Probate Court: Where Some Elderly Citizens Disappear; the Case of Former WestConn Professor Eli Schutts (Second in a Series; Updated With Daughter's Reaction)
August 17, 2012
By ANDY THIBAULT
And JACK CORAGGIO
.
Latest update: New Twist in Former Philosophy Professor's Health Care and Probate Saga: Document Shows Power Of Attorney Revoked For Longtime Companion
Also read: Daughter of Ailing Former WestConn Professor Caught Up in the World of Probate Backs the Conservator.
Previously on countytimes.com: Eli Schutts and Edith Johnson of Bethlehem: A Tragic Love Story at Life's Final Turn, and Probate Court’s Most Recent Ruling On Eli Schutts And Reaction.
TORRINGTON—Probate court rulings and administrative practices vary widely in Connecticut, which has a sordid history of failing to oversee commitments of elderly citizens to nursing homes.
The horror stories are legion: Tales of officials draining the estates of those they are charged with protecting, and friends and neighbors disappearing into the bowels of a secretive system with little, if any oversight. One significant case of unlawful imprisonment culminated with a state Supreme Court ruling this year, stripping layers of immunity from lawyers appointed by probate courts, and from conservators and nursing homes. Aggrieved family members can now sue those officials and nursing homes if they ignore the wishes of the clients they are charged with serving.
Daniel Gross had been held against his will in a Waterbury nursing home, the victim of collusion among a court-appointed lawyer, a conservator and a probate judge. He was freed after a year by superior court Judge Joseph Gormley, who called the case “a terrible miscarriage of justice.” Mr. Gross died in 2007, but a civil rights lawsuit filed by his daughter resulted in the high court ruling five years later.
The operations of probate courts still lack consistency, according to several elder care lawyers interviewed by The Litchfield County Times. Two of the lawyers who practice in the probate courts requested anonymity for fear of retribution. They had been asked to review court records and other documents related to the case of Eli Schutts, Ph.D., a retired philosophy professor at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury who is now at the Litchfield Woods nursing home in Torrington, based on a probate court ruling.
(A case worth following. Please go to SOURCE)
Abridged
SOURCE: The CountyTimes
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Showing posts with label Probate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Probate. Show all posts
August 29, 2012
October 21, 2010
Only $50,000 left in estate for Tennessee Children's Home
Executor accused of raiding funds
BY JILL CECIL WIERSMA
THE TENNESSEAN
OCTOBER 14, 2010
Only about $50,000 remains of a nearly $800,000 estate left in a will to the Tennessee Children's Home.
The former executor wrote $100,000 in checks to himself, invested in Iraqi dinar, and lost $340,000
after investing in Hanover Corp., an investment company later revealed as a Ponzi scheme, said Bill Alsup,
development director at the home for abused, neglected or delinquent boys.
Now, Alsup and others with the home fear they won't be able to find Daryl Bornstein to hold him
accountable for the estate left by retired Metro firefighter Raymond Simmons, who died in 2006.
"That money would have been helpful, especially considering what we're doing,"
Children's Home President Brian King said, explaining that the home's antiquated facilities need to be
rebuilt. King said the board would look at its options.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Tennessean
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February 4, 2010
Feng Shui Master Loses Battle For Fortune of Asia's Richest Woman (HONG KONG)
By DPA, IANS
February 2nd, 2010
The judge, Johnson Lam Man-hon, threw out theclaim by feng shuimaster Tony Chan, 50, for the entire fortune of Nina Wang, head of the Chinachem propertyempire who died in April 2007 aged 69.
Instead, he awarded the estate to a charitable foundation run by Wang’s family, saying that a will produced by Chan to claim Wang’s fortune was not genuine.
The ruling followed a 40-day hearing last year which pitted 50-year-old Chan against the tycoon’s family who claimed he was nothing more than a “toy boy” to the lonely widow.
In his 300-page ruling released Tuesday, the judge said Chan was not a suitable candidate to inherit Wang’s business empire and that the tycoon’s relationship with him and gifts of money to him did not prove his claim.
Chan was virtually unknown in Hong Kong before he emerged claiming to be Wang’s long-term lover after the head of the Chinachem property empire died of ovarian cancer.
He claimed to have been Wang’s secret lover for 14 years, having midnight meetings after she first consulted him to try to trace her missing husband Teddy.
Chan claimed that Wang referred to him as her “husband” and had wanted to have a child with him when she was in her 50s before discovering she could not conceive.
Lawyers representing Wang’s family, however, claimed the will allegedly leaving everything to Chan was a forgery, possibly signed by Wang as part of a feng shui ritual.
Abridged
SOURCE: TARAGANA.COM
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August 22, 2009
AL Estate Case Shows Familiar Probate Abuse Trends (USA)
AL estate case shows familiar probate abuse trends
21 Aug 2009
Bell County Legal News Examiner
By Lou Ann Anderson
Texas isn’t the only state experiencing probate corruption and despite diversity in locales, the tactics used in all these cases are stunningly similar. Developments surrounding the $3.2 million estate of Cary Douglas Piper continue to make big news in southern Alabama as an attorney, John Brock, recently plead guilty to third degree perjury for testimony in a probate case which previously led to a conviction for Sherrie Phillips, a former Covington County probate judge, found guilty for the theft of $1.8 million from the Piper estate. The day after Brock entered his guilty plea, an Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals denied a rehearing request filed by Phillips.
Read more here.
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June 3, 2009
Conservatorship and Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (USA)
Falk conservatorship, Astor estate trial continues
02 Jun 2009
Judge Aviva K. Bobb, the same judge overseeing Britney Spears’ conservatorship, has placed actor Peter Falk under a conservatorship. Falk’s daughter from his first marriage initiated these proceedings which were fought by his second wife. The daughter is claiming victory because while previously denied access to Falk, the conservatorship now mandates that she be allowed a monthly visit with her father. Through an attorney, Falk’s wife is also touting a win by proclaiming “the hearing proved that Falk’s wife had provided top-notch care and should be allowed to continue that role.”
A recent discussion with a group of teenagers prompted an explanation of how adulthood and maturity are not mutually exclusive. This case brings that conversation back to mind. As people age and time becomes more fleeting, we all are sometimes challenged to tolerate people or distasteful situations as a testament of devotion to those we profess to love. Denying access or creating a hostile environment in which parent/child visitation becomes imprudent or unwise is, to us, a particularly loathsome act. Peter Falk’s long and distinguished career brought enjoyment to many people. We hope the resolution of this matter and the new ability to see his daughter will bring enjoyment to him.
Terry Christensen continues on the stand at the Anthony Marshall/Francis Morrissey trial. The defense attorneys are now cross-examining him. Though not charged with a crime, Charlene Marshall continues to be a regular source around which testimony about the alleged looting of Brooke Astor’s estate revolves.
No matter how often these stories surface, the chaos and pain that a single person’s focused hostility and/or greed can create is always astounding. And folks, until something happens to diminish this overwhelming sense of entitlement that defines so many people in today’s society, things are only going to get worse.
Forewarned is forearmed.
SOURCE: Estate of Denial
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For those who are especially interested in these issue, please go to source Lou Ann Anderson has a great collections of articles.
Thanks again Lou Ann. You are a champ.
........ AC
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May 11, 2009
Lawsuit and Accusation of Elder Abuse (KS. USA)
Lawsuit filed over munchkin’s estate
By Michael Sorkin
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Four months before he died on Thursday, Mickey Carroll signed papers turning over control of all his assets to his caretaker, Linda Dodge.
Carroll, 89, was best known as a Munchkin, one of the little people in the movie “Wizard of Oz.”
Relatives estimate he left an estate of more than $1 million. They filed a suit in Clayton claiming that “unscrupulous agents” have taken control of the assets and put them “in imminent danger of continued dissipation, waste and theft.”
The heirs — there are eight — also maintain that Carroll suffered from dementia and was mentally incompetent to sign the legal papers.
Dodge calls the allegations “foolish.”
In an interview Friday, she said: “If I were taking so much money, why are we still making car payments” on two cars “And payments on my credit cards“
She also pooh-poohed the idea that Carroll was rich.
“I took care of a friend,” she added. “That I treated like a family member.”
A probate judge in St. Louis County Circuit Court will decide who’s right.
The controversy pits the relatives, including niece Janet L. Finocchiaro of Dallas, against Dodge, who says she and Carroll had been friends for 20 years. They met when they sat at the same table at a Backstoppers’ fundraiser at the Adam’s Mark Hotel, she recalled.
Carroll lived for more than 60 years in Bel-Nor in north St. Louis County.
Dodge says she became his caretaker on Jan. 2, when he needed help, and moved him into the home in Crestwood where she lives with her husband. She also took in Frank Parenti, 54, Carroll’s nephew. He’s in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy and lived with Carroll. Dodge is still taking care of him.
On Jan. 7, five days after moving in with Dodge, Carroll — whose real name was Michael Finocchiaro — signed a durable power of attorney transferring control of his investments and assets to Dodge.
He signed a second durable power of attorney for health care, giving Dodge authority to make medical decisions if he became incapacitated.
In the suit, Janet Finocchiaro says she was concerned about her uncle’s health. In a recent hot line complaint to the state of Missouri, she said her uncle was the victim of “elder abuse.”
Abridged
SOURCE: Kansas City News
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May 2, 2009
Astor (Alleged) Estate Looting Reflects Grave Robbing Trends (USA)
April 29th, 2009
Grave Robbing Affects More than Astor-nomical Estates
By Lou Ann Anderson
April 29, 2009
www.EstateofDenial.com
In life, Brooke Astor represented the best of New York high society exemplifying gracious living and philanthropic generosity. That she, in her last years, would become an alleged victim of elder abuse was unimaginable. And in death, Brooke is still making headlines as Anthony Marshall, her only child, is on trial for looting his mother’s estate of nearly $200 million. As Marshall and codefendant attorney Francis X. Morrissey, also charged with stealing from the estate and of forging Brooke’s signature on an estate document, are on trial in a Manhattan courtroom, it is important to understand the implications of this case as similar grave robbing and property poaching acts are taking place across the U.S. Other targets are not celebrities, the estate values are far more modest, but Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA) – the use of probate venues or probate instruments (wills, trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney) to steal from the dead and disabled/incapacitated - is becoming a lucrative business with Americans of all economic levels at risk.
Brooke Astor did not fail to perform proper estate planning. That’s routinely the position put forth by the legal industry, but in reality, it’s often a self-serving excuse. Defrauding estates is on the rise because in today’s society, it’s relatively easy to accomplish. The most important lesson of this case is that if a woman with Brooke Astor’s savvy and resources was unable to surround herself with a network of trusted individuals knowledgeable of her wishes and armed with documents to protect her and her property upon incapacitation and/or death, why should anyone else think their chances for success are better?
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 www.EstateofDenial.com and may be contacted at info@EstateofDenial.com.
SOURCE: Estate of Denial.com
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Another great article by Lou Anderson. Please go to source for the full-text.
............... AC
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March 7, 2009
Texas Heirs Face Looming Danger
Editor's Note: Would you want your final wishes to be overruled and your heirs to be stripped of what should rightfully be theirs? This type of "estate looting" is occurring across the country. The US~Observer sincerely hopes Judge Burt Carnes takes it to heart that his ruling in this case just might have impact beyond his "little" corner of Texas.
By Edward Snook
Investigative Reporter
GEORGETOWN, Texas – Upon his death Vernon Kunshick intended that his daughters acquire his assets, so he placed them into a living trust for that purpose. Now, his wishes are being challenged by his second wife Teddie Jo Kunshick and the attorney who Vernon Kunshick used to prepare that same trust.
Teddie Jo Kunshick, is apparently seeking court approval to retain the trust assets of her late husband under the guise of alleged estate administration purposes. She is also trying to disqualify Kunshick’s daughters, his primary heirs, as trust beneficiaries. If successful this will essentially place another dagger into the wishes of Vernon Kunshick. A hearing in this matter is scheduled for March 16, 2009 in a Williamson County, Texas District Court and is to be heard by Judge Burt Carnes.
Should clearly stated final wishes of an individual be respected? Should courts and/or legal manipulations and procedures reconfigure a decedent’s property distribution intentions at the behest of estate administrators? This case listed as “Teddie Jo Kunshick, as Trustee of the Vernon Kunshick Living Trust, v. Patricia Gayle Gregory and Lou Ann Anderson”, just might answer these questions. Ultimately, Judge Carnes’ ruling could affect all Texans’ individual rights to determine their final distribution of assets, as well as affecting all beneficiaries’ rights of inheritance. As the nation’s second most popular retirement locale, this case could set standards for those who live and die in Texas, particularly in Williamson County – home to Sun City Texas and the state’s largest concentration of senior citizens.
Property being passed down through generations of family was once a time-honored American tradition, but today, legal system abuses and selective treatment of probate documents threaten intended property transfers. Legal commentator Horace Cooper refers to this rise in estate litigation as a new inheritance tax designed to divert assets from intended beneficiaries. Cooper cites Marshall v. Marshall (Anna Nicole Smith’s action against her deceased husband’s family) as an example of such activities, but warns that estates of far less value are becoming similarly vulnerable.
How can a trustee be considered as acting in good faith or as a proper fiduciary after unnecessarily creating a conflict leading to 15 months of litigation and causing major expense to both the trust and the trust beneficiaries? It therefore is not surprising that Trustee Kunshick and Ron Greening are working to pre-empt the beneficiaries’ trustee removal motion by disentitling Kunshick’s daughters from any intended inheritance.
These proceedings illustrate how the execution of an estate plan can become a legal entanglement, beneficial to few and why these “case trends” pose a dangerous threat to many. The bottom line is, a person’s last wishes should be just as secure today as they were in past decades, but unfortunately they aren’t.
The US~Observer will continue reporting to America on this case, watching closely what Judge Burt Carnes allows to happen with Vernon Kunshick’s estate assets.Anyone with information on this case, including the players involved is urged to contact Edward Snook at 541-474-7885.
Abridged
SOURCE: US Observer News Alert
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February 28, 2009
Supreme Court Ruled on "Undue Influence" Case (Melb. Australia)
Supreme Court rules on Betty Dyke's $15m will battle
February 27, 2009 TWO couples who inherited a share in the $15 million will of an elderly spinster today won a Supreme Court battle to keep the money.
The dispute centred on wills that left the bulk of her estate equally to Tim and Denise Knaggs, Robert and Sandra Allen, and Gary and Diane Smith.
Millionaire Ms Dyke changed her will in favour of her neighbours at a time when she was sharing one room of a run-down fibro farmhouse with chickens and had no inside toilet.
Justice Vickery ruled that a 1999 will made by Ms Dyke was valid apart from her decision to leave a portion to Tim Knaggs.
The judge ruled that the clause in the will that left $5 million jointly to Mr and Mrs Knaggs should be overturned and that Mrs Knaggs is entitled to the entire sum in her own right.
This reflected the true wishes of Ms Dyke, he said.
Justice Vickery said the inclusion of Mr Knaggs in the will was “inconsistent with her long-held dislike of him”.
At the time the will was made Ms Dyke was heavily dependent on Mrs Knaggs and because of this she fell under the influence of the couple.
“The influence became undue when both Denise Knaggs and Tim Knaggs became involved in the preparation of Betty Dyke’s 1999 will,” the judge said.
“The inclusion of Mr Knaggs as a beneficiary resulted directly from a telephone call made by Denise Knaggs to Betty Dyke’s solicitor a few days before she (Ms Dyke) signed the will.”
The judge found that the Allens and the Smiths did not engage in any conduct amounting to undue influence on Ms Dyke. AbridgedSOURCE: The Herald Sun, Australia--------------------------------------------------------------For those who are interested in the legal findings of the Supreme Court in this case, particularly with regards to "Capacity", "Undue Influence", and Onus of Proof --- Check out the Austlii Report.
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February 2, 2009
Exploit the Dead, Harm the Living - Pt. 1 (International)
Today’s grave robbers exploit the dead, harm the living
January 28th, 2009
21st Century Grave Robbers: Exploit the Dead, Harm the Living, Part 1
By Lou Ann Anderson
January 28, 2009
www.EstateofDenial.com
Inheritance rights are becoming an increasingly contentious issue here in the U.S. as growing numbers of Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA) cases surface. That is, efforts to divert assets (via wills, trusts or guardianships) in a manner contrary to the known wishes of a decedent or disabled/incapacitated person. This is not a problem confined to the U.S. as evidenced by Diarmuid Hannigan, an Australian businessman, whose book Lawyers or Grave Robbers? describes looting actions perpetrated on his late mother’s estate. These acts are often prompted by a disgruntled family member or wannabe heir, but they can also occur at the hand (or in concert) with an unscrupulous lawyer.
In a second part to this column, we’ll discuss perspectives on a legal system that Diarmuid Hannigan describes as “over the people, not for the people.” The impact on individual property rights and heirs’ rights of inheritance could be massive.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Lou Ann Anderson is an advocate working to create awareness (www.EstateofDenial.com) regarding the Texas probate system and its surrounding culture. She may be contacted at info@EstateofDenial.com
Source: Estate of Denial.com
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Lou Ann has been working hard in highlighting the abovementioned problems in the USA. She is absolutely correct in stating that the problem is not confined to the U.S. Please go to her site to read the full-text.
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January 20, 2009
Family Feud Contestants Seek Damages (WI. USA)
1/7/2009
By Kelly Holleran
A family fighting over an elder member's will has taken their battle to St. Clair County Circuit Court.
The child and grandchildren of James D. McDaniel argue his other child and grandchildren changed parts of the elder's will and forced McDaniel to make a will while he was not in the right mind capacity to do so.
In their suit, David McDaniel, James McDaniel's son, and grandchildren Jennifer Kay Emery and Melissa Mary McDaniel, also claim that Anita Metzker, James McDaniel's daughter, took $60,000 from his account before his death.
When James McDaniel died on Jan. 26, he was 79 years old and suffering from Alzheimer's, according to the complaint filed Jan. 5.
Before his death, James McDaniel executed a will on Dec. 1, 2003, and discussed his wishes to provide for both of his children equally with his son, daughter.
They are seeking the court reject the admission of the will to probate, invalidate the will, allow for James McDaniel's property to pass intestate equally to them and Metzker and her children, plus attorney's fees, costs and other relief the court deems appropriate.
They are also seeking actual damages in excess of $60,000 and unspecified punitive damages.
Abridged
SOURCE: Madison Record
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Dr. Cline’s legacy to be resolved in probate court
Beneficiaries contest 1/4 of local doctor’s will going to ‘clear thinkers’
BY HEATHER SCHAEFER
REGIONAL EDITOR
The revocable trust of a Northwoods medical pioneer is now the subject of a probate dispute.
The beneficiaries of a trust set up by Dr. Frances Cline are contesting the designation in her will that 23.4 percent of her estate be distributed to the International Association for Clear Thinking (I’ACT) if that association is “in existence” at the time of her death.
The beneficiaries claimed the term “in existence” actually means a “vibrant and active” existence and the I’ACT was “little more than a shell of its former self with no substantial, material or regular activities” when Cline died in November 2004.
In June 2008, Oneida County Circuit Judge Mark Mangerson ruled I’ACT should get its portion of the estate as Cline directed. According to court records, Mangerson deemed the association to be existence because it remains incorporated, maintains a library, receives orders for information and has assets of $150,000 to $200,000.
According to several health Web sites, the I’ACT “provides support for people interested in living their lives more effectively and satisfactorily using principles of clear thinking and self-counseling.”
Cline moved to Taylor Park Nursing Home in 1993 where she resided until her death on Nov. 27, 2004 at the age of 104.
© 2006 The Daily News WI USA
Abridged
Source: Rhinelander Daily News
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