January 11th, 2008
http://www.lawnewtrends.com/law/20080111/boomers-rich-targets-for-estate-looters.htm
"Gone to Texas" was a phrase used by Americans immigrating to Texas in the 19th century and is applicable again today as the Baby Boomers (Americans born 1946-1964) begin to retire and relocate, as in times past, to Texas. Georgetown, Texas, was just named a top retirement town by Where to Retire magazine and a recent report by the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement lists Texas as the #2 state for retiree relocation surpassing Arizona and continuing to close the gap with Florida.
Whether in Texas or elsewhere, being a retirement "hot spot" energizes everyone from government officials and Chambers of Commerce to realtors and other business interests. The concentration of a retirement-age population, however, can bring another element into a community - predators seeking to operate within probate venues so as to divert estate assets from intended beneficiaries or heirs. In more simple terms, modern day looters and poachers intent on using the American legal system to steal property from the dead or disabled/incapacitated.
A new Horace Cooper column entitled A New Inheritance Tax for Baby Boomers discusses the upcoming transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers to their heirs and warns that "inheritance and estate planning scams are reportedly on the rise and perhaps even more pernicious is the rise in inheritance related litigation as the ever larger stockpiles of cash and real estate act as a magnet for trouble-makers." Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA) acts that base Lawsuits on probate instruments such as trusts, wills and guardianships are insightfully characterized as a litigation tax on inheritance.
That lifelong productivity and an accumulation of assets could cause a person to become a target is the reality of today's world. The upcoming years will see a transfer of wealth prompting new IRA efforts. Legal speculation is fueling some of these cases as legitimate heirs are induced to "settle" opposed to expending resources to defend frivolous claims. People think proper estate planning will protect them or that they don't have enough assets to be a target, but there is no inoculation from the threat of IRA. Entrusting the execution of your wishes to an individual who is respectful of your wishes is key, but thwarting of this effort occurs as IRA practitioners are often shameless masters of deception.
Law enforcement and the courts provide minimal safeguard or justice. Local authorities often refrain from criminal prosecutions and instead defer IRA adjudications to civil courts. Court battles are the traditional "remedy" for such actions. But win or lose, massive financial expense as well as a stringent emotional toll can yield the only true "winners" in these cases to be the participating Lawyers. Many people cannot afford to take action as our courts are a pay-to-play venue. Others recognize that even with a meritorious case, many IRA actions involve a Lawyer as a primary or secondary perpetrator and judges (usually former Lawyers) are not known for taking substantive action against "their own kind." With increased understanding, the need for criminal prosecutions will hopefully become self evident and communities will take action to ultimately protect their residents - both the living and the dead. The prospect of a few years behind bars might one day make poaching Uncle Paul's nest egg less appealing, but we are not there yet.
In his column, Horace Cooper encourages people to review their estate plans. IRA cases happen quietly and those involved in estate looting actions want to keep it that way. Two other areas of vigilance, however, also exist. First, take a look at your own community. Your town is likely home to "trouble-makers" as described by Cooper - those who use the legal system to subject legitimate heirs to this litigation tax on inheritance. Work to know who these people are and avoid them. Hopefully others will do the same and your area will cease to be viewed as potentially target rich. Also, make this an election issue with local officials, especially your judges. When these cases come before a judge, does the judge support individuals' property rights or their legal industry peers' property poaching actions?
Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA) actions occur through abuse of probate venues and/or probate documents such as wills, trusts or guardianships. When taken to court, these actions truly become a de facto inheritance litigation tax. They happen daily and if many in the legal industry continue prevailing in their quest to keep this an undocumentable, "overstated" non-issue, the lifelong asset accumulation of an entire generation is at risk. Areas with heavy retirement populations must be especially vigilant. The upcoming transfer of wealth will occur, but without prompt legal system reform, the property recipients may be far different from what many Baby Boomers anticipate.
Lou Ann Anderson is an advocate working to create awareness regarding the Texas probate system and its surrounding culture. She is the Online Producer at http://www.lawnewtrends.com/law/20080111/%22http://www.EstateofDenial.com%22 and may be contacted at http://www.lawnewtrends.com/law/20080111/%22mailto:info@EstateofDenial.com%22
Related posts:
Estate Planning Advice From Walters And Ward, A.p.c
Baby & Echo Boomers: - How Generational Trends Affect the Real Estate Market?
Living Trusts And Estate Planning
Protecting Women And Children Through Estate Planning
Revocable Living Trust Vs Will
Posted in Law Tags: guardianships, nerve endings, probate abuse, probate corruption, profession
Showing posts with label elder abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elder abuse. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Guardianships - The latest Tool for Extracting funds from the Incapacitated and now their Family Members too
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1161177
Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation of our most vulnerable citizens is on the rise at alarming rates.
The very systems that should be protecting these victims are failing miserably.
What's worse is some of those systems meant to protect these vulnerable people who are already hurting and need help have become a mechanisms that can and is used to perpetrate abuse and financial exploitation against them. In fact Guardianship are now being used as a tool to exploit money from estates and from their family members as well who are vulnerable to the complex legal system that are assaulted in.
This Share is dedicated to providing education to other so that they can help us help those who are in need.
Once a person is put into guaridanship (a legal instrument) they most often lose all of their civil rights and constitutional rights. It doesn't seem right that a person can become essentially a non-person, a person who has lost their birthrights as citizens of this great nation founded on these very principles. It doesn't seem right that a person can lose their right to their own property. But in happens every single day in America, in courts all over this land in our State Courts.
To protect is the goal of the instruments that appoint another as the "decider" for another. There are two such instruments: one is guardianship of the person and the other is guardianship of the property or conservatorship.
There are other less instrusive means of providing surrogate decision making for an person who is unable to manage their own affairs. For centuries family and loved ones have stepped in to help a loved one.
Guardianships were meant to be used as a very last resort for those who had no one else there to help them. Today however this instrument is being abused by those who find it as a means to reward themselves financially from the assets of a person who has no say whatsoever over their own money and property.
Quite simply put these people are easy pickings and the law has created the incredibly easy to abuse instrument for others including greedy relatives, lawyers, professional fiduciarys and others to abuse. When you had a elderly widow with an estate worth millions there are those who will jump at the opportunity to be that persons gaurdian because the system is set up for them to be paid from the fund that they manage, the ward's estate.
This opportunity leads to numerous petitions for guardianship that are entirely unwarranted and the unnessesary and inappropriate declaration of incompetance of a person who is just old and perhaps forgettful or just basically in need of a helping hand.
Today the abuse of our Elderly is being worsened by the abuses occuring in guardianships and conservatorship.
We need to all work to stop this problem or we will be victims one day.
ELDER ABUSE VICTIMS ADVOCATES
Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation of our most vulnerable citizens is on the rise at alarming rates.
The very systems that should be protecting these victims are failing miserably.
What's worse is some of those systems meant to protect these vulnerable people who are already hurting and need help have become a mechanisms that can and is used to perpetrate abuse and financial exploitation against them. In fact Guardianship are now being used as a tool to exploit money from estates and from their family members as well who are vulnerable to the complex legal system that are assaulted in.
This Share is dedicated to providing education to other so that they can help us help those who are in need.
Once a person is put into guaridanship (a legal instrument) they most often lose all of their civil rights and constitutional rights. It doesn't seem right that a person can become essentially a non-person, a person who has lost their birthrights as citizens of this great nation founded on these very principles. It doesn't seem right that a person can lose their right to their own property. But in happens every single day in America, in courts all over this land in our State Courts.
To protect is the goal of the instruments that appoint another as the "decider" for another. There are two such instruments: one is guardianship of the person and the other is guardianship of the property or conservatorship.
There are other less instrusive means of providing surrogate decision making for an person who is unable to manage their own affairs. For centuries family and loved ones have stepped in to help a loved one.
Guardianships were meant to be used as a very last resort for those who had no one else there to help them. Today however this instrument is being abused by those who find it as a means to reward themselves financially from the assets of a person who has no say whatsoever over their own money and property.
Quite simply put these people are easy pickings and the law has created the incredibly easy to abuse instrument for others including greedy relatives, lawyers, professional fiduciarys and others to abuse. When you had a elderly widow with an estate worth millions there are those who will jump at the opportunity to be that persons gaurdian because the system is set up for them to be paid from the fund that they manage, the ward's estate.
This opportunity leads to numerous petitions for guardianship that are entirely unwarranted and the unnessesary and inappropriate declaration of incompetance of a person who is just old and perhaps forgettful or just basically in need of a helping hand.
Today the abuse of our Elderly is being worsened by the abuses occuring in guardianships and conservatorship.
We need to all work to stop this problem or we will be victims one day.
ELDER ABUSE VICTIMS ADVOCATES
Monday, June 8, 2009
Senate Committee Hold Briefing on Health Care and Long-Term Services and Supports
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a member of the HELP committee, Dara Torres, a 12-time Olympic medalist, John Henry Douglas, a Vietnam Veteran with two Purple Hearts, and AAHSA’s own Barbara Manard, Ph.D., all advocated for the inclusion of long-term services and supports in any health care reform effort.
“Today’s briefing was a showcase of the real needs of people converging with a good public policy designed to meet those needs,” Larry Minnix, president of AAHSA, told me after the briefing. “We heard real stories from a variety of people. Our guest, Dara Torres, an Olympic champion, talked about being part of the ‘sandwich’ generation, a generation of people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children.”
(continue reading here) http://futureofaging.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/senate-committee-hold-briefing-on-health-care-and-long-term-services-and-supports/
“Today’s briefing was a showcase of the real needs of people converging with a good public policy designed to meet those needs,” Larry Minnix, president of AAHSA, told me after the briefing. “We heard real stories from a variety of people. Our guest, Dara Torres, an Olympic champion, talked about being part of the ‘sandwich’ generation, a generation of people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children.”
(continue reading here) http://futureofaging.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/senate-committee-hold-briefing-on-health-care-and-long-term-services-and-supports/
Friday, June 5, 2009
Be on the Lookout: Con Artists Stealing Guardianship of Senior Parents
Be on the Lookout: Con Artists Stealing Guardianship of Senior Parents
September 26, 2007 by
Matthew Paulson
Accociated Content
Senior adults have been targeted as easy victims in a number of different scams for the last two decades now, and it's only getting worse. Instead of just stealing money from them or ripping them off, con artists are now actually stealing guardianship of many senior adults. Some criminals have figured out that they can assume guardianship of elderly individuals just by telling a judge they are no longer mentally stable. When approaching a judge, these crooks don't have to do anything to prove that they are related to the individual they are trying to assume guardianship of. Courts are so busy and over-packed with cases that they just don't have the time or resources to make sure that the person making the claim is on the up and up. There's no easy way to find out when this occurs, so family members often have no idea that someone is stealing guardianship of their parents and simply have no recourse in the event that it happens. Usually the ruling happens quickly and the victims have no idea when it happens. If you have any aging parents, you have to look out for them and make sure they are not victimized. It's extremely easily to steal the money from your ageing parents and almost impossible to get it back after it's stolen. If you have senior parents, there are several legal things you can do to protect your senior parents. You can get a durable power of attorney for health care which will enable you to make decisions for your senior parents if they cannot speak of make competent decisions upon their own behalf. If you already have a durable power of attorney for health care, their guardianship can't be taken away because you already have it, and in the event that they are no longer competent, you are the one that will be able to make their health care decisions. You can also get a regular durable power of attorney, which requires the assistant of an attorney and is a bit more difficult to get. A durable power of attorney enables you to take care of your senior parent's finances, which would make it impossible for these types of criminals to steal your parents assets by claiming guardianship over them.
(continue reading article here)
==========================
This article is almost two years old. Matters have gotten worse not better. Now they will just ignore the power of attorneys and still grant the guardianship. Warn your Loved ones today ! Designate who you want your guardian to be and who your want your conservator to be and don't trust the system! Give away your family heirlooms before it is too late because if you do not and you end up in guardianship the guardian can sell or auction off EVERYTHING including the diamond ring your great grandmother gave you to give to your daughter one day. Nothing is off limits.
THIS IS A SHAME AND OFTEN A CRIME !
stopguardianshipabuse@gmail.com ============================================
September 26, 2007 by
Matthew Paulson
Accociated Content
Senior adults have been targeted as easy victims in a number of different scams for the last two decades now, and it's only getting worse. Instead of just stealing money from them or ripping them off, con artists are now actually stealing guardianship of many senior adults. Some criminals have figured out that they can assume guardianship of elderly individuals just by telling a judge they are no longer mentally stable. When approaching a judge, these crooks don't have to do anything to prove that they are related to the individual they are trying to assume guardianship of. Courts are so busy and over-packed with cases that they just don't have the time or resources to make sure that the person making the claim is on the up and up. There's no easy way to find out when this occurs, so family members often have no idea that someone is stealing guardianship of their parents and simply have no recourse in the event that it happens. Usually the ruling happens quickly and the victims have no idea when it happens. If you have any aging parents, you have to look out for them and make sure they are not victimized. It's extremely easily to steal the money from your ageing parents and almost impossible to get it back after it's stolen. If you have senior parents, there are several legal things you can do to protect your senior parents. You can get a durable power of attorney for health care which will enable you to make decisions for your senior parents if they cannot speak of make competent decisions upon their own behalf. If you already have a durable power of attorney for health care, their guardianship can't be taken away because you already have it, and in the event that they are no longer competent, you are the one that will be able to make their health care decisions. You can also get a regular durable power of attorney, which requires the assistant of an attorney and is a bit more difficult to get. A durable power of attorney enables you to take care of your senior parent's finances, which would make it impossible for these types of criminals to steal your parents assets by claiming guardianship over them.
(continue reading article here)
==========================
This article is almost two years old. Matters have gotten worse not better. Now they will just ignore the power of attorneys and still grant the guardianship. Warn your Loved ones today ! Designate who you want your guardian to be and who your want your conservator to be and don't trust the system! Give away your family heirlooms before it is too late because if you do not and you end up in guardianship the guardian can sell or auction off EVERYTHING including the diamond ring your great grandmother gave you to give to your daughter one day. Nothing is off limits.
THIS IS A SHAME AND OFTEN A CRIME !
stopguardianshipabuse@gmail.com ============================================
Monday, June 1, 2009
Help! Corrupt officials in N.J. stealing my dad's estate! (Ocean County Public Guardian
This is a plea for help from the family of a New Jersey resident whose estate is being pillaged by the Office of the Public Guardian in Ocean City, New Jersey.
Read More...
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/com/1180175282.html
Read More...
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/com/1180175282.html
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Nightmare of Living Probate
As Carolyn Henderson anxiously watched her husband's flickering vital signs on the Intensive Care Unit monitor, she considered the irony of their circumstances. When she and Kirk planned how they might spend their thirtieth wedding anniversary, this sickbed vigil was the farthest thing from
their minds. But then on the very day they planned to celebrate 30 years of marriage, Kirk Henderson, a robust, health-conscious, ex-pro football player in his mid-fifties, unexpectedly suffered a stroke. As the hours ticked by with no sign that Kirk would regain consciousness, Carolyn considered for the first time that he might not pull through.
Although Kirk didn't die, he hasn't fully recovered. Today, two years after his stroke, the aftermath of his illness has rendered him barely able to walk or use his right arm. His speech is slurred, his thinking processes are muddled, and he will probably need physical therapy for the rest of his life.
Carolyn tries not to dwell on the tragedies of her husband's illness, emphasizing instead the miraculous progress he has made in so many areas. But just when she starts to think things are returning to normal, she's reminded that in the eyes of the law, her husband is as good as dead.
Declared mentally incompetent in a court of law, Kirk Henderson no longer has the right to make any decisions for himself. He can't sign a check, conduct a financial transaction, or even decide how he wishes to be cared for.
When they least expected it, the Henderson’s discovered what insurance companies have been tying to tell us for years. For most of our lives, the greatest risk to our well-being isn't death. It's the ever-growing likelihood of becoming seriously ill or injured. And when illness or injury makes us
unable to manage our affairs for ourselves, we may face an ordeal nearly as debilitating as our disability itself. It's a legal process commonly called Living Probate, and for those who must endure it, it is often a living nightmare.
WHAT IS LIVING PROBATE?
Many people know that probate occurs when someone dies with a will in force, or intestate without a will. This legal process is so-called death probate, and it establishes the validity of the deceased's will (or when there is no will, determines the deceased's heirs). The probate process identifies and establishes values for the assets of the deceased; ensures that creditors are paid; sees the courts and attorneys get their fees for handling the probate; and lastly, distributes to the heirs whatever remains of the estate after all debts and expenses have been paid.
What most Americans don't know, however, is that they may find themselves in the midst of probate while they're still alive. This living probate ensnares many of those who become unable to make personal or financial decisions as a result of serious injury or debilitating illness.
Few can argue with the idea behind living probate. Its goal is to protect an individual who can no longer protect himself or herself, and it seeks to identify the person or persons best suited to take over the individual's financial affairs and personal care. That's the theory. But in practice, living
probate can be a costly, time-consuming, bureaucratic and public process that often achieves an outcome vastly different from what the individual would have wanted, just like death probate.
......
Continue reading here
http://www.morristrust.com/uploads/reportfiles/The%20Nightmare%20of%20Living%20Probate.pdf
their minds. But then on the very day they planned to celebrate 30 years of marriage, Kirk Henderson, a robust, health-conscious, ex-pro football player in his mid-fifties, unexpectedly suffered a stroke. As the hours ticked by with no sign that Kirk would regain consciousness, Carolyn considered for the first time that he might not pull through.
Although Kirk didn't die, he hasn't fully recovered. Today, two years after his stroke, the aftermath of his illness has rendered him barely able to walk or use his right arm. His speech is slurred, his thinking processes are muddled, and he will probably need physical therapy for the rest of his life.
Carolyn tries not to dwell on the tragedies of her husband's illness, emphasizing instead the miraculous progress he has made in so many areas. But just when she starts to think things are returning to normal, she's reminded that in the eyes of the law, her husband is as good as dead.
Declared mentally incompetent in a court of law, Kirk Henderson no longer has the right to make any decisions for himself. He can't sign a check, conduct a financial transaction, or even decide how he wishes to be cared for.
When they least expected it, the Henderson’s discovered what insurance companies have been tying to tell us for years. For most of our lives, the greatest risk to our well-being isn't death. It's the ever-growing likelihood of becoming seriously ill or injured. And when illness or injury makes us
unable to manage our affairs for ourselves, we may face an ordeal nearly as debilitating as our disability itself. It's a legal process commonly called Living Probate, and for those who must endure it, it is often a living nightmare.
WHAT IS LIVING PROBATE?
Many people know that probate occurs when someone dies with a will in force, or intestate without a will. This legal process is so-called death probate, and it establishes the validity of the deceased's will (or when there is no will, determines the deceased's heirs). The probate process identifies and establishes values for the assets of the deceased; ensures that creditors are paid; sees the courts and attorneys get their fees for handling the probate; and lastly, distributes to the heirs whatever remains of the estate after all debts and expenses have been paid.
What most Americans don't know, however, is that they may find themselves in the midst of probate while they're still alive. This living probate ensnares many of those who become unable to make personal or financial decisions as a result of serious injury or debilitating illness.
Few can argue with the idea behind living probate. Its goal is to protect an individual who can no longer protect himself or herself, and it seeks to identify the person or persons best suited to take over the individual's financial affairs and personal care. That's the theory. But in practice, living
probate can be a costly, time-consuming, bureaucratic and public process that often achieves an outcome vastly different from what the individual would have wanted, just like death probate.
......
Continue reading here
http://www.morristrust.com/uploads/reportfiles/The%20Nightmare%20of%20Living%20Probate.pdf
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Out of money, Excelsior woman still fighting
By JAMES ELI SHIFFER, Star Tribune
Last update: April 28, 2009 - 10:58 PM
After watching court-appointed officials spend more than $600,000 of her money, Peggy Greer is returning to court to try to win it back.
Greer, 86, of Excelsior, has filed suit in Hennepin County District Court, claiming that her former guardian and conservator failed to protect her assets, heed her wishes and otherwise fulfill their duties to look after her best interests.
In March 2005, a Hennepin County probate judge ruled that Greer, then recovering from painkiller addiction, was unable to make decisions for herself, and appointed Professional Fiduciary Inc. as her guardian and Wells Fargo Elder Services as her conservator.
Over the next two years, the guardian and conservator spent $672,000 on health costs, attorney's fees and other expenses, despite objections from Greer and other family members that the spending was excessive and unjustified.
Greer won back her rights in July 2007, after her assets were exhausted and the guardian and conservator no longer opposed their dismissal. After the Star Tribune reported in February about Greer's experience, attorneys David Bland and Andrew Pieper of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi took on her case.
(continue reading)
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/43917782.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
Last update: April 28, 2009 - 10:58 PM
After watching court-appointed officials spend more than $600,000 of her money, Peggy Greer is returning to court to try to win it back.
Greer, 86, of Excelsior, has filed suit in Hennepin County District Court, claiming that her former guardian and conservator failed to protect her assets, heed her wishes and otherwise fulfill their duties to look after her best interests.
In March 2005, a Hennepin County probate judge ruled that Greer, then recovering from painkiller addiction, was unable to make decisions for herself, and appointed Professional Fiduciary Inc. as her guardian and Wells Fargo Elder Services as her conservator.
Over the next two years, the guardian and conservator spent $672,000 on health costs, attorney's fees and other expenses, despite objections from Greer and other family members that the spending was excessive and unjustified.
Greer won back her rights in July 2007, after her assets were exhausted and the guardian and conservator no longer opposed their dismissal. After the Star Tribune reported in February about Greer's experience, attorneys David Bland and Andrew Pieper of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi took on her case.
(continue reading)
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/43917782.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
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