"Guardian's Recipe for Success"
(Government and Judicially Approved Stratagem for Abuse and Exploitation
of the Elderly)
by Advocate Mary Claire Connors
1.) PREDATORS - can be:
government agencies, APS, (Adult Protection Services) and their contract
agencies, County Area Agency on Aging, State Department of Aging, social
workers, nursing facility corporations, care providers, care givers, law
enforcement, attorneys, (including guardian ad litem) courts, (judges,
court reporters), and their associates, such as medical doctor,
psychiatrist, other professionals or greedy family members / in-laws.
Litigation is the slaughter of the predator bait. The predators
co-operate (collude), with each other for mutual benefit: financial
gain, real estate, Federal funding stream, favors, job security,
political agenda, etc.
2.) PREDATOR BAIT -
elders and disabled who are victims of crime, (especially white collar),
accident, friendly neighbor’s call to APS, (Adult Protective Services),
disagreement among family that goes to litigation, health crisis, family
crisis, any event that results in litigation; you can be advised,
intimidated into believing that you need a lawyer, hence - litigation.
Also, elders whose family lives out of state, elder property owner,
(especially if property is wanted by state / corporation or connected to
others). Widows are more common targets than male elders. Also
vulnerable are those with small families, especially living out of
state, and those with no doctors / attorneys in immediate family. There
is something of value to be taken - financial, real estate, political,
(funding stream, precedent case, etc.), by the predators...the
"takings". You do not need to be rich; assets of some kind between
$100,000 and millions of dollars.
3.) Unbeknownst to you,
you are rapidly encircled by "predators" before the guardianship is
granted which guarantees the guardianship outcome without
accountability. The circle is like strangulation. You are very unlikely
to get out. You are completely surrounded by the predators which
includes your own attorney and / or appointed guardian ad litem. (Bar
attorneys first allegiance is to the court - not their client; it's "job
security", etc.).
4.) If you are relative
or anyone acting in behalf, defense of the targeted ward and you have a
DPOA, (Durable Power of Attorney); are legitimately entitled to
information, etc., YOU ARE AN OBSTACLE TO THE STRATAGEM. You will be
demonized; accused of the exploitation the predators are perpetrating or
the criminal actions of those who victimized you. Accusations of mental
illness, (you will be ordered to get psychological testing from
predator’s associate, a fairly common tactic), drug addiction, etc. No
proof is necessary. Maybe the, (covered), criminal will testify against
you. You are not charged with anything - therefore you have no right to
face your accuser and get evidence in your defense. Accusations are made
off the court record, in the court hallway. Remember, it is a kangaroo
court proceeding. The judge makes the decisions, issues the orders and
ignores the laws with impunity and no remedy. Elders are "expected" to
get ill and die. Hence, this stratagem has been practiced on them for
years in darkness of no exposure without a court order. The disabled;
now publicly initiated.
5.) APS, (Adult
Protective Services), are often one entity in the circle of predators.
6.) Intimidation and
deception are always tools of the predator’s trade.
7.) The "circle of
predators", usually thru intimidation, makes sure, (while treating you
as a criminal), there are no witnesses; no written, verbal uncensored
communication; demands severe unnecessary restrictions; refuses to write
them down, (avoid any possibility of proof of abuse and liability), such
as, no visitors; only one visitor at a time, no video cameras; telephone
access, audio recorders, no vitamins, nothing from home. You may be
allowed "supervised visits". The targeted ward’s assets will pay for the
"visit supervisor’s" time. You need no record of abuse whatsoever; no
verifiable evidence of abuse; you may even have proof of good care
giving, (an obstacle to predators "recipe"), which will never be entered
into the court record.
8.) The targeted "ward"
and later declared "ward" is denied specialized medical treatment even
when he / she can pay for it. He / she is allowed no contact with
medical professionals outside of the predators’ circle, which includes
its associates. He /s is not supposed to improve, since that is an
obstacle to squeezing every penny, (possible benefit), from the ward and
avoiding any possibility of liability. No independent medical evaluation
is allowed, though law requires it. The predators’ doctor examines the
targeted ward and that is his / her "independent med evaluation"’.
The ward is expected to
be and almost always is a ward until death. The ward is sentenced to
enforced health decline. The family has NO SAY AT ALL. If the ward is
dying, the family member who is the "obstacle" to predator’s profit is
often not told. THE GUARDIAN OWNS THE WARD and the fruits of his / her
and his / her spouse's lifetime of labor. Wards and slaves are regarded
as property, not as humans, and are owned as a result of NO
ACCOUNTABILITY, NO REMEDY, just as in the Terri Schindler display of
corruption and murder.
9.) Deception and no
exposure: two fundamental keys to success. The media will not print the
real story if they print anything at all. Notice how most people think
Terri’s case is uncommon! If exposed, there would be no predator bait.
10.) Felony crimes
committed against you are suppressed, covered up. Authorities will not
prosecute the crimes against you because the predators are likely to use
alleged criminal against you as witness(es), etc. The acknowledgment of
crime might be obstacle to gaining guardianship over the targeted ward,
which is the lock down of the "takings". Any and all ‘obstacles’ are
removed with no regard for laws, crimes, human rights, abuse and
exploitation. Obstruction of justice is a predator specialty. No law
enforcement nor remedy, recovery, justice for the crimes committed
against you is allowed.
11.) An "emergency
temporary plenary guardianship of the person and estate" may be granted
to one of the PREDATORS without a hearing, in the judge's chambers. Your
lawyer will play dumb or fabricate an explanation such as, "it’s just
temporary until things can be investigated" and "it's normal".
NO!
It is the initial stage of OWNERSHIP (GUARDIANSHIP) of the "ward"
and the beginning of HELL.
12.) The ward’s mail,
finances, health care or lack, complete existence is taken over by the
emergency temporary guardian/permanent guardian. You, her advocate, will
be allowed no information at all. You become non-existent. The ward has
no family, for all practical purposes. If you make a complaint about the
facility; you are not allowed to know the results, etc.; all information
goes to the guardian. You have rights, on paper; in reality, you must
know them; your attorney probably won’t tell you. When you exercise
them, you will be considered angry, aggressive or something equally
negative. Sometimes you are punished and can never see your loved one
again.
13.) If your family seeks
help thru government agencies, state government, Federal government,
legislative representatives, you will get a run around, shut down, and
told to leave. The more grievous the violations, the more of a closed
door, "get out" reaction you get. The greater the wrong committed toward
you, the more impossible to get any help.
14.) Most attorneys seem
to equate "guardianship" cases with leprosy - untouchable. If you have
$100,000 or more remaining, an attorney may take your case; that has
nothing to do with the outcome. Contingency does not exist for
guardianship. Public interest law groups will not "touch" it.
15.) Your attorney does
not make a good record for appeal since he must be favorable to the
probate judge. If you can still afford an attorney, you are most likely
to appeal and lose. If you can’t; you can try to find remedy as a "pro
per" litigant. I have been more successful learning from experienced
"pro per" litigants and representing myself. The State Supreme Courts:
Pennsylvania., Florida, Nevada, Massachusetts, Oregon, Virginia, and
more have a negative reputation and are not known for "upholding the
rule of law".
16.) If you try federal
court or bankruptcy court, (both Federal), you may delay some of the
confiscation of property. Remedy is unlikely; exposing corruption in
high, (Government), places is taboo. Then the excuse of "abstention
doctrines", (abstention doctrines are not in the Constitution), covers
for the "taboo". Federal courts do not take jurisdiction of cases
litigated in state court if the outcome would trump a state court
decision, even in matters of Constitutional violations. It is possible
to get past the abstention doctrines, though much more likely, there is
no remedy, as seen in Terri Schindler’s case.
17.) The ward and
advocating family member pay for your own abuse, exploitation and
involuntary institutionalization. After the guardianship is permanent,
involuntary institutionalization may be paid by Medicare fraud; the
predators want as much as possible of the "takings" to divvy among
themselves.
18.) This "war" goes on
for years if you persist toward remedy. Your health is negatively
affected from the constant stress and you have difficulty functioning as
well as you did before HELL, which compounds the stress. Depression,
anxiety, ulcers, cancer, or other chronic illnesses affect the ward and
family. Your financial losses are not recovered and you can easily
become totally broke. A great deal of time is required for "pro per"
litigation. Your family relations are difficult or shredded, due to
abuse, loss, helplessness, disillusionment, etc. (This stratagem is from
my experience and many others).
19.) The "ward", (your
mother, daughter, family member) is held hostage while you spend most of
your time and resources attempting to free her / him.
20.) If you cannot free
the ward, your family member, when he / she is no longer a profit
producer, (about the time limited medical treatment produces diminished
health / illness), he / she will have a "duty to die". First, no food
or water, when organs start to fail, some morphine, which hastens death
by reducing respiration. The above stratagem without truthful media
exposure is "silence of the lambs".
Note: Without forewarning
of this entire "recipe", the predators almost always succeed and you and
the "ward" pay, as victim(s) of crime with unimaginable loss, abuse and
exploitation without remedy, an epidemic practice.
"Honk if You Love Life"
by Advocate Annie McKenna
One day several months ago on
a main highway which passes through the town in which I live, both sides
of the road were packed, knee deep, with people of all shapes and sizes.
Something big was happening here. There were mothers with baby carriages
and fathers with their kids perched up on their shoulders. I saw
grandmothers and grandfathers. They were white, black, Asian, Hispanic.
Some were sitting and others were standing. I had never seen anything
like it, so naturally, I was curious. As I drove, I slowed down so I
could read the signs that some were holding. I soon came to realize that
they were supporters of an organization whose members believed in the
"right to life".
Their signs read, "Don't kill unborn babies" and "abortion is
murder". As I drove on, I came upon a group of people encouraging the
passing traffic with signs containing the words: "honk if you love
life".
I didn't honk.
It is not that I don't love life. It's that I know some secrets about
life. As an advocate for the elderly, especially those who become
victims of abusive guardianships and conservatorships, I have seen first
hand the possible nightmares that are in store for the "babies" that
this crowd so diligently fights to bring into this world. When the
"baby" grows old and frail, there are no demonstrations when all their
civil and constitutional rights are taken away or when the "baby" is
isolated from the people and places they know and love, removed from
their homes and warehoused in institutions where they will be forced
into incontinence, subjected to physical, chemical and psychological
restraints against their will and have a perfect stranger appointed by
the court who will ignore the wishes of the baby and instead will make
all of the decisions for the rest of the "baby's" life. The stranger is
given the misnomer of "guardian". The crowd holding up their signs might
be shocked to learn that this "guardian" can not only dictate how the
"baby" lives, but also how the "baby" dies.
You might find this hard to believe, but just ask Sarah Harvey. Her
husband Gary is laying in a hospital bed inNew Yorkwhile
a group of people, some of which might have even been a demonstrator
once, are meeting to discuss removing her husband's feeding tube which
will cause him to experience a slow, agonizing death. Sarah's one wish
is for her husband to come home to die. But, the "guardian" who makes
the decisions for the "baby" refuses.
And this is just one example of why I could not bring myself to honk.
"Legal Document" by Advocate Sherry Moser
Last time I checked,
we live in America. This means that we are allowed to make our own
mistakes as long as they aren't illegal or illicit, and not be
punished for them.
We have the right to
draw up a do not resuscitate (DNR) order and have it be honored,
even though some in our families may try to fight it.
So following that thought we should be able to state, under no
circumstances should a professional or public guardian ever be able
to petition against us. We should also be able to nominate our
guardian/conservator in advance and have it be as binding as
the DNR.
If a matter as
crucial as resuscitation, which literally pertains to life or death
can be respected and adhered to as the wishes of the person in
question, then surely stating that you don't want an outside
conservator/guardian should be honored as well.
I think we would see guardian abuse drop drastically if this
document became as commonplace as the DNR in trusts.
This is one issue I
am pushing for.
"Three Key Issues for Guardianship/Conservatorship
Reform"
by Advocate Kate Anderson
The first is making it MORE DIFFICULT to conserve someone. Conserved
parties lose their constitutional rights - the right to vote, the right
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the right to legal
representation of their choice and more. Even the most afflicted person
is usually able to make choices about where they want to live, what they
eat, what they wear, who they see... Taking away these rights should not
be taken as lightly as it is. It should be one of the most difficult
things to do. Since Guardianship is a matter of removal of
constitutional rights, it follows that Guardianship should be the
jurisdiction of Federal courts. This is key! It takes the net out of the
water.
Again, making it MORE DIFFICULT to accomplish and EASIER TO GET OUT OF
should be the focus. It would get many of us out of the current
net we are currently caught in.
The second issue is one of family. Third party Guardianships destroy
families. This should almost NEVER be allowed. As far as I'm concerned,
if a Guardianship needs to be placed forced on someone, a bad family
guardian is still better than the best 3rd party guardian. The law is
SUPPOSED to consider family members first but instead uses family
disagreements as a tool to destroy and pillage the estate of the ward.
Changing the law to make this mandatory would go a long way. Ideally,
there would have to be some verifiable abuse required in order to
preclude a member of the family from being appointed.
The third issue is making Third Party Guardianship a nonprofit agency with
a cap on fees. I believe the cap for Public Guardians is 1.9% of the
estate per year. Making this amount uniform removes most of the "chum"
from the water and attract fewer sharks to a tank where there is little
or no profit!"
"Analogy"
by Advocate Finley Eversole
I've often noted that the analogies between what happens to the elderly
in these guardianship/conservatorship battles is very close to what
happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany.
More often than not they are taken from their homes and locked up in
some institution where they are denied adequate food, medication, water,
etc. until they die premature deaths. They are cut off from loved ones
or anyone who cares about them. Their homes and valuables are sold, and
the guardians and
attorneys pocket all the estate assets -- sometimes calling them "fees"
and sometimes simply embezzling the funds.
In our case, we were literally locked out of our own home. I took my
mother out of state for 27 months in order to protect her as the court
was seeking physical custody of her. We were accused of "abandoning"
our "homeplace" and the attorneys tried to sell it. I've done better
than many and kept mother alive. Many others have been less
successful.
So it is right in
comparing these people to the Nazis. The number of elderly people who
lose everything and die prematurely in the U.S. every year is greater
than the number of all the Jews who dies under the Nazis in all of
WWII. And just as happened in that case, here it is all kept hush hush
by the media and authorities.
"PBS Memorial Day Celebration 2009" by Advocate Mary Claire
Connors
It
makes me want to shout from the highest
mountain for all the country to hear - the
treasonous crimes committed by so-called
Americans against innocent American citizens
who are forced to pay for crimes against our
most vulnerable elders, disabled, children,
humanity, Veterans and their families.
The
atrocity of a new slavery which is wrongly
called "guardianship" rather than the
accurate description - "ownership."
There are no words to describe the
frustration of taboos and secrecy which
surround and cover the heinous patterns and
practices known as "guardianship" for
personal gain while worshipping the God of
Profit, repeatedly "legalized" by the
myth of lawful probate courts.
All the
Memorial Day and other patriotic day
celebrations are null and void
until Americans stand up to any government,
private or corporate entity, that would dare
perpetuate, hide/cover up and/or "legalize"
any pattern or practice which can accurately
be described as slavery or human
trafficking.
GUARDIANSHIP
= OWNERSHIP !!!
"OBRA Trusts: Medicaid Planning, or
Medicaid Fraud and Abuse?"
by an Anonymous Advocate
There are
reports of many cases in the Cook County Probate Courts where powers
of attorney are illegally removed, and the court appoints a
non-family member or inappropriate family member as guardian; cases
where owners of guardianship companies have deceived the ward in an
effort to be named as guardian; and cases where the court appoints a
guardian on a date when it is known to the court players that a
family member willing to be named guardian cannot be present for the
court hearing.
OBRA
Special Needs Pooled Trusts, as well as other types of trusts, are
being utilized by unethical lawyers, nurses, and guardianship
companies to enrich themselves while the elderly disabled wards are
being assigned court-appointed guardians and being placed into
public aid nursing homes.
OBRA
Special Needs Pooled Trusts were originally designed to enable
people with devastating illnesses and/or injuries to be placed into
public aid nursing homes while preserving their estate for their OWN
special needs (special medical equipment, health insurance, etc).
However, due to some legal loopholes, these accounts are being
abused, and "Medicaid Planning" is on the rise.
Although legal, many find Medicaid Planning to be unethical,
especially if the Trust is opened solely for the purpose of
qualifying the ward for public aid. However, the practice is
growing as more and more lawyers and clients become aware of it.
The
following website lists attorneys in Illinois who specialize in
Medicaid planning:
In
fact, one Cook County Probate Court lawyer educates her peers in
ways in which very large estates may be placed into OBRA and/or
other types of trusts, to allow the disabled ward to qualify for
Medicaid. She also educates her peers on which types of trusts
are lacking oversite, and which types of trusts allow for
"administrative fees" (i.e., attorneys' and guardians' fees).
Her educational video, which some feel to be controversial,
may be viewed at this website: http://www.illinoisprobono.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_Content&contentID=5512
Unfortunately, some corrupt players in the Cook County Probate Court
system (lawyers, nurses, judges, and guardianship companies) have
discovered a legal loophole so they may enrich themselves through
OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts. This Medicaid abuse can occur
because only certain "special needs" expenses may be paid from OBRA
Special Needs Pooled Trusts, such as medical bills, insurance
premiums, and "administrative fees". However, housing may NOT be
paid from these accounts. As a result, the ward is immediately
moved to public aid housing once their estate is placed into the
OBRA Special Needs Trust. The OBRA Trust is non-revokable, meaning
that once the estate is placed into this trust, it cannot be
transferred out. Thus, the ward is sentenced to a life in public
aid housing, even though they may have enough in their estate for
many years at a private pay nursing home.
These
unethical guardians are placing the wards' estates, sometimes valued
in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, into OBRA Special Needs
Pooled Trusts to qualify the ward for public aid housing. Once the
ward is in public aid housing, the bulk of the estate is utilized to
pay excessive legal and guardian fees. In essence, the taxpayer is
paying for the care of the ward, and the unethical court players are
enriching themselves with the estate.
How, you
may ask, does this occur? Well, the answer is quite simple. The
judge allows it, and the Illinois Supreme Court provides no
oversight.
There are
numerous victims of this Medicaid Abuse scheme. There are
even cases where the Office of the Public Guardian has been named as
guardian of the estate. There are cases in Cook County where the
lawyers and/or guardians, with the knowledge of the judge,
illegally deposited dis-allowable funds of the ward (VA disability
benefits, newly-discovered funds, etc) into the OBRA Trust. (In the
Matter of Lynch, N.Y.S. 2d 653 (Surr.Ct, Onondaga County, 1999, the
court held that it would not allow SSI income to be put into a
Special Needs Trust, stating that it was "troubled by the concept of
funding the special needs trust with benefits received from
governmental entitlements".)
There
are cases where the judge, no questions asked, approved the lawyers'
and guardians' requests to transfer the estate into an OBRA Trust.
Court transcripts support the families' claims that the judges did
not even ask the guardian about the change in living conditions that
would result from the transfer of the ward's estate into an OBRA
Trust, thus requiring a transfer to public aid housing.
Additionally, victims' families have reported that their lawyers
failed to explain the matter to them to the extent reasonably
necessary to permit the family to make informed decisions so they
would not object to the transfer of funds. In other words, no one
explains to the victim's family that the OBRA Trust will result in a
lifetime of public aid housing for the ward. The victims' families
are being told that it is done to preserve the estate for the
"special needs" of the ward.
However,
the reality of the subsequent accountings shows that the estate is
used almost exclusively for the "special needs" of the lawyers and
guardians, as their excessive fees are subsequently approved by the
judge until the entire estate is depleted.
Where,
you ask, is the oversight for these Corrupt Cook County Probate
Court cases? There is obviously no oversight at all. Billions
of dollars go through the Cook County Probate Courts annually.
Yet, there is no oversight. The judges allow estates to be
depleted in this manner. The ARDC of the Illinois Supreme
Court fails to bring to hearing the complaints of cases originating
in the Cook County Probate Courts.
What
exists in Chicago is legalized financial exploitation of the elderly
disabled, as well as Medicaid Fraud and Abuse. The taxpayers of
Illinois are footing the bill as our Medicaid system is being
depleted, and the disabled elderly wards are being placed
unnecessarily into public aid nursing homes. And the unethical court
players get rich. Very rich.
If you suspect Medicaid Fraud or
Abuse on your loved one's case, please report it to:
Also, please contact the VA benefits
office nearest you if you identify illegal funding of an
OBRA account with VA benefits.
OBRA SPECIAL NEEDS POOLED TRUSTS
and IL State Senate Bill 2840
We
at ProbateSharks continue to have concerns about OBRA Special Needs
Pooled Trusts. OBRA Trusts were created to allow people who have special
needs to qualify for Medicaid by depositing their money into these
trusts. The intention of these trusts was to preserve estates of
disabled people by allowing them to qualify for public aid nursing homes
while preserving their estate for their special needs.
Unfortunately, these trusts are being abused by certain guardians in
Cook County. Elderly disabled people with large estates are being
targeted for guardianships through unscrupulous methods including:
Illegal removal of Powers of Attorney, deceit of the elderly by owners
of guardianship companies, and inaccurate medical reports being
submitted into court records to make the elderly appear to be disabled
with dementia. Once the rich elderly disabled person becomes a ward of
the court, the unscrupulous guardians place the wards' estates into OBRA
trusts, place the ward into for-profit Medicaid-funded nursing homes,
and then deplete the estate through guardian fees, care management fees,
and attorneys fees.
In other words, OBRA Trusts are being used by some to financially
exploit the elderly disabled while profits are obtained for the
guardians, attorneys, case managers, and for-profit nursing home owners.
This is being done at the expense of the wards, and the taxpayers in the
state of Illinois.
In June of this year, Governor Quinn signed Senate bill 2840, which
became Public Act 97-0689.It is called the Save Medicaid Access and
Resources Together (SMART) Act. Its impact is anything but friendly to
Illinois seniors, especially those who are wards of the 18th floor of
the Daley Center.
Unlike the January 1st rules changes, which were driven by federal laws,
these new rules changes are almost entirely due to the well-known
Illinois budget problems. The new law cuts $1.6 billion from the
Medicaid budget, primarily by modifying eligibility requirements and
benefits.
The biggest change made by SMART is the elimination of Pooled Payback
trusts (also called OBRA d(4)(c) special needs trusts) in Medicaid
planning for those over the age of 65, UNLESS THEY ARE WARDS OF THE
STATE OR PUBLIC GUARDIAN!!!
"An Open Letter to Senator Corker"
by Advocate Mark Israel
February 25, 2011
Senator Corker,
I hope and pray the hearing you are a part of on March 2,
2011 with Mickey Rooney regarding the exploitation, abuse
and neglect of our seniors will help shine light that brings
about much needed reform to the national epidemic of elderly
abuse. Because so much of the abuse happens on a state level
in the probate court system, I am unsure how to reform the
system on a national level. I can speak from personal
experience that the laws on the books here in Tennessee and
in Georgia, if honored are adequate to address the issues
you will hear about.
The problem I experienced is an abuse of discretion by the
probate court and its judges without concern for oversight
and accountability for their decisions. Under the pretense
of discretion, probate judges are given wide latitude in
their oversight of an elderly persons well-being and
finances. This can and does result in documented instances
of lack of due process, violations of rules of the court,
and cronyism. In my case my family was denied communication
and visitation with my father from 2007 until he died last
month. My father never met his now 2 year old grandson or
saw my then 3 year old daughter and 1 year old son again.
Fear and intimidation was used to keep him away from us
while an older sibling and a local attorney took all of his
financial worth. My attempts to visit with him and to ask
the courts in Georgia where he lived were met with what can
only be described as an abuse of discretion, violation of
court rules, lack of due process and more. I was actually
arrested in my home in Brentwood and charged with contempt
of court in Georgia because I failed to appear at a hearing
in Georgia I was not notified about. At that same hearing
fess were awarded against me for "harassing the conservator"
of my father's estate. I am dealing with that here in
Tennessee as I write this letter.
I would appreciate it if you would consider reviewing the
GAO 10-1046 report on Guardianships before the March 2nd
hearing.
Additionally, please consider reading the document below
http://www.anopenlettertocongress.info/, written by the
National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse (NASGA). There
are many other organizations that have a web presence that
are trying to figure out how to expose and address these
problems.
I do not know how this can be addressed on a national level,
as this may very well be an issue of state’s rights. But
there is currently a lack of accountability and oversight
for the probate courts in every state in the nation. The
stories are horrific and tear families apart, often
resulting in the “cure” being worse than the disease.
One additional thought. The secrecy that surrounds
grievances filed with a state regulatory agency when a judge
or an attorneys actions or conduct is questioned can
complicate the problem. Please consider what type of reform
can be brought to bear on this issue. I believe here in
Tennessee, the House is considering a bill to allow public
access to grievances filed with the State Bar. An action
like this could bring judicial accountability and cause more
than a few lawyers to reconsider the consequences of
unethical actions towards their clients.
Thank you for your time and for representing our State and
our nation in this important matter. The quality of life of
our seniors who dedicated their lives to our country and
their families is in dire need of reform and oversight. The
laws in place seem to be adequate, but without genuine
oversight and accountability for those holding
decision-making power affecting the lives of those no longer
able to take care of themselves, it is becoming open season
for predatory guardians and conservators, all too frequently
and often with the blessing of the probate system.
Highest regards,
Mark S. Israel
Brentwood, TN 37027
"Letter to the Editor"
by Advocate Shelley Kusiak Note: This letter to the Editor was sent to both Luzerne
County, PA newspapers and both declined to print .
You are a
victim of the corrupt NEPA (northeastern PA) legal system if you are:
1) involved in a divorce proceeding that never ends;
2) a father without custody filing endless petitions for visitation;
3) a good parent fighting to get his/her child out of foster care;
4) a senior citizen declared incompetent, illegally placed in a
guardianship and forced into a nursing home.
You do NOT
have a "family problem." You are a target. And the crooks have a big
bulls' eye on you. We do not have many scams in NEPA. We have one big scam
with many different groups of victims. The juvenile delinquents targeted
in kids for cash is one group.
Have you been
in kangaroo court? Read this information (from Wikipedia). A "kangaroo
court" is a sham legal proceeding. The outcome of a trial by kangaroo
court is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of
ensuring conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated
procedure or by allowing no defense at all.
A kangaroo
court's proceedings deny, hinder or obstruct due process rights in the
name of expediency. Typically, a kangaroo court will deliberately abuse
one or more of the following rights of the accused:
∆
Right to hear a full statement of the
exact charges made against the accused;
∆
Right to summon witnesses right of
cross-examination;
∆
Right to introduce evidence which
will support acquittal of the accused;
∆
Right not to incriminate oneself;
∆
Right not to be tried on secret
evidence;
∆
Right to control one's own defense;
∆
Right to exclude evidence that is improperly
obtained, irrelevant or inherently inadmissible, e.g., hearsay;
∆
Right to exclude judges or jurors on
the grounds of partiality or conflict of interest ;
∆
Right to have a verbatim stenographic
record of the trial proceedings created; and
Read about
the Catholic Church and child abuse
(http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2011/07/27/judge-wrong-seal-grand-jury-testimony-catholic-sex-abuse-case/).
Citizen investigator Mike Ference wrote several comments in response to
this article, and his comments include information about the
Kids-for-Cash scandal as well as the Zappala family. Read Larry Hohol's
book, "The Luzerne County Railroad." Talk to Right to Know officials.
File complaints. Take action. Don't help the crooks by doing
nothing.
Consider this, the probate court
is the largest business in the world, for through
its portals pass the entire wealth of the world,
sooner or later.
Now, pay close attention:
In this post, I will
mathematically prove this allegation. Though
this well-kept secret does not appear in the Fortune
500′s list, the probate court trumps them all,
including Wal-Mart, Wall Street, Bill Gates, Warren
Buffet. These businesses and individuals are
all dwarves compared to the probate court.
Follow carefully, for this will
help the reader understand and comprehend the
magnitude of the “business of the court”,
specifically the probate court.
Now, before I lay out a
hypothetical (ball-park) figure of the gross annual
income of the probate court, you must understand
that the probate court is the most unaccounted for
court; for there is typically no jury, no oversight
and a judge vested with an authority that is
typically void of credibility to adjudicate the
matters before their court. If they are not in
possession of mathematical credentials and
certification that surpass those of its
practitioners, then what credentials must they
possess to be qualified for the probate bench?
A superior knowledge of the law should be a given.
Yet, with factoring in an almost unaccounted for
court overseeing the largest business in the world,
it invites corruption, and a subversion of the law
becomes a rule as opposed to the exception.
Let me interject here that in
Davidson County, TN, where the 7th Circuit Court’s
bench is occupied by a man who, from inside
information, graduated in the lower half of his
class from Nashville School of Law, Judge Randy
Kennedy is not a scholar, but a politician, and this
further invites and suggests lack of interest in the
citizenry and favor towards its practitioners and
all state agencies that do business in the court,
including our
Attorney General, Robert E. Cooper, Jr. (we will
present evidence in a future post that puts Cooper
and Kennedy “in bed” together, thus no
accountability from our highest state law
enforcement public servant).
Judge Jim Everett, two probate
judges back, committed suicide in the home of
notorious organized corruption king-pin Jimmy Lewis’
home, when the TBI (Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation) initiated investigations into his
actions that are insignificant compared to the
corruption Judge Randy Kennedy facilitates and
cooperates in routinely. Judge Kennedy is tied
directly to Jimmy Lewis, as is Paul Housch, Adam
Dread, all one-time attorneys for Jimmy Lewis.
There are other probate practitioners attached to
this world of organized corruption.
Now I present the mathematical
equation that represents the probate court as being
the largest business in the world:
In a discussion with respected
journalist and probate blogger,
Lou Ann Anderson, she represented the amount of
money that passes through one probate court in
Houston, TX, a county that has THREE probate courts,
and this is from just ONE of those courts in one
county. Lou Ann Anderson’s’ testimonial must start
with her involuntarily thrust into the probate hell:
“At a point, I traded in the
PTO and Junior League for political activism and a
‘concealed carry’ license. Who knew that
EstateofDenial.com and learning more about
quiet, stodgy, seemingly boring probate venues would
expose a corrupt system of which the American public
is largely unaware despite it posing a growing,
unbridled threat to both their individual liberties
and
property rights.”
In October 2006, Harris
County (Houston) Probate Judge Mike Wood – a
controversial figure in his own right –
testified before the Texas Senate Committee on
Jurisprudence and offered interesting insight to
the “probate business.” He told of a 1995
analysis indicating that assets and inventories
filed for his approval (and not necessarily
including all independently administered estate
assets which also he supervises) were approximately
$750 million per quarter. He said
the $3 billion annual figure held true five years
later. While this court was described as
“probably one of the busiest probate courts in the
nation,” that still is a staggering number and to
extrapolate even a far-diminished dollar amount to
the massive number of probate courts throughout this
country helps illustrate the wealth controlled by
this venue.
Now, consider that Judge Randy
Kennedy brags often of his court having “more
conservatorships than any probate court in the
state”, while Shelby County has a population of 1
million, far more populated than Davidson County.
This approximate calculation of
the wealth of the probate court was presented last
year at Impeach Randy Kennedy, but in the light of
recent activity, it’s important to bring this issue
back up.
Let’s assume every county has one
probate court, though the county referred to in
Estate of Denial has three probate courts. One
probate court, our of three, does 3 billion/year in
this county, so we’ll underestimate in our
hypotheses.
According to Wikipedia, here’s
the definition of a “county”, though they may have a
different title in different states such as
Louisiana and Alaska:
In the United States, a
county is a geographic subdivision
of a
state (or
federal territory), usually assigned some
governmental authority. The term “county” is used in
48 of the 50 states;
Louisiana is divided into
parishes and
Alaska
into
boroughs.[1] Parishes and boroughs are called “county-equivalents”
by the
U.S. Federal Government, as are certain
independent cities which are not parts of
counties. There are currently 3,143 counties and
county-equivalents in the United
States; 3,141 according to Wolfram|Alpha
knowledgebase, 2011.
Now, if one of three courts has a
gross annual income of 3 Billion, that would suggest
9 Billion in one county annually, and these figures
come from 1995. Now, let’s multiply that times
3,143 counties or “county-equivalents“.
This would gross 28,287,000,000,000.00. Let me
simplify by letting you know this figure is well in
excess of $28 TRILLION dollars. This figure
dwarfs the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) $14.582
Trillion
According to this “ball-park”
calculation based on numbers presented from one
probate court in 1995, the gross annual income of
the probate court equals the US National Debt and
the Gross Domestic Product combined, approximately
$28 Trillion. I believe we can assume this is a
modest calculation, understating the fact.
Based upon this calculation, the
probate court is not only the largest business in
the United States, but this would probably hold true
for any country in the world that uses the probate
court to liquidate and divide the wealth of their
nation.
Again, all the wealth of the
world passes through probate, in a court virtually
unaccounted for, benched by judges who are not
certified accountants (typically), all bills are
paid by the court, all attorneys are paid by the
court, and the matters of the state in estate
matters are adjudicated in the probate court.
Reader, are you grasping what
this is telegraphing loud and clear?
Do you think the “powers that be” are going to let
go of these purse strings without slinging
mud, ruining lives and protecting themselves by
“hook or crook”? You are a fool, or just
indifferent, if you think otherwise.
The probate court is the deep,
dark, dirty secret of, not only our legal system,
but our entire government, for in this
unaccounted for court, passes the wealth of the
world, houses the largest business in the world, and
it can surely, and more often than not, invite
corruption.
How can this “business of the
court” be wrangled into accountability?
In my experience, here are the
options: In Tennessee, apparently here is no hope
for reform on a local or state level, for the
agencies charged with investigating crimes are not
inclined to take on the largest business in the
world. Legislators are not going to bite the
hand that feeds them. The Court of the
Judiciary is not going to charge a judge
for judicial misconduct when they’ve
committed the
same misconduct. Former Tennessee Governor Bredesen
(refer to previous post) appointed Judge Randy
Kennedy to run Davidson County’s largest business,
so that suggests he might be in on the business
of the court. Attorney General Robert E.
Cooper does business in Judge Randy Kennedy’s Court
(and they’ve got some side business we will reveal
upcoming).
Is there federal intervention
that would save us from on high?
I’m in Washington DC as I write,
seeking federal intervention from the lack of
integrity on a local and state level in Tennessee,
but it’s hard for me to imagine that the feds are
going to “bite the hand that feeds them”,
though there has been traction here and I will
return with a greater confidence that
justice will be served.
With the constant bickering
between the right and the left, which is nothing but
an instrument to distract “we, the people”, from all
internal atrocities, and from the fact the probate
court is looting our estates before we are in the
grave, my case being a prime example, “Court-Ordered
Hell” , the only reasonable conclusion might be
that we must overtake our government, for the voice
of “we, the people”is not represented at any level,
state or federal, and this MUST be of “grave”
concern (pun intended). The probate purse
strings will not be let go of without a fight.
And the probate practitioners are the bottom feeders
of the legal system, right behind ambulance chasers.
These are the culprits stealing our money.
WAKE UP!!! You do not want to wake up one day in
this “court-ordered hell”, brought on by a
protected, illegal, yet sanctioned ambush.
Our Constitution provides the
right to raise a militia, used to rise up against
tyranny, perfectly represented in the probate courts
of America. It is truly taxation without
representation, for once you are in probate, you ARE
NOT represented, for all attorneys are on the
probate gravy train, having their outrageous and
exaggerated fees paid by the probate court, not by
the client. Are you following
this line of reasoning?
It may require a coup, a rising
up of the patriotic spirit this nation was born
from,
“Don’t tread on me”
“Give me liberty or give me death”.
In closing, the entire legal and
political system has kept us in the dark as to the
largest business in the world, the probate court,
and in order for us to take back the power and take
control of this probate industry that our leaders
have not, and apparently will not, protect us from,
it obviously will and must require extreme measures,
by any means necessary.
I, for one, am ready to lead the
charge. Who will follow? Are you an
American of the patriotic spirit, or have you sold
your soul to the era of thievery and greed spawned
by our own “trusted” servants? Not me, not
now, not ever.
You can sit on the sidelines and
be a spectator, but that will not do, not now, not
at this point in time in American history.
Now is the hour of truth.
I challenge you to rise up and
exercise your
Constitutional Rights, and lets strip our
government of the tyranny that has taken over.
Probate courts are Taxation Without Representation,
the very movement that birthed our nation. Who
will follow?
As Jack Nicholson’s character
stated as the theme in:
“One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, ”At
least I tried…”
Here is our alter call.
Who will rededicate their lives to the salvation of
our individual liberties:
“Where Have the Rebels All Gone”
by: danny tate and john brannen (c) 1985
“Come on all you saints and
sinners, refugees of life,
Is there one among you with
the heart to stand alone and fight
Is there anyone in this land
who isn’t tired and old
I’m just looking for one
misfit with a motorcycle soul
Restless winds are blowing in
the streets
Who will rise above this
crowd and challenge destiny…."
While there is breath in me, I
will fight for my individual liberties, which was
paramount as our forefathers authored the
Constitution.
Stand with me, stand beside me,
and let’s rise up against tyranny within our own
land.
The following "recipe" was taken from a 2008 newsletter of a well known
guardianship organization:
Recipe for a Good Guardian
•
1 Cup Communication Skills
• 1 Cup Bookkeeping Knowhow
• 2 Cups Patience
• ½ Cup Attention to Detail
• ½ Cup Sense of Humor
• 2 Tablespoons Tears
• Season with equal parts: Experience, Social Work,
Banking,
and Law
• Let mellow several years to allow ingredients to blend
• Frost liberally with Ethics
• Use as needed to improve the life of an incapacitated
person
• Adjust ingredient proportions as new situations arise
After
having a taste of the above recipe and disappointed that his Mother
in Law's conservatorship didn't turn out as the recipe promised,
NASGA member and advocate Charlie Pascal felt an ingredient surely
must be wrong or even missing. He studying and experimented
with the ingredients thoroughly, making his own recipe based on his
Mother in Law's (Marcy Dudeck) guardian/conservator, Jared E.
Shaffer.
This "recipe" is in honor of Marcy Dudeck, now deceased:
NEW Recipe for a Guardian
• 1 Cup arrogance
• 1 Cup embezzlement knowhow
• 10 Cups deceit
•
6 cups fraud
• 1 Cup negligence
• 4 Cups cruelty
• 8 Tablespoons senior tears
•
9 cups family isolation
• Season with equal parts: lack of experience, family
destruction,
bribery, and misuse of the Law
• Let stagnate several years to allow poison concoction to
blend
• Frost liberally with lies and intimidation
• Use as needed to degrade the life of an incapacitated
person
• Adjust ingredient proportions as new situations arise
Attorney Ken Ditkowsky on the
Need for an Honest, Complete and
Comprehensive Investigation
of Guardianship
When the Court's function
properly, the rights of senior
citizens are protected; however,
there are too many cases - such
as Sykes, Gore, Tyler, Wyman
et al in Illinois - in which
the exploitation of the elderly
is obvious and no one is
interested in even investigating
the outrageous conduct that is
the hallmark of the protest.
How can an abusive estranged
husband be appointed as a
guardian of his wife (Wyman)?
How can a mentally ill
grandchild - herself lacking
competency - be appointed as a
guardian (Gore)? How can a
daughter who the alleged
incompetent is seeking an order
of protection be appointed
plenary guardian (Sykes)? How
can a a common thread of large
sums of money not being part of
the inventory be ignored?
In
Illinois, we have a
comprehensive legislative
procedure to protect the elderly
from miscreants using the courts
to separate a senior from
his/her liberty, property, civil
rights and human rights. As
illustrated by Sykes, the entire
procedure was and three years
later is ignored. Indeed, it is
unethical (according the ARDC)
to complain. [This letter may
generate another ARDC complaint
against me even though it is
clearly protected by the First
Amendment to the United States
Constitution.]
What we 'seniors' need is for an
honest, complete, and
comprehensive investigation of
this guardianship situation; and
if it is determined that
guardianship is a ruse, under
color of statute for miscreants,
to deprive seniors of their
liberty, their property, civil
rights and human rights as I am
many others have charged, the
miscreants should suffer the
full weight of the law.
I use
the word "we" as it occurred to
me that I am a year older than
Dr. C. [Dr.James Chism]. I use
the word "we" because it appears
if the procedure that was
followed in the Sykes case is
the rule rather than the
exception, watch out Mr. Romney
and Mr. Obama - there are at
least two doctors who have a
reputation of finding everyone
that they examine incompetent!
Read the August 2009 and August
2010 transcript and the Judge
clearly illustrates how we treat
these serious cases.
~Ken Ditkowsky
DitkowskyLawOffice.com
"Law 101 - and Then Some!"
(By a NASGA member)
It's not very often that
we hear of victims of guardianship and conservatorship escaping from
their sentences, but we've just seen the Chism victory in Michigan -
he came out alive. Recently, there was a decision by the Second
Circuit Court of Appeals on a Connecticut case that a
court-appointed attorney and a conservator involved in an elderly
man’s improper conservatorship were not entitled to absolute federal
quasi-judicial immunity and can be sued. Unfortunately, Daniel Gross
died before he could enjoy that victory, but his daughter, Dee King,
will pursue it.
On our website we ask
"Who's to Blame" - and the list is long. However, as we've been
learning more and more over time, the greatest share of blame lies
with the judges and their blatant violation of law on several
issues:
(1) The first
requirement of due process of law is notice.
A judge must first look to his/her jurisdiction. After a petition is
filed, and if it has slipped by the court clerk without proof of
service on all parties, then the judge is to blame if he/she
proceeds with the case, without personal jurisdiction. Due process
requires both sides of a case to be noticed and present. "Both
sides" means the victim and his/her relatives should have prior
notice of a petition having been filed. If there is no due process
notice prior to an adjudication of incompetency, such an order
should be vacated, as void. But will the "tag team" players raise
that issue? Not if they're looking to land another lucrative
guardianship! And how can the victims (non-noticed "respondents")
hire a lawyer if their assets are suddenly no longer under their
control, having already been confiscated by a judge and turned over
to a court-appointed guardian or conservator, without due process of
law?
(2)
The second element of constitutional due
process is "opportunity" - opportunity for both sides to
participate in a hearing, which must be fair and impartial. With the
growth of so-called "emergency" petitions, there is total violation
of rights if an adjudication is made based on an ex-parte "hearing."
Mere conclusory allegations contained in a petition heard ex-parte
do not constitute evidence. The legislators are to blame if they
don't fix that growing problem.
(3)
The third element, "fair and impartial," means that both sides
should be present and participating and the judge should be fair and
impartial. Really? Not in the guardianship game!
(4)
Next comes the statutory evidentiary
requirement for guardianship and conservatorship cases in most
states. In making findings, a judge must follow the
"clear and convincing" standard and recite such in the order of
adjudication. Those critical words are necessary to support
findings, if any - and there are occasions when there are no
specific findings!
(5)
Having once signed an order committing a vulnerable person to a lifetime
in "protection" jail, stripped of all rights including the right to
complain, is the judge off the hook? Not yet, he/she is responsible for
what the appointed fiduciaries are doing. Many judges fail to monitor
their cases. Many "conservators," failing to conserve the ward's assets,
simply help themselves to them without seeking court authority for
payment. And many judges, even if authority is sought, don't bother to
examine the billings, merely rubberstamping their approval.
The offices of court
administration are also to blame for lack of monitoring of what
their judges are doing.
And where is law
enforcement in this? Generally not interested, but maybe they're
waking up! The FBI has just raided a Georgia probate judge's records
and confiscated them all. We anxiously await further news on this
exciting issue.
And then there is the
public interest. Protective statutes are promulgated in the public
interest, and the public must know what's going on in the courts!
Operating under color of law and cloak of darkness is an invitation
for rape and plunder by professional fiduciaries ("persons of
trust"?).
Excessive sealing of
court records in these "protection" cases is unnecessary other than
to remove critical personal information. The Chicago Tribune
recently had an article on judge's sealing of all kinds of cases.
That should not be allowed, other than to remove critical personal
data.
There must be open records so the public
knows what's going on behind the black wall, especially at election
time.
We
at ProbateSharks continue to have concerns about OBRA Special Needs
Pooled Trusts. OBRA Trusts were created to allow people who have special
needs to qualify for Medicaid by depositing their money into these
trusts. The intention of these trusts was to preserve estates of
disabled people by allowing them to qualify for public aid nursing homes
while preserving their estate for their special needs.
(5)
Having once signed an order committing a vulnerable person to a lifetime
in "protection" jail, stripped of all rights including the right to
complain, is the judge off the hook? Not yet, he/she is responsible for
what the appointed fiduciaries are doing. Many judges fail to monitor
their cases. Many "conservators," failing to conserve the ward's assets,
simply help themselves to them without seeking court authority for
payment. And many judges, even if authority is sought, don't bother to
examine the billings, merely rubberstamping their approval.