What do Britney Spears, talk show host Wendy Williams, and artist Peter Max have in common? All three are caught up in a secret court system that controls every aspect of their lives. Cher and Jay Leno, now in California, are resorting to this type of court arrangement to seek support for their suffering loved ones, including their drug-addicted son and his wife, who has been diagnosed with dementia. There is. I hope they really understand what could happen to them.
The judicial process is called a conservatorship in most states and a conservatorship in California, where Spears was under control for nearly 14 years. It is touted as a “protection” solution for vulnerable people who are judged by the courts to be unable to care for themselves. But it’s often a predatory program, costing American families billions of dollars each year. If you watched a 2020 thriller movie.
“I care very much.” Starring Rosamund Pike, you know what I mean.
Fans devoured the news that Spear’s father was allowed to monitor all of her movements, phone calls, and friendships in real time. How could the court consider Britney an “incapacitated ward of the court” when she is making millions of dollars in Las Vegas and on television?
Meanwhile, supporters of Williams have complained that despite being in custody, Williams was left untreated for more than a year despite his apparent acute alcohol dependence. I was shocked. Where was her court guardian appointed? The public remains largely unaware of how this restrictive system works. That’s because all procedures are done in secret, covering the privacy of medical records. Few people realize how soul-crushing this system can be, and that approximately 2 million Americans currently live under the control of this court. Here’s the ugly reality.
Citizens placed under guardianship are immediately stripped of their civil rights and all their assets are seized by the courts. In most states, districts cannot hire attorneys for themselves. They can no longer choose where they live and who can visit them. They cannot spend their own money, drive a car, vote, get married, or decide to go on vacation. All their life decisions are no longer their own. Their bank accounts, property, and investments are immediately transferred to the name of the person the judge has appointed as their guardian.
And this is shocker #1. Judges often overlook loving families who want to be appointed guardians and instead hire strangers, who charge up to $600 an hour and hire a number of others to provide guardianship services. Choose a professional guardian who can hire someone. Incapacitated persons (IPs) must pay everyone involved, so their estates can quickly dwindle.If a concerned relative complains about a guardian’s behavior, they risk being branded as a troublemaker and barred from seeing their loved one – in some cases. Permanently.
“The borough is dead before the law,” says Errol Rapaport, a Manhattan native. His mother, Frances, was a famous designer of beautiful silk blouses worn by celebrities. Ten years ago, she was placed under her guardianship by her eldest son, evicted from her beloved Central Park penthouse, and sent to live in a small Queens apartment surrounded by hired caretakers by her guardians. Forced. Her guardian restricted Errol’s visitation with her mother until the day of her death. As this devoted son points out, wards have fewer rights than death row inmates.
Shocker #2: As this situation progresses, the district’s readily available bank accounts will be depleted. At that time, the conservator will go back to the judge for permission to sell the ward’s home and its possessions or raid the trust fund or irrevocable trust so that the funds can be used for the IP’s care. I ask. Judges approve these requests at an alarming rate.
And, shocker #3: When a conservator requests that the ward’s power of attorney and last will and testament to specific heirs be disregarded, the judge will usually approve it, too. Adult children who expect to inherit their parents’ homes and family heirlooms, and grandchildren who expect to fund their college education, find that money goes toward paying lawyers, court appointees, etc. Because of this, he was left empty-handed..
Rick Black of the nonprofit Center for Estate Administration Reform (CEAR) calls this mass transfer of wealth over generations “the greatest redistribution of wealth this country has ever seen.” I’m here. Black said states have passed few meaningful laws to curb conservatorship abuses. State court confiscates $50 billion total from district – every year. Is it any wonder that when oversight is so lax and so much money is being moved around, there are so many complaints about fraudsters getting involved and missing money?
Suzanne Terranova Whelan of Norwich, Conn., asks, “How can we stop people from using our loved ones as human ATMs?” In the summer of 2016, her aunt Susan Terranova, 64, began suffering from mild dementia. Her estranged brother moved Susan and her significant assets to Alabama and was eventually appointed her guardian. Eight years later, Susan now has acute dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, forcing her to live in a nursing home. Suzanne concludes: “It’s real estate trafficking. It’s human trafficking.”
So, how does this civil rights crushing system control wards in the first place? Sometimes trusted but concerned family members take action to seek legal protection for a disabled or elderly relative. If such a person is appointed as a guardian, things usually work out. But literally anyone can hire a lawyer to file a “petition for guardianship,” and that’s all there is to it. The petitioner could be an angry ex-lover or business partner, financial advisor, lawyer, hospital, landlord, or even a complete stranger. The petition details why the targeted person cannot look out for his or her own well-being.
However, petitions often contain outright lies such as: “Her daughter stole $1 million from her mother with dementia.” or “He has cerebral palsy and is unable to pay the $1.9 million medical malpractice settlement.” Even if the daughter didn’t steal the money and the mother hasn’t been diagnosed with dementia. The judge doesn’t even know that the young man with CP wants to manage his own money so he can attend college. Judges typically just rubber-stamp these petitions.
Due process is not guaranteed in courts that hear guardianship or conservatorship cases. There is no trial, and the target or his girlfriend’s family may not even know that legal proceedings are underway. Escaping guardianship is rare. Prosecution of bad actors within the system is equally rare, but not unheard of.
In New Mexico, William Harris and Susan Harris, an Albuquerque husband/wife team were charged with stealing nearly $12 million from Ward. Susan, who was described as the “instigator” of the plan, was sentenced to 47 years in prison. Her husband was given 15 years in prison.
In Las Vegas, Nevada, the following guardians are frequently appointed: april park She was charged with 270 felonies for stealing at least $560,000 from Ward. She also stubbornly refused to send the remains of many of her wards to their loved ones. She was sentenced to 16 to 40 years in prison.
Guardian of Clearwater, Florida tracy hudson He pleaded guilty to stealing $575,000 from dependents and was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. She will also be sentenced to 20 years’ probation.
I spent more than eight years researching and writing about the sinister aspects of this court-fueled system. It has become clear that there is a national pattern of isolation, overmedication, fraud, and economic exploitation of the truly vulnerable, as well as those who are unnecessarily confined under this system. Oh, and insiders will tell you that this is all to “protect” at-risk citizens from deceiving families and others who want to inherit early. But the most abusive guardianship system actually depends on how much money is siphoned off by unscrupulous workers within this shadowy industry.
Paulette Kohler, 94, has lived in a rent-controlled West Side apartment for more than 50 years. Paulette was the victim of a plot by her landlord to take over and demolish her apartment, which was said to be worth “millions of dollars,” according to her close friends. That’s what it means. After Paulette was briefly hospitalized, she suddenly found herself in a strange facility with a guardian in charge, according to the lawsuit she filed in New York Supreme Court. In the lawsuit, Kohler’s landlord alleges: Member of the Apartment Board. Petitioning attorney Elizabeth Adinolfi and her guardian Charles Barbi created and perpetuated a false story about Inga Egerrud, Kohler’s close friend and POA designee.
The conservatorship was established because Eggerd was “under investigation by the FBI on suspicion of theft and elder abuse.” That was not true, said Paulette’s lawyer Christopher Selvaj. There was never an FBI investigation. During his 19 months as her conservator, most of Paulette’s $850,000 savings were spent. Ms. Selvaj ended her client’s conservatorship, achieving a rare victory. The lawsuit seeks $60 million in damages from Kohler and $40 million from Egerd.
Because state and federal legislatures have known about conservatorship abuses for decades and have done nothing meaningful to change the status quo, lawsuits like Selvaj’s are the only way victims can get justice. That seems like a method.
Diane Diamond starred in last year’s “When guardianship doesn’t work out, we’re here to help. ”
