The purpose of this forum is to address a growing need to educate both parents and caregivers about the complex and sometimes frustrating facets of guardianships in relation to special needs, and to inform them of individuals and agencies that can help to provide the support they need. Attendees will become familiar with:

• Why parents sometimes need to establish guardianship of their children
• Power of Attorney (POA)/Healthcare Representation vs. Guardianship
• The legal process
• What is a Guardian Ad Litem
• Roles and responsibilities of being a guardian

There will also be a question and answer period featuring Magistrate Phillip Houk; Allen County Superior Court, Attorney Stephen P. Griebel; Van Gilder & Trzynka, Attorney Catherine S. Christoff; Christoff & Christoff, and Julie Cameron; National Certified Guardian and President of the Indiana State Guardianship Association.

Full Article and Source:
Easter Seals Arc to host guardianship forum

>Forum on the Ins and Outs of Guardianship

>

Easter Seals Arc and the Volunteer Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana are working together to host an informational forum on the ins and outs of guardianships in relation to those with special needs. This event will be held in the meeting rooms of the Allen County Public Library, in downtown Fort Wayne, on Tuesday, June 16, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. There is no cost to attend.

The purpose of this forum is to address a growing need to educate both parents and caregivers about the complex and sometimes frustrating facets of guardianships in relation to special needs, and to inform them of individuals and agencies that can help to provide the support they need. Attendees will become familiar with:

• Why parents sometimes need to establish guardianship of their children
• Power of Attorney (POA)/Healthcare Representation vs. Guardianship
• The legal process
• What is a Guardian Ad Litem
• Roles and responsibilities of being a guardian

There will also be a question and answer period featuring Magistrate Phillip Houk; Allen County Superior Court, Attorney Stephen P. Griebel; Van Gilder & Trzynka, Attorney Catherine S. Christoff; Christoff & Christoff, and Julie Cameron; National Certified Guardian and President of the Indiana State Guardianship Association.

Full Article and Source:
Easter Seals Arc to host guardianship forum

The Bronx Bomber

A Bronx fixer’s scandalous history doesn’t bother Yankees or Democrats

Stanley Schlein remains a lawyer in good standing, negotiating with governors and senators.

Schlein sat down at the elegant University Club in midtown across from Governor David Paterson and Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith. Schlein was there representing the three renegade Democratic senators.

A Democratic legislator: “Schlein is a very skillful negotiator.”

Another happy client is the New York Yankees, who keep Schlein on retainer as lobbyist, lawyer, and all-around fixer for issues dealing with city government. Public records show that Schlein has collected some $150,000 from the team over the past two years in legal and lobbying fees.

When the Voice asked for permission to use a photograph of Schlein from a recent charitable dinner for Easter Seals, the group’s vice president called to praise him.

John McGrath: “This is the guy who makes Christmas happen. He brings the kids toys from the Yankees, raises tons of money. This is an amazing human being.”

But in fact, a Voice investigation found that in a dozen cases, Schlein had repeatedly ignored the desperate pleas of family members and loved ones.

There was the construction worker, brain-damaged from an accident, whose family could never get hold of Schlein when they needed him so that they could spend money from a lawsuit settlement to buy a wheelchair and clothes. Schlein somehow let a condo the victim owned go into foreclosure and be sold at auction. At the same time, he steered legal work from the estate to his friends in the Democratic Party.

There was the elderly incapacitated woman whose taxes Schlein never got around to filing and whose valuable stock certificates were allowed to expire. And there was Mary Johnson, 87, retired Irish domestic servant and devoted Catholic, whose life savings Schlein put in an account earning 1 percent at a bank where he was a major stockholder and which he also represented. Johnson was in a nursing home on Gun Hill Road, just minutes from Schlein’s home on City Island, but nurses never saw the lawyer at Mary’s side. Her family’s one request—that money be set aside so that her last surviving friend, another elderly retired domestic, could use a car service to visit her—went ignored as well.

Full Article and Source:
Stanley Schlein Rides Again

While rooting the Yankees to a new home, Democratic political fixer Stanley Schlein failed his other clients

A few weeks before he guided the Yankees to their victory at City Hall, some of those complaints, many of them years old, finally caught up with Schlein. They came in the form of a brief letter from Ann T. Pfau, one of the state’s top administrative judges. The February 22 letter informed Schlein that he was being removed from the list of those qualified to serve as court-appointed fiduciaries those named by the court to handle large sums of other people’s money and oversee their property.

Judges, elevated to the bench with the party’s approval, routinely name attorneys with clubhouse ties to serve as guardians, receivers, or referees. Many of the appointments are on behalf of the elderly or the infirm, those who have become incapacitated for one reason or another and are deemed no longer capable of managing their own affairs. The positions are highly prized because they usually offer a light workload and a virtually guaranteed payday that can range from a few hundred dollars to many thousands for each case.

As befitting his years of service to the Bronx Democrats, Schlein has long been a key recipient of appointments from judges who come out of the borough’s political machine. Since 2000 he has received some $125,000 in fees. But that gravy train came to an abrupt halt with Pfau’s letter. While offering no specifics, the judge cited his mishandling of property in two cases, that of a Bronx construction worker named Vincent Robinson, who lapsed into a coma after a construction accident, and an elderly Manhattan woman named Sylvia Friedland, who was institutionalized due to dementia.

Pfau wrote: “Accordingly, you will be removed from the list of qualified applicants by the Court as of the date of this letter.”

Full Article and Source:
The Bronx Bomber

See also:
Fine Schlein In Misuse of Staff For Law Work

Former official fined for misusing city resources

The Bronx Bomber

A Bronx fixer’s scandalous history doesn’t bother Yankees or Democrats

Stanley Schlein remains a lawyer in good standing, negotiating with governors and senators.

Schlein sat down at the elegant University Club in midtown across from Governor David Paterson and Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith. Schlein was there representing the three renegade Democratic senators.

A Democratic legislator: “Schlein is a very skillful negotiator.”

Another happy client is the New York Yankees, who keep Schlein on retainer as lobbyist, lawyer, and all-around fixer for issues dealing with city government. Public records show that Schlein has collected some $150,000 from the team over the past two years in legal and lobbying fees.

When the Voice asked for permission to use a photograph of Schlein from a recent charitable dinner for Easter Seals, the group’s vice president called to praise him.

John McGrath: “This is the guy who makes Christmas happen. He brings the kids toys from the Yankees, raises tons of money. This is an amazing human being.”

But in fact, a Voice investigation found that in a dozen cases, Schlein had repeatedly ignored the desperate pleas of family members and loved ones.

There was the construction worker, brain-damaged from an accident, whose family could never get hold of Schlein when they needed him so that they could spend money from a lawsuit settlement to buy a wheelchair and clothes. Schlein somehow let a condo the victim owned go into foreclosure and be sold at auction. At the same time, he steered legal work from the estate to his friends in the Democratic Party.

There was the elderly incapacitated woman whose taxes Schlein never got around to filing and whose valuable stock certificates were allowed to expire. And there was Mary Johnson, 87, retired Irish domestic servant and devoted Catholic, whose life savings Schlein put in an account earning 1 percent at a bank where he was a major stockholder and which he also represented. Johnson was in a nursing home on Gun Hill Road, just minutes from Schlein’s home on City Island, but nurses never saw the lawyer at Mary’s side. Her family’s one request—that money be set aside so that her last surviving friend, another elderly retired domestic, could use a car service to visit her—went ignored as well.

Full Article and Source:
Stanley Schlein Rides Again

While rooting the Yankees to a new home, Democratic political fixer Stanley Schlein failed his other clients

A few weeks before he guided the Yankees to their victory at City Hall, some of those complaints, many of them years old, finally caught up with Schlein. They came in the form of a brief letter from Ann T. Pfau, one of the state’s top administrative judges. The February 22 letter informed Schlein that he was being removed from the list of those qualified to serve as court-appointed fiduciaries those named by the court to handle large sums of other people’s money and oversee their property.

Judges, elevated to the bench with the party’s approval, routinely name attorneys with clubhouse ties to serve as guardians, receivers, or referees. Many of the appointments are on behalf of the elderly or the infirm, those who have become incapacitated for one reason or another and are deemed no longer capable of managing their own affairs. The positions are highly prized because they usually offer a light workload and a virtually guaranteed payday that can range from a few hundred dollars to many thousands for each case.

As befitting his years of service to the Bronx Democrats, Schlein has long been a key recipient of appointments from judges who come out of the borough’s political machine. Since 2000 he has received some $125,000 in fees. But that gravy train came to an abrupt halt with Pfau’s letter. While offering no specifics, the judge cited his mishandling of property in two cases, that of a Bronx construction worker named Vincent Robinson, who lapsed into a coma after a construction accident, and an elderly Manhattan woman named Sylvia Friedland, who was institutionalized due to dementia.

Pfau wrote: “Accordingly, you will be removed from the list of qualified applicants by the Court as of the date of this letter.”

Full Article and Source:
The Bronx Bomber

See also:
Fine Schlein In Misuse of Staff For Law Work

Former official fined for misusing city resources

>The Bronx Bomber

>

A Bronx fixer’s scandalous history doesn’t bother Yankees or Democrats

Stanley Schlein remains a lawyer in good standing, negotiating with governors and senators.

Schlein sat down at the elegant University Club in midtown across from Governor David Paterson and Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith. Schlein was there representing the three renegade Democratic senators.

A Democratic legislator: “Schlein is a very skillful negotiator.”

Another happy client is the New York Yankees, who keep Schlein on retainer as lobbyist, lawyer, and all-around fixer for issues dealing with city government. Public records show that Schlein has collected some $150,000 from the team over the past two years in legal and lobbying fees.

When the Voice asked for permission to use a photograph of Schlein from a recent charitable dinner for Easter Seals, the group’s vice president called to praise him.

John McGrath: “This is the guy who makes Christmas happen. He brings the kids toys from the Yankees, raises tons of money. This is an amazing human being.”

But in fact, a Voice investigation found that in a dozen cases, Schlein had repeatedly ignored the desperate pleas of family members and loved ones.

There was the construction worker, brain-damaged from an accident, whose family could never get hold of Schlein when they needed him so that they could spend money from a lawsuit settlement to buy a wheelchair and clothes. Schlein somehow let a condo the victim owned go into foreclosure and be sold at auction. At the same time, he steered legal work from the estate to his friends in the Democratic Party.

There was the elderly incapacitated woman whose taxes Schlein never got around to filing and whose valuable stock certificates were allowed to expire. And there was Mary Johnson, 87, retired Irish domestic servant and devoted Catholic, whose life savings Schlein put in an account earning 1 percent at a bank where he was a major stockholder and which he also represented. Johnson was in a nursing home on Gun Hill Road, just minutes from Schlein’s home on City Island, but nurses never saw the lawyer at Mary’s side. Her family’s one request—that money be set aside so that her last surviving friend, another elderly retired domestic, could use a car service to visit her—went ignored as well.

Full Article and Source:
Stanley Schlein Rides Again

While rooting the Yankees to a new home, Democratic political fixer Stanley Schlein failed his other clients

A few weeks before he guided the Yankees to their victory at City Hall, some of those complaints, many of them years old, finally caught up with Schlein. They came in the form of a brief letter from Ann T. Pfau, one of the state’s top administrative judges. The February 22 letter informed Schlein that he was being removed from the list of those qualified to serve as court-appointed fiduciaries those named by the court to handle large sums of other people’s money and oversee their property.

Judges, elevated to the bench with the party’s approval, routinely name attorneys with clubhouse ties to serve as guardians, receivers, or referees. Many of the appointments are on behalf of the elderly or the infirm, those who have become incapacitated for one reason or another and are deemed no longer capable of managing their own affairs. The positions are highly prized because they usually offer a light workload and a virtually guaranteed payday that can range from a few hundred dollars to many thousands for each case.

As befitting his years of service to the Bronx Democrats, Schlein has long been a key recipient of appointments from judges who come out of the borough’s political machine. Since 2000 he has received some $125,000 in fees. But that gravy train came to an abrupt halt with Pfau’s letter. While offering no specifics, the judge cited his mishandling of property in two cases, that of a Bronx construction worker named Vincent Robinson, who lapsed into a coma after a construction accident, and an elderly Manhattan woman named Sylvia Friedland, who was institutionalized due to dementia.

Pfau wrote: “Accordingly, you will be removed from the list of qualified applicants by the Court as of the date of this letter.”

Full Article and Source:
The Bronx Bomber

See also:
Fine Schlein In Misuse of Staff For Law Work

Former official fined for misusing city resources