Many Baby Boomers Don’t Plan to Leave Their Children an Inheritance

Carol Willison has made lots of financial sacrifices for her two children over the years, including paying most of her older daughter’s medical school tuition. But Willison’s generosity has reached its limits.

Not only doesn’t the 60-year-old Seattle woman plan to leave her daughters an inheritance when she dies, she’s trying to spend every last dime on herself before she goes.

“My goal is when they carry me away in that box that my bank account is going to say zero,” Willison said. “I’m going to spoil myself now.”

Upending the conventional notion of parents carefully tending their financial estates to be passed down at the reading of their wills, many baby boomers say they instead plan to spend the money on themselves while they’re alive.

In a survey of millionaire boomers by investment firm U.S. Trust, only 49% said it was important to leave money to their children when they die. The low rate was a big surprise for a company that for decades has advised wealthy people how to leave money to their heirs.

“We were like ‘wow,'” said Keith Banks, U.S. Trust president.

Full Article and Source:
Many Baby Boomers Don’t Plan to Leave Their Children an Inheritance

See Also:
BabyBoomersBewareOfGuardianshipAbuse

NASGA Press Release: Boomers Beware of Guardianship and Conservatorship Abuse

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
January 30, 2012

For more information contact:
Annie McKenna, NASGA Media Liaison
info@StopGuardianAbuse.org

Boomers Beware of Guardianship and Conservatorship Abuse

2012 won’t be a happy year for aging Boomers taking care of their aged parents or becoming vulnerable themselves. Even if they had planned ahead by executing advance directives and making careful estate plans, they risk being sucked into an almost secret system which feeds itself by preying upon their vulnerability.

“Guardianships” or “Conservatorships” are “protective” proceedings managed by our American justice system in state courts across the country. Without adequate monitoring and oversight, there is a growing trampling of constitutional protections and civil and human rights by the very persons supposedly protecting our loved ones.

Fiduciaries – “persons of trust” – appointed by the courts to protect those adjudicated as incompetent are thus free to engage in a feeding frenzy: aggressively overbilling the estates of their wards with unnecessary and outrageous fees until there is nothing left.

The system is out of control and running amok, contrary to original intent, which was to:

• GUARD the vulnerable person from harming him/herself or others;
• CONSERVE his/her assets through prudent investment; and
• PROTECT the taxpaying public from the person becoming a public charge.

The result of these unlawful and abusive proceedings, among other things, is that when wards’ estates are bled dry by the excessive fee billing of fiduciaries, these wards are added by the fiduciary to the Medicaid rolls on the backs of taxpayers, victimizing the taxpaying public as well – an appalling travesty of law.

NASGA was created by family members and friends of victims of so-called “protective” proceedings where court-appointed fiduciaries took control of the lives, liberty and property of their loved ones and then breached their fiduciary duty, causing extensive and expensive litigation.

See
Boomers Beware of Guardianship Abuse
Boomers Beware of Conservatorship Abuse

GAO Report: Guardianships – Cases of Financial Exploitation, Neglect and Abuse of Seniors

WI: Jeffrey Schend Theft Case Prompts Tougher Guardian Rules

Financial caretakers appointed to assist the elderly and disabled in Outagamie County face more stringent requirements after a former guardian was charged with siphoning nearly $500,000 from clients.

New rules that took effect Jan. 1 are aimed at adding safeguards to the guardianship system that prosecutors say was exploited by Jeffrey M. Schend of Appleton.

Schend faces a trial in March on six felony counts of theft and one misdemeanor theft charge. In watchdog reporting after his arrest last year, The Post-Crescent found that he operated within a system that relied largely on his word alone.

State law does not require detailed audits, the newspaper found. Even if the law did, the oversight office in Outagamie County would not be able to handle the workload, its director said at the time.

Generally, the new rules require guardians to provide more detailed financial records to Outagamie County’s circuit courts as part of their responsibility to clients who are deemed incompetent to handle their own affairs.

Also, county officials now will choose guardianship cases randomly each year for review, and those guardians will be required to give the court all receipts and canceled checks for the year. And, the rules also establish fines for guardians whose failure to answer questions about their work require court intervention.

“It’s a good idea,” said Gary Apitz of Bryant, guardian for his 63-year-old developmentally disabled brother who lives in an Appleton nursing home. Schend had served as the guardian for Apitz’s brother when he lived in Shawano County. A judge there ordered Schend to pay nearly $5,000 based on the man’s unpaid bills.

“Every guardian should be responsible to explain what he’s done,” Apitz said.

Full Article and Source:
Jeffrey Schend Theft Case Prompts Tougher Guardian Rules

See Also:
Jeffrey Schend Released From Jail

Court Ordered Hell…..Continues

It’s been two years since The Tennesean published, “Court-Ordered Hell — How an errant judge and a controlling sibling stripped nashville rocker danny tate of his money, his livelihood and his legal rights” in an ex-parte “emergency” hearing (when there was no emergency), resulting in a “temporary” conservatorship with no end in sight.

The conservatorship was terminated in May of 2010, but in an unexpicable turn of events, Judge Randy Kennedy’s final order left the conservator in control of Tate’s estate (Kennedy denied the conservator’s motion to withdraw).

How can this be?

These videos of the unlawful ex-parte “emergency” hearing of October 23, 2007 tell the story:

The only people that had any knowledge of this hearing were Judge Kennedy, campaign contributors Paul Housch, Robert Stratton and David Tate. The entire hearing lasted 19 minutes. That’s all it took to strip Danny Tate of all constitutional rights. Nothing but fraudulent hearsay allegations were presented to the court without any supporting documentation.

Part 2 of the Ex Parte hearing in which Judge Randy Kennedy stripped Danny Tate of all Constitutional rights including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, without Tate being served notice of this hearing, without Tate being present, all based on fraudulent allegations made by David Tate through his attorney Paul Housch.

Sign the petition to “Impeach Judge Randy Kennedy”

See:
Court-Ordered Hell — how an errant judge and a controlling sibling stripped Nashville rocker Danny Tate of his money, his livelihood and his legal rights

See Also:
Impeach Randy Kennedy Blog

Danny Tate, Tennessee Victim

NASGA’s An Open Letter to Congress and the White House -3: A Review of Unlawful “Emergency” Guardianships

BoomersBewareOfConservatorshipAbuse

Editorial: Circle the Wagons; You Could be Next!

As I look back over the years of my life I find that I have been brought full circle back to my childhood.

I was just a young child when television and movies were still in black and white, when the “western” was a theme of more programs and movies than not. A time when “circle the wagons” and “white-man speak with forked tounge” meant little or nothing to me; after all, I am caucasian and it was just a tv show or movie.

I was, of course, a bit older when the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement was in full force, when oppression and discrimination of the races was “in our face.” Then there was the 1970s with Vietnam and a Washington, D.C., administration that quit their jobs before being faced with prison for their crimes. Oh, these were reassuring times alright, and far more reality-based than the cowboys and Indians on the silver screen.

So what does all this have to do with today, when I am now older than I ever dreamt as a young child?

I now know what the Indian meant when he said, “white man speak with forked tounge”. I now know what the oppression, discrimination and retaliation of the Civil Rights Era meant to those who were oppressed and discriminated. How do I know these things as an aging caucasian female? Because my mother is under a court-appointed guardianship shoved into a nursing home against her will just like the American Indians who were guardianized by their treaties and shoved onto the reservations, only to be lied to, neglected and exploited by the very “forked-tounge” establishment who promised them care and protection.

I am utterly amazed and disappointed that our politicians can proclaim to possess concern for the elderly, concerned that they will be abused, neglected and exploited, yet when I reach out for help and protection for my mother from those in a position who say they care and who have the authorty to do something about the injustice, I am met by a bunch of “forked-tounge” speaking establishment types who are more than content to enjoy their own freedom and liberty, while depriving my mother of her freedom and liberty.

A bit of advice in close, “circle the wagons” folks: You might be next, because guardianship abuse is on the rise, it is nothing new I have since learned, and it is likely coming to a loved one near you sooner than you might think.

Jane Branson
Hillsboro
Member, NASGA – National Association to STOP Guardian Abuse

Source:
Circle the Wagons, You Could Be Next

See also:
Mollie Florkey, Ohio Victim

Judge in Mollie Florkey Case Recuses!

Mary G. Sykes Speaks Out for What She Wants

Source:
YouTube: Mary G. Sykes Speaks Her Mind

See:
Mary G. Sykes.com

Mary Sykes, Illinois Victim

Mary G. Sykes Speaks Her Mind

Gloria J Sykes and Mary G Sykes at a “visit” with mom, which was “allowed” by the Probate court–but only with a “supervisor” because allegedly Gloria is “dangerous” and her mother is “incompetent.” (This is according to GAL’s Adam Stern, attorney, and Cynthia Farenga, attorney.) Interestingly enough the voice in the background is Tom, an ordained minister providing comments and advice to Gloria and Mary.

Source:
YouTube: Mary G. Sykes Speaks Her Mind!

Watch Mary G Sykes speak her mind and what she wants done. Amazingly enough, she is supposed to be incompetent and her GAL’s Adam Stern GAL and Cynthia Farenga GAL have conveniently arranged a guardianship where her desires are NOT being carried out. She wants to live at home and have her daughter Gloria care for her in Mary’s home until she dies. Carolyn Toerpe had her execute a will where once Mary’s home is sold the proceeds are put in Trust and Carolyn Toerpe takes it all upon Mary’s death. Now Carolyn Toerpe has had Mary declared incompetent and is seeking to have both Mary’s home and Gloria’s home sold and the proceeds put in Carolyn’s trust. All of this has been done under the authority of the Probate Court of Cook County and GAL’s Cynthia Farenga Attorney and Adam Stern, Attorney. This proves that evil never sleeps.

Source:
YouTube: Mary G. Sykes Writes Letters for Help and Speaks Her Own Mind

See also:
MarySykes.com
Mary Sykes, Illinois Victim

New York’s High Rate of Disabled Deaths Prompts Outcry

Reports that one in six disabled persons in New York over the last decade have died from preventable causes has drawn sharp criticism from local media and disability advocates.

“We are devaluing these people,” Bobby Schindler of the Life and Hope Network told CNA, and “we are seeing” this kind of treatment “rationalized and justified everyday.”

The New York Times outlined death reports on Nov. 5 of developmentally disabled persons throughout the last 10 years. The newspaper found that those receiving care in New York died from unnatural causes at what appears to be an unusually high rate.

One in six deaths, around 1,200 total, within state and privately run homes were blamed on unnatural or unknown causes. These numbers compare with one in 25 in Massachusetts and Connecticut which are two of the few states that track similar data.

The New York case files suggest that the deaths were caused by neglect and could have been easily prevented, as they involved scenarios of disabled persons drowning, choking on food or falling down stairs.

The paper profiled a story of 41-year-old James Michael Taylor, whose evening bath in 2005 “became a death sentence” when a caretaker placed him in a tub, turned on the water and left the room.

Taylor, a quadriplegic who had the ability of a newborn to lift his head, slowly drowned in the next 15 minutes as the water rose over his body.

Editors from Albany’s Times Union newspaper called the situation a “disgrace,” especially given that the state spends $10 billion a year in attempt to take care of the developmentally disabled.

“New York should be doing more than just starting to catch up to other states,” the editors said in a Nov. 9 blog post. “Its system should be a national model.”

Full Article and Source:
New York’s High Rate of Disablied Deaths Prompts Outcry

Note: Bobby Schindler is a strong advocate for NASGA member Sara Harvey and her husband, Gary Harvey. See Federal Suit Filed in Fight Over Gary Harvey’s Care

‘Twas the Fright Before Christmas

‘Twas the fright before Christmas and in Just-Us house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a louse.

The stockings were hung by the railing with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The grabbers were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of dollar signs danced in their heads.

When out on the street there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to attention to see what was the matter.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Into the court came St. Nick with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
But his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

He had just come from the Chambers of Hell
where there and the bench there was such a smell!

A bundle of bucks he had flung on his back,
And he looked mad as a bear about to attack.

His eyes didn’t twinkle! He started to shake!
His cheeks were drawn in, like he’d just seen a snake!

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
Tore down all the stockings; then turned with a jerk.

Shaking his finger at the crew at the bench,
So angry you could see his fist started to clench –

To the judge and the clerk, and the Incest Crew,
He said, “Get out! You’re all through!
You’re going to a place that’s better for you!”

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the shot of a pistol.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to Mary, and to all a good-night –
Except the schemers and scammers from Hell –
They shall all rot in a cell!”

And the bag of bucks was left behind, for Mary!
My Christmas wish for her.

~Anonymous NASGA Member

‘A Crack in the Mantra of the Professional Court-Appointed Guardian Crowd’ and Merry Christmas

Effect of the Barry case

The Sykes case has become for the two guardian ad litem and the attorney for the plenary guardian a professional nightmare, assuming that the professional standards in Illinois apply to them to the same extent that they apply to other lawyers. In August 2009 the now plenary guardian, who at that time was an accused abuser of the alleged disabled person admitted that Sykes’ treating doctor refused to sign a certificate of incompetency. Judge Connors is reported in the transcript of proceedings to have suggested that a more co-operative doctor be found. Thus, it is of record that like the situation in Barry the ‘red flags’ indicating that a person who had civil rights was on the verge of being deprived of at least some of her civil rights in less than an appropriate manner.

Three attorneys lead the way. The record reveals that the Sodini notices (jurisdictional) were ignored, and many steps were taken to prevent inquiry and transparency. JoAnn Denison was disqualified without a proper legal basis, and under color of statute, but lacking in jurisdiction an overt attempt was made to intimidate me and stop my inquiry into just how Mary Sykes was declared incompetent and what happened to her very valuable estate.

All of the foregoing is water under the dam and will be addressed in subsequent litigation. The Barry case however brings up the issue of professionalism. Mr. Barry, an attorney, in a glib maneuver to advance the interests of a client over other family members orchestrated an individual’s declaration of incompetency. The facts of Barry are amazingly similar to that of Sykes. The ARDC found that Mr. Barry’s tactic was unprofessional and requested a year suspension of his license.

As was discussed previously the guardian ad litem, and the attorney for the plenary guardian have been overt in their efforts to first have Sykes ‘railroaded’ into a guardianship, and pornographic in their efforts to prevent inquiry. No reiteration is necessary – the ball is in the Court of the legal profession. If there is a double standard it will be quite evident. The lack of remediation by the plenary guardians and the attorney for the plenary guardian suggest that they believe that the Barry standard does not apply to them. The protestors are still under attack and the attempts to create transparency, terminate the elder abuse and financial exploitation of Mary Sykes is all still being thwarted. The younger daughter of Mary Sykes who has led the fight to free her mother is being wrongfully evicted from her home, her bank accounts have been wrongfully frozen, and law enforcement and society have been sitting on the sidelines watching what amounts to a ‘rape’ of our culture.

The ARDC in the Barry case pointed out that the miscreant attorney not only had a duty to make certain before he acted to deprive the victim of his civil rights that he had sound basis for action (Rule 137), but if he found he was wrong to attempt to correct his error. As he did not a harsh penalty was requested of be imposed by the Illinois Supreme Court. In making the offer of settlement that was rejected by the two guardian ad litem, it was my intention to call attention to the Barry case and to make a mechanism available to the two guardian ad litem and the attorney for the plenary guardian to save face and at the same time renew Mary Sykes and Gloria Sykes civil rights. While it would not be a no harm no foul situation, I was hoping that this Christmas a few lawyers could demonstrate good will. I was wrong and Gloria Sykes is facing a wrongful eviction, Mary Sykes continued isolation, segregation, abuse, and financial exploitation, and sans a double standard the attorneys professional ruin.

It is very sad that we never learn and the legal professional has to be perceived as predator rather than the ‘learned profession’ that it desires to portray itself. The Barry case is a crack in the mantra of the professional court appointed guardian crowd who are the subject of the ire of the victims of Court protected guardianship abuse and financial exploitation. The Sykes case demonstrates the extent of the infection and the arrogance of the disease. I’ve copied Mr. Stern, Ms. Farenga, and Mr. Schmiedel in this note making one more Christmas Appeal to use their offices to provide Mary Sykes, Gloria Sykes, and their friends, family and neighbors a Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all –

~Ken Ditkowsky
http://www.ditkowskylawoffice.com

Source:
Effect of the Barry Case

See Also:
NASGA Victims – Mary Sykes

Note:
Gloria Sykes is a NASGA Member