In the News

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- The Santa Clara County Public Guardian's Office is facing criticism. Some families say the county is isolating their elderly loved ones -- unnecessarily taking control of their entire lives, right down to who can visit.

The ABC7 News I-Team doesn't often get the police called on it for a story. It happens, but it was unexpected in this case. All the I-Team did was ask to see a couple of ladies whose families say are being isolated by Santa Clara County.

"I need my family and they took that away from me," 82-year-old Gisela Riordan says in a recording. "You know, what else can they take?"

Gisela Riordan: "I can't do anything in here."
Gisela's son Marcus Riordan: "I know, I know."
Gisela Riordan: "Because this is like a prison."
Marcus Riordan: "It's like a prison?"

Linda Kincaid is an advocate with the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse. She says not only is the public guardian restricting Marcus Riordan's visits with his mom, but all of Gisela's potential visitors.

"Gisela clutched my arm and sobbed onto my shoulder for an hour talking about how lonely she is," Kincaid said.

Kincaid was able to see her twice before getting kicked out of the facility. She says 18 members of her group have tried to call and set up visits with Gisela -- all have been denied.

"If the laws were followed and her rights were observed and honored, this would not be happening," Kincaid said.

Kincaid points to the Notice of Conservatee's Rights -- a document in every conserved person's court file: "Unless a court limits or takes away a right, like visits from family or friends, then the conservatee retains the right to have these visitors."

And California Code Title 22 states a resident has a right "to have his or her visitors, including ombudspersons and advocacy representatives, permitted to visit privately during reasonable hours and without prior notice."

"If you took your grandmother and locked her up in the spare bedroom, you could go to jail for that, but if the public guardian does it to your grandmother it's called conservatorship," Kincaid said.

The I-Team wanted to see if the public guardian is following the rules. Dan Noyes walked into Villa Fontana and asked to see Gisela and another conserved woman. The staff called the county.

"The resident is conserved by the county and we have to follow the rules; they have a court order that puts them in charge of the resident," Villa Fontana spokesperson Steve Hooker said.

The public guardian's office told the I-Team that Noyes couldn't see Gisela or the other woman until they performed a background check on him and they instructed Villa Fontana to call the police.

Dan Noyes:      "Why call the police on me? What danger did I pose to anyone at the nursing home?
Lee Pullen:      "I think you and the public should feel good about that because that means the public guardian, acting as the conservator of individuals in any kind of residential facility, is thinking first of protecting that person's interest."
Dan Noyes:      "Oh come on, what about me was a danger to anyone?"

Watch the Video Report!

November 1, 2012:

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Chief Investigative Reporter Dan Noyes poses the question: "It's a simple regulation - you get a reverse mortgage and you must live in the home. So how come one Bay Area county moved a 92-year-old woman out more than two years ago and then took a reverse mortgage out on her home?"

It's an issue more and more baby boomers are facing, as their parents age -- a county's public guardian taking over a person's affairs, selling their home against the family's wishes. No matter the circumstances, the county is supposed to follow the rules. The ABC7 News I-Team found one case where they did not.

[Moynte] Puma says her aunt -- 92-year-old Lillie Scalia would never want to move out of her house. Scalia suffers from dementia, but she and her husband, Sam, planned to live out their last days there. Sam died in 1995.

"My aunt would tell me that, 'Your uncle said, if anything should happen to him, live in this house, stay in this house,'" Puma said.

That's a promise Scalia has not been able to keep. Puma says Santa Clara County took her aunt from her home and eventually moved her into an assisted living facility.

"Our aim is to protect them from any financial or physical abuse that they might have been experiencing," Director of Santa Clara County Aging and Adult Services Lee Pullen said.

Pullen says the public guardian's office is the conservator for about 800 people -- making financial and healthcare decisions for the conservatees like Scalia.

"We want to ensure that they have a comfortable lifestyle to the degree that their able and that we can make the decisions that they are not able to make for themselves," Pullen said.

One questionable decision the public guardian's office made for Scalia was taking out a reverse mortgage on her home in order to pay for her care.

Dan Noyes: "Is it proper in your mind to take out a reverse mortgage, the county to do that, when the person is not living in the home?"
Lee Pullen: "My understanding of the requirement a reverse mortgage is that you need to be in the home and be there in order to have a reverse mortgage."

Pullen is right. According to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, a person getting a reverse mortgage must live in the home, and if the borrower is gone for more than 12 consecutive months, the loan becomes due.

Watch the video report!

WIFR: A Growing Trend in Medicine

December 28, 2010: 23 News investigates how changes in the medical industry have dramatically impacted the Bedin Family of Rockford and how you can protect aging loved ones. Reporter Tina Stein reports this three part series:

Click here to see all three videos!

	Part 3: If you're a baby boomer caring for elderly parents or in that age bracket yourself, it takes great planning to prevent the government from dictating your life.

	Part 2: Dr. Larry Verfurth works in one of the fastest growing medical specialties in the nation. He's a hospitalist, which is a doctor whose specialty is hospital efficiency. Verfurth is one of 15 at Rockford Memorial Hospital.

	Part 1: Time is more precious these days for Janet Bedin. Especially after learning she lost five months with her mom Dolores.

CBS Evening News With Katie Couric:
Guardianship Agency Costs Woman Dearly

December 23, 2010: CBSNews.com: You're supporting Marie Log with your tax dollars - even though she had plenty of money on her own. Sharyl Atkisson with the story:

Watch the video report!

ABC-15: Greed Vs. Guardianship
"Isolate, Medicate, Liquidate"

December 2010: The ABC15 Investigators have spent most of 2010 exposing serious flaws surrounding Maricopa County Probate Court. Families accuse the court of allowing victims to be isolated and heavily medicated while their assets are liquidated. Reporters Joe Doucey and Maria Tomasch:

Watch the video report!

See Four Investigation Videos at this site:

	Banding Together to Change Probate Court: Part 4. Families who thought they were doing the right thing, getting care for their loved ones -- instead hurt by broken promises and financial ruin. Now, those victims are fighting back, and some of them are winning.
	Court Set Up for Conflict of Interest? Part 3: We rely on the justice system to protect people when they can't protect themselves. But, families from around the Valley insist one Maricopa County court system has failed them.
	Taking Care or Taking Advantage? Part 2. When you can't take care of a loved one anymore, sometimes the only option is a court-appointed guardian. But can you trust them?
	Elder Care or Elder Abuse? Families say a Valley business took their loved ones away, wiped out their finances and used the court system to do it.

Fox 6 News: Who are They Protecting?

June 21, 2010: WITI Fox6Now.com: Ruth Collins was declared incompetent by Judge Mel Flanagan before the county filed a guardianship case in probate court. Judge Flanagan appointed Collins' daughter, Sandra Wright, to serve as the legal guardian for personal and medical decisions.

Brian Polcyn with the story!

Watch the video report!

WENY : Death With Dignity

June 3, 2009: WENY.com: Sarah Harvey says she’s not happy with the treatment she says her brain-injured husband is receiving from the Chemung County Department of Social Services.

Harvey’s husband, Gary, has had a permanent brain injury for over three years. She lost guardianship over him to Chemung County more than two years ago. She says losing that right was a big blow and since then has been fighting to bring her husband home. Emma Wright with the story:

Watch the video report!

Fox 9: "The Power of One"

May 27, 2009: MyFoxTwinCities.com: Minnesota lawmakers have granted new rights for the tens of thousands of Minnesotans who require the help of a conservator or guardian. Over the last year and a half, the FOX 9 Investigators have shown you how powerful conservators and guardians are and how sometimes that power is abused. Now, there is help. Reporter Trish Van Pilsum has the details:

Watch the video report!

WSVN Miami Fox 7: Carmel on the Case

April 6, 2009: WSVN: Imagine having your whole life put into the hands of a stranger who can take away your freedom to choose from where you live to how you spend your money, and if you disagree on how they're handling things, you have no outside agency to complain to. Seven's investigative reporter Carmel Cafiero is on the case.

Watch the video report!

Losing Guardianship

November 6, 2008: WABC: It's a controversy over a court-appointed guardian. A Brooklyn family says they had no idea what they were getting into when they agreed to let an agency take control over an elderly relative. Now, the family is fighting to get control back. Emmy award winning reporter Sara Wallace covers the story:

Watch the video report!

The Power of One: Starting to Crack

July 17, 2008: MyFoxTwinCities.com: The evidence is mounting as courts take action against a powerful conservator the FOX 9 Investigators have been telling you about for months. And now real change may not be far behind; change that may help your family if you ever need someone to take care of a parent or a child. Reporter Trish Van Pilsum has the details in this exclusive story on "The Power of One."

Watch the video report!

WABC New York 7 on line: Exclusive: Protecting the Elderly

May 21, 2008: abclocal.go.com: Family and friends say an elderly woman is being hidden from them. They allege that a young relative suddenly spirited away a 69-year-old Brooklyn woman from her home, then took her out of state.

Now, family members and friends say all contact has been cut off.

The Investigators' Sarah Wallace has the exclusive story.

Watch the Video Report!

Fox 9 Investigators:
The Power of One: A Call for Change

May 14, 2008: MyFoxTwinCities.com: When it comes to demanding change, there is power in numbers. And a Fox 9 Investigation has inspired a number of people to demand changes in the laws that allow strangers to take control of their loved ones lives. One of those people is a conservator named Sheila Gast. After our report on Gast in February, more people wrote in urging us to continue to investigate her for the financial and emotional heartaches they say she's caused families.

Trish Van Pilsum reports.

Watch the Video Report!

Fox 5 Investigates: Guardian Abuse Part 2

March 31, 2008: MyFoxNY.com: From anger to outrage: A recent Fox 5 investigation exposing allegations of guardian abuse generated quite the reaction from viewers across the country. It exposed how perfect strangers can take total control of your life, sell your home and spend your money and they wouldn't even have to ask you for permission.

Mary Garofalo updated her investigation. However, the current link to the report is not functioning. We will update as soon as the link is fixed.

CBS 13: Call Kurtis: Avoiding Conservatorship

February 29, 2008: cbs13.com - Guardianships, or conservatorships, as they're called in California, can literally be a lifesaver for someone who can't take care of themselves, or has become a target for abuse.

Note: This video is no longer available on line. However, the conservator profiled in this report, Carolyn Young, sued CBS for defamation following the broadcast. The Third District Court of Appeals ruled in December 2012 that Carolyn Young, in her capacity as a court-appointed conservator, is public figure and that CBS acted without malice in their report.

Read the appellate decision: Carolyn M. Young vs. CBS Broadcasting Inc., et el.

Esta and Anne go National
on the
Morning Show
with
Mike and Juliet

February 28, 2008: mandjshow.com - They are supposed to guard the fortunes of your family members — but find out how court-appointed conservators can con your loved ones out of their home, bank accounts, credit cards and everything they possess.

We are sorry, this episode is no longer available on the internet.

CBS 13: Call Kurtis: A Life Hijacked

THANK YOU, Kurtis Ming!

February 27, 2008: cbs13.com - If you suddenly found someone else's name on your accounts and taking apart your life, you'd probably figure your identity had been stolen. But a Sacramento woman found what happened to her is legal, and could happen to nearly anybody.

Read the appellate decision: Carolyn M. Young vs. CBS Broadcasting Inc., et el.

Fox 9 Investigators: The Power of One

February 26, 2008: myfoxtwincities.com - Imagine someone locking you out of your own house, controlling your checkbook, deciding how much spending money you should get each month. That's what happens when a conservator or guardian is appointed. Trish Van Pilsum and the FOX 9 Investigators share the struggles of several families who say these people have too much power.

A special THANK YOU to Trish Van Pilsum, Twin Cities Fox 9 reporter, for a powerful in-depth report featuring conservator Sheila Gast.

Here's a direct link to her report which aired 2/26/08 on the 10:00 p.m. news:

Watch the Video Report!

Fox 5 Investigates: Guardian Abuse Part 1

February 19, 2008: MyFoxNY.com -- Imagine a perfect stranger coming into your life, taking control of all your money and possessions, selling off your home without your permission and then deciding where you are going to live. You might think it was a huge scam, but it's not. In fact, what's shocking about this story is: It's all perfectly legal and it's happening every day to thousands of people across this country. Fox 5's Mary Garofalo has a special investigation that is a real eye opener.

A special THANK YOU to Mary Garofalo, WNYW New York Fox 5 News reporter, for shining the bright light of focus on guardianship abuse! Your report was incredible!

The direct link to her shocking investigative report which aired 2/19/08 on the 10:00 p.m. news is currently out of order. We will post it when it becomes available again.

Special thanks to NASGA Members Esta Varon and Anne Haines (daughter of Maydelle Trambarulo) for bravely telling their stories with poise, grace and dignity - leaving every viewer informed and outraged at the injustice the elderly and/or vulnerable suffer at the hands of their court-appointed "protectors."

We applaud and thank you!

For up-to-the-minute news and information about guardianship abuse and conservatorship abuse,
start your day with NASGA's blog:

(c) 2006 NASGA

Guardianship Abuse / Conservatorship Abuse / Financial Exploitation of the Elderly
by court-appointed fiduciaries IS Elder Abuse!