Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse: Northshore 'Live' - Cooper's Corner
This sounds so familiar to me!
"spending down of disabled wards’ estates with guardian and legal fees; restricting family members from inquiring about their loved ones(s), and restricting family from visiting their loved one when concerns over the spending of the estate are raised to the court. "
[C]ourt-appointed guardians have the authority to make judgments about medical care, property, living arrangements, lifestyle and potentiall...
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
“Dancing Around the Beast”
Angela Woodhull is a private investigator who is not afraid to expose guardianship & conservatorship abuses. Something has to be done. It's all so very common & heartbreaking.~ Lark E. Kirkwood
She points out the need for reform. For example: "Increased court oversight regarding the selling of the “ward’s” home? Does this additional oversight inhibit The Beast? Not in the least. At the end of the day, the attorney is still paid whether the home of the “ward” was sold at fair market value or below market value and then laundered by the guardian and her friends."
And warns: "If someone decides tomorrow to file a guardianship proceeding upon you that you did not ask for, request, or even need, then you might find yourself having to spend your lifetime of savings on getting yourself OUT of that unwarranted guardianship."Reposted from Elder Abuse Help.Org:
-by-
Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D.
(licensed private investigator)
(352) 327-3665
(352) 682-9033
If you’re unfamiliar with the saying, “Dancing Around the Beast,” then perhaps a definition of that saying is where I should begin. Yet, according to a search in Almighty Google,
there is no definition for “Dancing Around the Beast.” Likewise, a few books on colloquialisms does not produce any reference to “Dancing Around the Beast.”
Okay. We all know what it means. It’s the “elephant in the room” Or put another way, it’s “skirting the issue.” It’s talking about a “problem” and addressing all of the peripheral issues but never tackling “the problem,” better known as The Beast.
You may be asking, “Well, who is the Beast?” And if you haven’t guessed by now, The Beast, by all means, are attorneys—the primary vultures when you or your loved
one have been placed under an involuntary, predatory guardianship.
What can be done about the Beast?
Those of us who are Civil Rights Guardianship Reform Activists have done several things to confront the Beast.
We’ve:
· Gone to court
· Hired attorneys to fight the Beast (other attorneys)
· Contacted law enforcement (to no avail)
· And, finally, contacted our local legislators, crying, “You need to change the laws! We need guardianship legislative reform!!”
Guardianship Attorneys Are “The Beast”
In a nutshell, The “Beast” is predatory guardianship attorneys who set off to covert all of your assets into attorneys’ fees. And as we saw in the Marie Long case, it doesn’t take long for a team of vulcher-like guardianship attorneys to deplete a $1.3 million estate leaving the victim subsiding on welfare and Medicaid. The “solution”, from public outcry in Arizona, was to demand legislative reform. But that main goal was quickly forgotten.
HR2424 quickly evolved into a pro-guardianship bill.
As guardianship victims go round and round from legislator’s office to legislator’s office looking ways to reform the law, everything is address except for The Beast. Take a look at some of the reforms that all of our efforts have gotten us so far:
· New Law, state of Washington: A guardianship should only be commenced with “clear and convincing evidence.”
The Beast doesn’t care about this law. This law will not stop The Beast. Why? Because there are always medical professionals who will write reports of “clear and convincing evidence” so that a guardianship can be commenced upon anyone.
Take the case of Debra Skulls, for example. When her mother died, she inherited about $250,000.00 and thought she would move in with her brother and his wife. But Skull’s sister-in-law did not like that plan. The solution? Skull was declared by “clear and convincing evidence” mentally incompetent placed under the “care” of a professional guardian who allowed Skull to live in a filthy half way house in the downtown Miami area while Skull’s “guardian” and the guardian’s attorney feasted for two years on Skull’s inheritance. When the $250,000.00 was completely spent, Skull was found by “clear and convincing evidence” to be re-capacitated. Yep. As soon as the guardian and her attorneys spent all of Skull’s money, they found three medical doctors to say that Skull no longer needs a guardian. The Beast therefore continues his dance.
· New California law: Professional guardians are now “monitored” once every two years. Does The Beast care about this law? Not in the least. The Beast will continue to rake up exorbitant attorney’s fees while, at the same time, a new industry has been created—private companies that are hired to monitor professional guardians! And guess who pays for this new level of investigation—The Ward! So, meanwhile, The Beast will continue to happily dance.
Let’s take a look at other passed legislation:
California Bill AB 1363--Enhances court review & expands duties of court investigators
(This bill dances around The Beast by adding another layer to the problem. The court investigators may find that an attorney charged $375 for an item that the court should have paid only $350 for. Therefore, the “Beast” still gets to devour the assets of the elderly person, but it may take a little longer.)
In fact, any of the following bills simply “dances around the beast”:
California SB 1116--Increases court oversight of ward moves & sale of
home.
California SB 1550 --Establishes licensing & disciplinary scheme for
professional fiduciaries.
California SB 1716-- Allows court to take action in response to informal
ex parte complaints & communications.
Florida HB 457-- Enacts recommendations of Guardianship Task
Force.
Florida HB 191-- Enacts amendments concerning less restrictive
alternatives, guardian modification of ward trusts, and court monitors.
because the end result, at the end of the day, is that no one is monitoring or examining The Beast.
The Beast Continues—Unfettered--Despite Any and All
Guardianship Reform Legislation
Does The Beast really care if there is:
· A Guardianship Task Force? (The Guardianship Task force compiled a “report” in 2006. Did this report inhibit the Beast? Not in the least.)
· Increased court oversight regarding the selling of the “ward’s” home? (Does this additional oversight inhibit The Beast? Not in the least. At the end of the day, the attorney is still paid whether the home of the “ward” was sold at fair market value or below market value and then laundered by the guardian and her friends.)
· Increased licensing requirements of professional guardians
(No. At the end of the day, the Beast is still turning in exorbitant fees that the Judge is rubber stamping. It’s just “another day in court” for The Beast.)
And yet another new law was just passed in the state of Kentucky regarding “financial exploitation” of the elderly. Does it sound like a beneficial law that will prompt an investigation of attorneys who convert nearly the entire estate of a “ward” into attorneys’ fees? Of course it does! But what the new Financial Fraud Act of Kentucky actually accomplish? Incredibly, it states is that if a named heir has ever been convicted of a felony, the heir cannot become a guardian or collect his or her share of the estate!
The new Financial Fraud Act of Kentucky actually benefits professional guardians and their attorneys by making it easier for them to exploit the elderly. Once again, The Beast dances away.
HR 2424—
Most recently, in the state of Arizona, Representative David Smith (R) stopped dancing around the Beast and decided to tackle the Beast directly with HR 2424 which, in its original form, stated that attorneys would be limited to taking only $10,000.00 in fees to defend a challenged guardianship. Guardianship associations, however, quickly opposed the bill, and instead introduced their own bill that gives more power and authority to professional guardians. HR 2424 was soon almost dead in the water and instead incorporated into a pro-guardian bill that, of course,eliminated the $10,000.00 cap of attorneys’ fees.
The Beast—at this point—is so experienced at circumventing guardianship legislative reform that you’ll soon see him on Dancing with the Stars.
California Reform of Financial Exploitation of the Elderly and Nursing Home Abuse (CANHR)
Which led me to stumble upon the California Reform of Financial Exploitation of the Elderly and Nursing Home Abuse non-profit organization in California. “Now here is something exciting!” I thought! “An organization that is actually addressing attorneys financially exploiting the elderly!” I couldn’t wait to speak with the director, Pat McGinnis, who claimed in a brief phone conversation with me, that she’s been “fighting the fight” for 27 years. Even though nothing much has been accomplished, according to McGinnis, at least she’s been out there writing grants and her staff attorneys address the California legislature on a regular basis. It was Don Quixote with a law degree and I wanted to speak with him.
Prescott Cole, Staff Attorney, California Reform of Financial Exploitation of the Elderly and Nursing Home Abuse (CANHR)
When I received a call back from CANHR staff attorney, Prescott Cole, I was eager to see what he would suggest as far as authoring legislation that would kill the Beast, or at least tame him dramatically.
I asked Cole, “If I am an elderly person, and my daughter and a professional guardian are battling over whether or not I should be placed under guardianship, why should I be paying for this?”
But Cole had no answer for me. Even though he specializes in “financial exploitation” of the elderly, his investigations into legislative reform never include examining the Beast. Instead,
Cole is the Attorney White Knight who investigates fraudulent insurance companies and shady “reverse mortgage” schemes.
But when I suggested that attorneys are exploiting the elderly by converting a lifetime of savings into attorneys’ fees, this was not a subject that Mr. Cole was interested in pursuing in the least.
The Beast dances again.
Cole suggested that I speak with yet another attorney at CANHR who specializes in guardianship reform.
Alas! I would be put in touch with the “right person” who could tame the Beast!
Disturbing Phone Conversation with Staff Attorney Tony Chicatelle, CANHR
I explained to Chicatelle that I was looking for legislation, similar to what had died in the water in Arizona, where attorneys could be paid no more than a “mere” $10,000.00 in attorneys’ fees for “defending” a guardianship, using the “ward’s” money.
I told him that Norman Lawson, head of the Kentucky Legislative Judicial Committee, stated that there could be a bill that simply states that the “’ward’s’ funds cannot be used for the criminal or civil defense of a guardianship.” End of story.
Chicatelle, however, felt that would be a terrible bill.
And why is that? Because, Chicatelle, in his capacity as the attorney for a non-profit organization, actually is hired to get people out of unnecessary guardianships. “Capping attorneys’ fees,” Chicatelle stated, “would provide a disincentive to fully litigate their rights.”
Yes, you heard me correctly.
So, if someone decides tomorrow to file a guardianship proceeding upon you that you did not ask for, request, or even need, then you might find yourself having to spend your lifetime of savings on getting yourself OUT of that unwarranted guardianship.
Chicatelle, the non-profit extraordinaire, saw absolutely nothing wrong or out of the ordinary with this scenario. Said Chicatelle, “It’s no different that anyone suing you over anything. I can start a frivolous lawsuit over anything on you and you’ll have to spend money to defend yourself. Or, if you are charge with a crime, you’ll have to hire an attorney to defend yourself.”
Chicatelle added, “My freedom means enough to me that if I had to spend my entire lifetime’s savings to get out of a guardianship, I’d do it.”
Chicatelle saw nothing wrong with this scene, which, in actuality, amounts to, more or less, a legalized form of kidnapping and ransom. After all, he is the “non-profit guy” trying to get you “out” of the guardianship that you shouldn’t have ever been placed under in the first place. And so, The Beast continues, dancing away, unfettered.
*****************
Tomorrow is another day. There will be other civil rights guardianship reform advocates calling up legislators and visiting their 22-year-old legislative side kicks, their eyes glazed over as they feign interest in the subject matter of guardianship reform. There will even be a smitten of legislators taking their own phone calls, some vowing to “’reform’ the guardianship laws.” Some will get a bill or two passed, and there will be a new “tightening” on the restraints of what professional guardians can and cannot do. But the “dance around the beast” will remain, unaddressed.
And the Beast will continue his dance—unfettered--until the federal government seriously steps in and takes the Fourteenth Amendment (life, liberty, and property cannot be removed without due process) seriously. Converting one’s entire lifetime of savings into attorneys’ fees is the dancing beast that needs to be seriously addressed by our federal legislators.
**********************************
Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D.
licensed private investigator
(352) 327-3665
(352) 682-9033
Friday, April 29, 2011
Music Has Power
The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, a member of the Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) agency founded in 1995 to restore, maintain and improve people's physical, emotional and neurologic functioning through the systematic use of music. For more information, visit www.imnf.org or call (718) 519-5840.
Music Memory and the Mind
Opera star Deborah Voight performs for Alzheimer's patients. Discussion follows with Oliver Sacks and other Neuroscientists.
Oliver Sacks - Musicophilia - Alzheimer's/The Power of Music
Oliver Sacks talks about Alzheimer's and the power of music.
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400033539
iPods for Alzheimer's
Based on 30 years of clinical experience, the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), a leader in research and clinical music therapy programs for persons with Alzheimer's and dementia, has partnered with Music and Memory.org to launch the Well-Tuned: Music Players for Health iPod Program to allow Alzheimer's patients to access the benefits of therapeutic music remotely.
Through the Well-Tuned: Music Players for Health program, IMNF music therapists and other specialists work with family members and caregivers to create a customized list of music, specifically tailored for the individual with Alzheimer's. The music is then loaded onto an iPod and listened to in order to stabilize mood, reduce tension and improve overall quality of life. The program is customized for individuals, nursing homes and community-based programs. It's an easy and affordable way to bring therapeutic music programming anywhere. More info on the Well-Tuned: Music Players for Health program can be found at http://www.bethabe.org/Top_10s_for_Memory327.html.
What it Means to "Guard" & "Conserve"
From: National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse
The purpose of the law - known both as guardianship and conservatorship is to “GUARD” and “CONSERVE”
* To GUARD “incapacitated” or “incompetent” people from harming
themselves
* To CONSERVE their assets and property; and
* To prevent them from becoming a “public charge.”
BUT SOMETHING’S GONE TERRIBLY WRONG!
Over the years, a growing uncaring and unjust judicial system has helped convert guardianship/conservatorship from an appropriate law to one which, if misused, is damaging to the general public. At present, it operates to ensnare the most vulnerable people in a larger and larger trawling net, now including those merely physically "incapacitated"! It has become a feeding trough for unethical lawyers and other "fiduciaries" appointed by the courts to protect, but many of whom become nothing more than predators.
Wards, instead of being protected by the system, are victimized by it. Strangers are given total and absolute control of life, liberty, and property of their wards. Wards of the state lose all rights involving self-determination, including:
• the right to contract, including the right to choose a lawyer;
• the right to control their assets and make financial decisions;
• the right to remain in their own home and protect it from sale;
• the right to protect and enjoy their personal property;
• the right to choose where to live;
• the right to accept or refuse medical treatment, including psychotropic drugs;
• the right to decide their social environments and contacts;
• the right to assure prompt payment of taxes and liabilities;
• the right to vote;
• the right to drive;
• the right to marry; and
• the right to complain.
After being stripped of all their rights, wards are left defenseless and subject to exploitation by the very people chosen to protect them; they are now invisible and voiceless.
Uncaring/corrupt judges misuse the law and engage in blatant due process, civil/human rights violations. Victims aren’t always given notice of hearings at which their competence will be adjudicated, aren’t always allowed to attend, and often don’t have lawyers. If the court does appoint lawyers, often they are too closely affiliated with other professionals who make their living in this special area; and do not properly represent the victims’ interests. Corrupt judges do not apply the required evidentiary standards in making adjudications of incompetency, and frequently fail to obey the protective statutes, or include specific findings of fact.
Homes are sold to insiders at below market! Contents - family heirlooms, jewelry, photographs, etc. - disappear, either stolen outright or sold at auction. Estate assets are rapidly paid out to the fiduciaries in exorbitant "fees" and "commissions" until there is nothing left!
“Fiduciaries” are given power of life and death, burying their wards in nursing homes where they are kept chemically restrained with unnecessary and dangerous drugs; family members are denied any say in their care, and sometimes denied visitation, except under guard at their own expense!
Hard to believe this is happening in America? Believe it!
AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE COURT-APPOINTED FIDUCIARIES TAKE EVERYTHING AND LEAVE THEIR WARDS WITH NOTHING? A shocking twist: the American Taxpayer, whom these statutes are supposed to protect, is actually now PAYING THE TAB FOR THEIR CONTINUED LIFELONG CARE UNDER MEDICAID while the people who are "licensed to steal" enjoy their unearned and unjust enrichment. INSTEAD OF PROTECTING THE PUBLIC INTEREST, GUARDIANSHIP HAS INDEED BECOME A BURDEN TO THE TAXPAYER!… an extremely ironic, costly, and appalling consequence of a good law gone bad! Some fiduciaries claim that what they're doing (while filling their pockets) is to "spend down" the assets specifically to qualify the ward for Medicaid! No way!!! That's not what the law intended!
The purpose of the law - known both as guardianship and conservatorship is to “GUARD” and “CONSERVE”
* To GUARD “incapacitated” or “incompetent” people from harming
themselves
* To CONSERVE their assets and property; and
* To prevent them from becoming a “public charge.”
BUT SOMETHING’S GONE TERRIBLY WRONG!
Over the years, a growing uncaring and unjust judicial system has helped convert guardianship/conservatorship from an appropriate law to one which, if misused, is damaging to the general public. At present, it operates to ensnare the most vulnerable people in a larger and larger trawling net, now including those merely physically "incapacitated"! It has become a feeding trough for unethical lawyers and other "fiduciaries" appointed by the courts to protect, but many of whom become nothing more than predators.
Wards, instead of being protected by the system, are victimized by it. Strangers are given total and absolute control of life, liberty, and property of their wards. Wards of the state lose all rights involving self-determination, including:
• the right to contract, including the right to choose a lawyer;
• the right to control their assets and make financial decisions;
• the right to remain in their own home and protect it from sale;
• the right to protect and enjoy their personal property;
• the right to choose where to live;
• the right to accept or refuse medical treatment, including psychotropic drugs;
• the right to decide their social environments and contacts;
• the right to assure prompt payment of taxes and liabilities;
• the right to vote;
• the right to drive;
• the right to marry; and
• the right to complain.
After being stripped of all their rights, wards are left defenseless and subject to exploitation by the very people chosen to protect them; they are now invisible and voiceless.
Uncaring/corrupt judges misuse the law and engage in blatant due process, civil/human rights violations. Victims aren’t always given notice of hearings at which their competence will be adjudicated, aren’t always allowed to attend, and often don’t have lawyers. If the court does appoint lawyers, often they are too closely affiliated with other professionals who make their living in this special area; and do not properly represent the victims’ interests. Corrupt judges do not apply the required evidentiary standards in making adjudications of incompetency, and frequently fail to obey the protective statutes, or include specific findings of fact.
Homes are sold to insiders at below market! Contents - family heirlooms, jewelry, photographs, etc. - disappear, either stolen outright or sold at auction. Estate assets are rapidly paid out to the fiduciaries in exorbitant "fees" and "commissions" until there is nothing left!
“Fiduciaries” are given power of life and death, burying their wards in nursing homes where they are kept chemically restrained with unnecessary and dangerous drugs; family members are denied any say in their care, and sometimes denied visitation, except under guard at their own expense!
Hard to believe this is happening in America? Believe it!
AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE COURT-APPOINTED FIDUCIARIES TAKE EVERYTHING AND LEAVE THEIR WARDS WITH NOTHING? A shocking twist: the American Taxpayer, whom these statutes are supposed to protect, is actually now PAYING THE TAB FOR THEIR CONTINUED LIFELONG CARE UNDER MEDICAID while the people who are "licensed to steal" enjoy their unearned and unjust enrichment. INSTEAD OF PROTECTING THE PUBLIC INTEREST, GUARDIANSHIP HAS INDEED BECOME A BURDEN TO THE TAXPAYER!… an extremely ironic, costly, and appalling consequence of a good law gone bad! Some fiduciaries claim that what they're doing (while filling their pockets) is to "spend down" the assets specifically to qualify the ward for Medicaid! No way!!! That's not what the law intended!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Music Training May Help Keep Aging Brain Healthy >> Caring.com
Reposted from:
Caring.com
MONDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Music lessons may help keep the brain healthy as people grow older, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center divided 70 healthy adults, ages 60 to 83, into three groups based on their amount of musical experience: no musical training, one to nine years of music lessons, and at least 10 years of musical study.
More than half of those with a music background studied piano, about one-quarter played woodwind instruments such as the flute or clarinet, and others played string instruments, percussion or brass instruments.
The participants -- who had similar fitness and education levels and were free of Alzheimer's disease -- were given several cognitive tests. Those with the greatest amount of musical experience did best on these tests of mental acuity, followed by those with less musical study and those who never took music lessons.
Compared to non-musicians, the people with a high degree of musical experience had much higher scores on the cognitive tests, including those related to visuospatial memory, naming objects, and the brain's ability to adapt to new information (cognitive flexibility).
The benefits of musical study were still apparent even in those who no longer played an instrument, the researchers said.
The study appears online in the journal Neuropsychology.
"Musical activity throughout life may serve as a challenging cognitive exercise, making your brain fitter and more capable of accommodating the challenges of aging," lead researcher Brenda Hanna-Pladdy said in a journal news release.
Hanna-Pladdy, now an assistant professor in neurology at Emory University School of Medicine, added, "Since studying an instrument requires years of practice and learning, it may create alternate connections in the brain that could compensate for cognitive declines as we get older."
The Society for Neuroscience outlines ways to keep your brain healthy as you age.
SOURCE: Neuropsychology, news release, April 20, 2011
Copyright ©2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Caring.com
MONDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Music lessons may help keep the brain healthy as people grow older, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center divided 70 healthy adults, ages 60 to 83, into three groups based on their amount of musical experience: no musical training, one to nine years of music lessons, and at least 10 years of musical study.
More than half of those with a music background studied piano, about one-quarter played woodwind instruments such as the flute or clarinet, and others played string instruments, percussion or brass instruments.
The participants -- who had similar fitness and education levels and were free of Alzheimer's disease -- were given several cognitive tests. Those with the greatest amount of musical experience did best on these tests of mental acuity, followed by those with less musical study and those who never took music lessons.
Compared to non-musicians, the people with a high degree of musical experience had much higher scores on the cognitive tests, including those related to visuospatial memory, naming objects, and the brain's ability to adapt to new information (cognitive flexibility).
The benefits of musical study were still apparent even in those who no longer played an instrument, the researchers said.
The study appears online in the journal Neuropsychology.
"Musical activity throughout life may serve as a challenging cognitive exercise, making your brain fitter and more capable of accommodating the challenges of aging," lead researcher Brenda Hanna-Pladdy said in a journal news release.
Hanna-Pladdy, now an assistant professor in neurology at Emory University School of Medicine, added, "Since studying an instrument requires years of practice and learning, it may create alternate connections in the brain that could compensate for cognitive declines as we get older."
The Society for Neuroscience outlines ways to keep your brain healthy as you age.
SOURCE: Neuropsychology, news release, April 20, 2011
Copyright ©2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Music & Aging Quote
Image by all that improbable blue via Flickr"Musical activity throughout life may serve as a challenging cognitive exercise, making your brain fitter and more capable of accommodating the challenges of aging." - Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist
Friday, April 22, 2011
Keeping The Love Alive: The Power of "I Love You" from The Alzheimer's Reading Room
A repost from The Alzheimer's Reading Room.
Keeping The Love Alive: The Power of "I Love You"
We didn't.
My mom and I were never close. That changed when I hit my mid-forties. I don't generally select the normal route through life, but my experiences caused me to go with the flow. I had my very own mid-life crisis. I decided to challenge my mom to fully step into the role of mom to help me through it. Her life experiences had deeply damaged her, and I'd been cautioned by her parents and her brothers to not put any pressure on her to do more than she did.
My mom and I were never close. That changed when I hit my mid-forties. I don't generally select the normal route through life, but my experiences caused me to go with the flow. I had my very own mid-life crisis. I decided to challenge my mom to fully step into the role of mom to help me through it. Her life experiences had deeply damaged her, and I'd been cautioned by her parents and her brothers to not put any pressure on her to do more than she did.
Well, her parents were now dead. So was her younger brother. Her older brother lived thousands of miles away. What did I have to lose"
I told her, "Mom, I'm going through a tough time and I need a mom. The family has always taught me not to put pressure on you. They told me you were a porcelain doll. They're dead now. You're still here. That tells me something important. I think you can handle it now. Will you be my mom and help me?"
Bless her, she stepped up to the challenge. We gradually formed a close bond with each other, made that much sweeter because it took over forty years to develop.
I decided, only forty-three years into our relationship, that it was time for us to say "I love you" to each other. The words awkwardly rolled off my tongue the first few times I said them to her. You'd think I was speaking a foreign language. I was. I didn't ask her to do it, but she eventually began to say the words back to me.
Wow, that felt weird. We'd never done that before. But the more we said it to each other, the better it felt to me. We got into the habit of ending each phone conversation by saying "I love you." It took her longer than it took me for it to feel good to her, but after enough time passed, I felt the happiness in her voice when she said it back to me. When we saw each other, we'd say it before we went to sleep. We got used to ending our days saying it to each other. It felt wonderful to finally have that kind of relationship with my mom, that we could say those powerful words to each other.
Then she fell.
My mom's head injury made her different.
She'd still say "I love you" to me, but the words now carried more fear than love. "I love you" now meant "Will you still be there for me, even though we both know I'm not what I used to be?"
No problem. True love never dies.
The head injury triggered the onset of dementia.
We'd still say the words to each other each day. We both needed to hear them, and we both needed to say them.
When I was no longer able to care for her, I said the words more often to her. Thank you, guilt.
I wanted her to know I still loved her even though I was unable to give her the care she now needed. It was so hard for me to hand her over to the care of strangers, even though I knew it was the right thing for both of us. The only words I now had to connect our hearts was "I love you." She always said it back to me. I knew she didn't judge me for what I was unable to do, even though I judged myself.
When she moved into the memory care unit at the assisted living facility, I made a point of saying the words at the end of each conversation. I'd have to say them louder now. There were constant distractions around her. It was hard for her to stay focused on what I was saying.
Her dementia and related conditions were slowly getting worse. Her deterioration never got in the way of our saying the words to each other. I'd walk into the living room at her facility to visit with her. Her eyes sparkled, and a big smile brightened her face when she saw me. She'd call out my name with the greatest joy. "SHERYL!!!!!"
Her love for me warmed all who saw us together. She'd become so loving when the clouds created by the illness parted to allow her true self to show through. After a lifetime of being afraid of being hurt by opening her heart to love, she radiated love.
On February 9 of this year, I got the phone call I knew would eventually come. The nurse at the facility told me my mom was dying and asked what decisions I wanted to make for end of life care. Her doctor, her nurse and I decided to keep her as comfortable as possible in her own bed. Hospice showed up within a few hours. They provided her with magnificent care. The staff loved my mom. They grieved her imminent death along with me and gave her beautiful support during her final days.
I drove way over the speed limit to get to her in time. I called her facility while I was driving to her. The nurse held her cell phone to my mom's ear so I could ask her to hold on if she possibly could, that I was on my way, that I loved her so much. The nurse said my mom smiled when she heard my voice, and her smile got bigger when I said "I love you." By the time I got to her, she was in a coma. I held her hand, saying everything I wanted to say to her during the next days. I'd wanted a two-way conversation. I'd wanted to hear her say "I love you" to me one more time. That didn't happen.
I knew she heard me, and I knew she knew I was there. She fluttered her eyelids when I spoke. One time, she sat upright in bed when I came to visit. I brought valentines each day and read them aloud to her. I knew this would be the last Valentine's Day we'd have together and wanted her to know how much I loved her.
I brought her colorful balloons that said "Happy Valentine's Day" and "I Love You" on them. My spiritual sister, who suddenly passed away five weeks after my mom, had suggested I get myself some balloons before my mom became ill. I brought those balloons with me. They floated to the ceiling, symbols of my love to stay with my mom when I was away from her bedside.
She passed away on February 13. The funeral and burial, in keeping with Jewish tradition, took place the next day. Valentine's Day.
I didn't get a chance to thank all her caregivers after she passed away. They treated her with the love and respect I'd wanted for her. One of her caregivers, a beautiful young woman named Penny, was on duty when I called about a month ago. Penny knew how difficult it was for me to be away from my mom for financial reasons. She'd left her family in Africa to move to America to make money to send home.
I thanked Penny for all she'd done to help my mom. I told her she was one of my mom's favorites and that I felt a special connection with her as well.
And Penny gave me a great and unexpected gift. She read my mind, and she read my heart.
She said, "Your mother knew how much you loved her. She always said to me, 'I know Sheryl loves me because she always says it to me when she gets off the phone."
My mom was unable to speak these words to me at the end of her life. Thank God that Penny could.
Never underestimate the power of saying "I love you" to your loved ones, with or without dementia.
Sheryl Lynn is the author of the upcoming book "The Light Is A Thank You," which chronicles the spiritual journey through dementia she has taken with her mother, Eleanor. She is the host of "Glow With The Flow Radio Show," currently on hiatus.
Keeping The Love Alive: The Power of "I Love You"
When I was growing up, my parents and I never said "I love you" to each other. Some families say things like "I love you" to each other. Some families don't...
Sheryl Lynn
Alzheimer's Reading Room
We didn't.
My mom and I were never close. That changed when I hit my mid-forties. I don't generally select the normal route through life, but my experiences caused me to go with the flow. I had my very own mid-life crisis. I decided to challenge my mom to fully step into the role of mom to help me through it. Her life experiences had deeply damaged her, and I'd been cautioned by her parents and her brothers to not put any pressure on her to do more than she did.
My mom and I were never close. That changed when I hit my mid-forties. I don't generally select the normal route through life, but my experiences caused me to go with the flow. I had my very own mid-life crisis. I decided to challenge my mom to fully step into the role of mom to help me through it. Her life experiences had deeply damaged her, and I'd been cautioned by her parents and her brothers to not put any pressure on her to do more than she did.
Well, her parents were now dead. So was her younger brother. Her older brother lived thousands of miles away. What did I have to lose"
I told her, "Mom, I'm going through a tough time and I need a mom. The family has always taught me not to put pressure on you. They told me you were a porcelain doll. They're dead now. You're still here. That tells me something important. I think you can handle it now. Will you be my mom and help me?"
Bless her, she stepped up to the challenge. We gradually formed a close bond with each other, made that much sweeter because it took over forty years to develop.
I decided, only forty-three years into our relationship, that it was time for us to say "I love you" to each other. The words awkwardly rolled off my tongue the first few times I said them to her. You'd think I was speaking a foreign language. I was. I didn't ask her to do it, but she eventually began to say the words back to me.
Wow, that felt weird. We'd never done that before. But the more we said it to each other, the better it felt to me. We got into the habit of ending each phone conversation by saying "I love you." It took her longer than it took me for it to feel good to her, but after enough time passed, I felt the happiness in her voice when she said it back to me. When we saw each other, we'd say it before we went to sleep. We got used to ending our days saying it to each other. It felt wonderful to finally have that kind of relationship with my mom, that we could say those powerful words to each other.
Then she fell.
My mom's head injury made her different.
She'd still say "I love you" to me, but the words now carried more fear than love. "I love you" now meant "Will you still be there for me, even though we both know I'm not what I used to be?"
No problem. True love never dies.
The head injury triggered the onset of dementia.
We'd still say the words to each other each day. We both needed to hear them, and we both needed to say them.
When I was no longer able to care for her, I said the words more often to her. Thank you, guilt.
I wanted her to know I still loved her even though I was unable to give her the care she now needed. It was so hard for me to hand her over to the care of strangers, even though I knew it was the right thing for both of us. The only words I now had to connect our hearts was "I love you." She always said it back to me. I knew she didn't judge me for what I was unable to do, even though I judged myself.
When she moved into the memory care unit at the assisted living facility, I made a point of saying the words at the end of each conversation. I'd have to say them louder now. There were constant distractions around her. It was hard for her to stay focused on what I was saying.
Her dementia and related conditions were slowly getting worse. Her deterioration never got in the way of our saying the words to each other. I'd walk into the living room at her facility to visit with her. Her eyes sparkled, and a big smile brightened her face when she saw me. She'd call out my name with the greatest joy. "SHERYL!!!!!"
Her love for me warmed all who saw us together. She'd become so loving when the clouds created by the illness parted to allow her true self to show through. After a lifetime of being afraid of being hurt by opening her heart to love, she radiated love.
On February 9 of this year, I got the phone call I knew would eventually come. The nurse at the facility told me my mom was dying and asked what decisions I wanted to make for end of life care. Her doctor, her nurse and I decided to keep her as comfortable as possible in her own bed. Hospice showed up within a few hours. They provided her with magnificent care. The staff loved my mom. They grieved her imminent death along with me and gave her beautiful support during her final days.
I drove way over the speed limit to get to her in time. I called her facility while I was driving to her. The nurse held her cell phone to my mom's ear so I could ask her to hold on if she possibly could, that I was on my way, that I loved her so much. The nurse said my mom smiled when she heard my voice, and her smile got bigger when I said "I love you." By the time I got to her, she was in a coma. I held her hand, saying everything I wanted to say to her during the next days. I'd wanted a two-way conversation. I'd wanted to hear her say "I love you" to me one more time. That didn't happen.
I knew she heard me, and I knew she knew I was there. She fluttered her eyelids when I spoke. One time, she sat upright in bed when I came to visit. I brought valentines each day and read them aloud to her. I knew this would be the last Valentine's Day we'd have together and wanted her to know how much I loved her.
I brought her colorful balloons that said "Happy Valentine's Day" and "I Love You" on them. My spiritual sister, who suddenly passed away five weeks after my mom, had suggested I get myself some balloons before my mom became ill. I brought those balloons with me. They floated to the ceiling, symbols of my love to stay with my mom when I was away from her bedside.
She passed away on February 13. The funeral and burial, in keeping with Jewish tradition, took place the next day. Valentine's Day.
I didn't get a chance to thank all her caregivers after she passed away. They treated her with the love and respect I'd wanted for her. One of her caregivers, a beautiful young woman named Penny, was on duty when I called about a month ago. Penny knew how difficult it was for me to be away from my mom for financial reasons. She'd left her family in Africa to move to America to make money to send home.
I thanked Penny for all she'd done to help my mom. I told her she was one of my mom's favorites and that I felt a special connection with her as well.
And Penny gave me a great and unexpected gift. She read my mind, and she read my heart.
She said, "Your mother knew how much you loved her. She always said to me, 'I know Sheryl loves me because she always says it to me when she gets off the phone."
My mom was unable to speak these words to me at the end of her life. Thank God that Penny could.
Never underestimate the power of saying "I love you" to your loved ones, with or without dementia.
Sheryl Lynn is the author of the upcoming book "The Light Is A Thank You," which chronicles the spiritual journey through dementia she has taken with her mother, Eleanor. She is the host of "Glow With The Flow Radio Show," currently on hiatus.
Strategies To Help Ease Communication Struggles
Repost from
Ability for Life
Alzheimer’s Disease and Communication Strategies to help ease Communication Struggles
Posted in Aging at Home on February 8, 2011 by Kathy
Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia often make communication attempts downright depressing. With short-term memory loss, it can become painful to connect with someone who seems ‘not there.’ However: there are strategies and tools that can turn darkness into light. What it often takes is a change of attitude, perspective and expectations on the part of the family.
The Alzheimer’s Reading Room gives 10 tips for communicating with Alzheimer’s patients, including: “Keep an even and upbeat tone: As other senses diminish, Alzheimer’s patients are hyper tuned into emotions and may mirror yours if you’re impatient, upset, anxious or angry.”
The Alzheimer’s patient often asks the same question. Over and over. Consider note-writing to make this less stressful for both of you. Yes, a simple ‘text message’ on paper can relieve the burden of short-term memory loss. A Parade Magazine article shows the positive effect of literally writing answers to questions that get asked a million times and giving them to the patient.
Doing something that gives purpose is a universal need, and can make a huge difference in connecting and communicating with Alzheimer’s patients. Purpose takes many forms, as care-giver Tina Murphy illustrates in her creative solutions to her father in law’s need for ‘purpose’.
Creativity is a wonderful outlet that gives purpose and provides a mechanism for communicating:the DVD I remember better when I paint shows the power of creative expression bypassing limitations. A doctor reminds us: before children can properly express their feelings in words, artwork can speak for them. Another organization, Artists for Alzheimer’s is dedicated to the impact of the arts while Music Therapist, Amy Clement Cortez uses music to communicate feelings and foster relationships.
Memory Bridge is devoted to finding and keeping the human inside the disease. Watch videos on the Memory Bridge Facebook page, and learn as Naomi Feil unlocks the person inside and communicates through touch, being in tune with physical ‘cues’ and a gospel song.
The Alzheimer’s Association “Principles for a Dignified Diagnosis of Dementia” includes a reminder that “Alzheimer’s is a journey, not a destination.“
Take away:
Meet the Alzheimer’s patient where ‘they’ are: don’t argue or try to convince them
Remember: it’s worse for them than for you
There’s still a person locked inside
Christina Pochmursky TV Producer/Director, whose mother had Alzheimer’s said “Get over what you’re feeling. What they’re feeling is more important.”
I’ll welcome adding other communication strategies .
©Kathy Kastner
Ability for Life
Alzheimer’s Disease and Communication Strategies to help ease Communication Struggles
Posted in Aging at Home on February 8, 2011 by Kathy
Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia often make communication attempts downright depressing. With short-term memory loss, it can become painful to connect with someone who seems ‘not there.’ However: there are strategies and tools that can turn darkness into light. What it often takes is a change of attitude, perspective and expectations on the part of the family.
The Alzheimer’s Reading Room gives 10 tips for communicating with Alzheimer’s patients, including: “Keep an even and upbeat tone: As other senses diminish, Alzheimer’s patients are hyper tuned into emotions and may mirror yours if you’re impatient, upset, anxious or angry.”
The Alzheimer’s patient often asks the same question. Over and over. Consider note-writing to make this less stressful for both of you. Yes, a simple ‘text message’ on paper can relieve the burden of short-term memory loss. A Parade Magazine article shows the positive effect of literally writing answers to questions that get asked a million times and giving them to the patient.
Doing something that gives purpose is a universal need, and can make a huge difference in connecting and communicating with Alzheimer’s patients. Purpose takes many forms, as care-giver Tina Murphy illustrates in her creative solutions to her father in law’s need for ‘purpose’.
Creativity is a wonderful outlet that gives purpose and provides a mechanism for communicating:the DVD I remember better when I paint shows the power of creative expression bypassing limitations. A doctor reminds us: before children can properly express their feelings in words, artwork can speak for them. Another organization, Artists for Alzheimer’s is dedicated to the impact of the arts while Music Therapist, Amy Clement Cortez uses music to communicate feelings and foster relationships.
Memory Bridge is devoted to finding and keeping the human inside the disease. Watch videos on the Memory Bridge Facebook page, and learn as Naomi Feil unlocks the person inside and communicates through touch, being in tune with physical ‘cues’ and a gospel song.
The Alzheimer’s Association “Principles for a Dignified Diagnosis of Dementia” includes a reminder that “Alzheimer’s is a journey, not a destination.“
Take away:
Meet the Alzheimer’s patient where ‘they’ are: don’t argue or try to convince them
Remember: it’s worse for them than for you
There’s still a person locked inside
Christina Pochmursky TV Producer/Director, whose mother had Alzheimer’s said “Get over what you’re feeling. What they’re feeling is more important.”
I’ll welcome adding other communication strategies .
©Kathy Kastner
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Why worry about elder abuse?
Image by United Way of the Lower Mainland via Flickr"If you know 20 seniors, one of them is being abused."
~ testimony by Dr. Mark Lachs before the Senate Aging Committee
1 in 42 cases are reported.
Be the eyes, ears, and most of all, the VOICE!
Aging.Senate.gov
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Self Care for the Dementia and Alzheimer's Caregiver | Caring.com
"It's really important to pay attention to feedback from others," he says. Too often, it seems, observations – from a partner, a child, a sibling, a best friend – that a situation is less than stellar or that the person giving care is struggling are heard the wrong way by caregivers.Read the entire article here: Self Care for the Dementia and Alzheimer's Caregiver | Caring.com.
The natural response: Defensiveness! Anger! Hearing fightin' words!
The better response: Consider those words to be a gift, Robbins says. "View such comments as a kindness, that someone is being kind enough to give feedback, even if it sounds critical." And then, he adds: "Accept what you hear at face value and ask yourself what the person must have seen in order to say that."
Related Articles
- Alzheimer's Caregivers: The Sandwich Generation (webmd.com)
- Self Care for the Dementia and Alzheimer's Caregiver | Caring.com (larkkirkwood.wordpress.com)
- Survey Says Caregiving a Chance to Give Back (caregiving.com)
- Inspiring Caregiver Awards (circleofcarehomecare.wordpress.com)
- Families struggling with dementia salute Kleins' decision to go public with diagnosis (canada.com)
- Number of Alzheimer's Caregivers Is Increasing (webmd.com)
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Music aids Alzheimer's patients in remembering new information
Music aids Alzheimer's patients in remembering new information
Boston University Medical Center
Public release: 12-May-2010
Contact: Gina DiGravio
gina.digravio@bmc.org
617-638-8480
(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are better able to remember new verbal information when it is provided in the context of music even when compared to healthy, older adults. The findings, which currently appear on-line in Neuropsychologia, offer possible applications in treating and caring for patients with AD.
AD, the most common form of dementia, is characterized by a general, progressive decline in cognitive function that typically presents first as impaired episodic memory. The onset and rate of this decline tends to vary across cognitive domains, and some functions may be preferentially spared in patients with AD.
To determine whether music can enhance new learning of information, AD patients and healthy controls were presented with either the words spoken, or the lyrics sung with full musical accompaniment along with the printed lyrics on a computer screen. The participants were presented visually with the lyrics to 40 songs. Twenty of the song lyrics were accompanied by their corresponding sung recording and 20 were accompanied by their spoken recording.
After each presentation, participants were asked to indicate whether or not they were previously familiar with the song they had just heard. The BUSM researchers found accuracy was greater in the sung condition than in the spoken condition for AD patients but not for healthy older controls.
"Our results confirmed our hypothesis that patients with AD performed better on a task of recognition memory for the lyrics of songs when those lyrics were accompanied by a sung recording than when they were accompanied by a spoken recording," said senior author Brandon Ally, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology and director of Neuropsychology Research at the BUSM Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience. "However, contrary to our hypothesis, healthy older adults showed no such benefit of music, he added.
These results suggest a fundamental difference in the encoding and retrieval processes for musical versus nonmusical stimuli between patients with AD and healthy older adults. "Music processing encompasses a complex neural network that recruits from all areas of the brain, that are affected at a slower rate in AD compared to the areas of the brain typically associated with memory. Thus, stimuli accompanied by music and a sung recording may create a more robust association at encoding than do stimuli accompanied by only a spoken recording in patients with AD," explained Ally.
According to the researchers understanding the nature of musical processing and memory in patients with AD may allow the development of effective and comprehensive therapies for this increasingly prevalent disease.
This research was supported by National Institute on Aging.
Boston University Medical Center
Public release: 12-May-2010
Contact: Gina DiGravio
gina.digravio@bmc.org
617-638-8480
(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are better able to remember new verbal information when it is provided in the context of music even when compared to healthy, older adults. The findings, which currently appear on-line in Neuropsychologia, offer possible applications in treating and caring for patients with AD.
AD, the most common form of dementia, is characterized by a general, progressive decline in cognitive function that typically presents first as impaired episodic memory. The onset and rate of this decline tends to vary across cognitive domains, and some functions may be preferentially spared in patients with AD.
To determine whether music can enhance new learning of information, AD patients and healthy controls were presented with either the words spoken, or the lyrics sung with full musical accompaniment along with the printed lyrics on a computer screen. The participants were presented visually with the lyrics to 40 songs. Twenty of the song lyrics were accompanied by their corresponding sung recording and 20 were accompanied by their spoken recording.
After each presentation, participants were asked to indicate whether or not they were previously familiar with the song they had just heard. The BUSM researchers found accuracy was greater in the sung condition than in the spoken condition for AD patients but not for healthy older controls.
"Our results confirmed our hypothesis that patients with AD performed better on a task of recognition memory for the lyrics of songs when those lyrics were accompanied by a sung recording than when they were accompanied by a spoken recording," said senior author Brandon Ally, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology and director of Neuropsychology Research at the BUSM Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience. "However, contrary to our hypothesis, healthy older adults showed no such benefit of music, he added.
These results suggest a fundamental difference in the encoding and retrieval processes for musical versus nonmusical stimuli between patients with AD and healthy older adults. "Music processing encompasses a complex neural network that recruits from all areas of the brain, that are affected at a slower rate in AD compared to the areas of the brain typically associated with memory. Thus, stimuli accompanied by music and a sung recording may create a more robust association at encoding than do stimuli accompanied by only a spoken recording in patients with AD," explained Ally.
According to the researchers understanding the nature of musical processing and memory in patients with AD may allow the development of effective and comprehensive therapies for this increasingly prevalent disease.
This research was supported by National Institute on Aging.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Guardianship FAQs
Guardianship FAQs: "-by- Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D. © 2011, AV Woodhull
At least every couple of weeks, I receive a frantic call from a predatory guardianship victim—hoping, somehow, that I will have an answer for him or her.
Each time I receive one of these calls, I am torn up for hours afterwards.
I literally cry.
I have no answers for you. I am simply 100 yards down the road watching you walk the same path I/We have already walked.
Today was one such day. I spoke to the grandson of an 89-year-old woman who is being held hostage in a dungeon they call a nursing home.
She was removed from her grandson’s lovely home--based upon a false allegation. And even though he was cleared of all the allegations, a guardianship was commenced and continues.
That’s it. An allegation. I have stated before that these allegations need not be true.
The grandson wants only the best for his grandmother.
“Can I at least get the guardian to put her in a nicer nursing home?”
My answer to him: Probably not.
“Why not?”
Because the Guardianship Mafia is not about taking care of your grandmother. It’s about converting her money into attorneys’ fees.
“But I have a power of attorney! I’m the designated pre-need guardian! There’s Florida case law on this! I’m the one who’s supposed to be the guardian!! When will I be appointed the guardian so that my grandmother can come back home?”
My answer to him: When all of your grandmother’s money has been spent.
“But she has more than $400,000.00! They can’t spend all that!”
My answer to him: Yes, most of that $400,000.00 will be converted to
attorney’s fees—in less time than you can imagine.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! This can’t be real!!!”
My answer to him: [No answer. He is adjusting (or not adjusting) to the reality of the situation—something all guardianship victims have to go through.]
“What about the FBI! I’m going to call the FBI!!!”
My answer to him: Yes, we’ve all called the FBI.
“And what did they do?! This is so wrong! This is outrageous!”
Have you ever watched an accident in progress?
Seven years ago, I was part of an accident in progress. I came upon
black ice on the interstate and my brakes would not engage. As my vehicle
approached the accident scene, there was no way to stop the inevitable.
I was about to crash into Car Number Six and I was about to break my right leg in eight places.
There was no way to stop this reality.
The next time I receive a call from a victim, I will continue, as usual, to listen patiently.
I will empathize with you.
However, I cannot solve your situation.
I already know your questions, so here are the answers:
Q: Can you recommend a “good” attorney who will make this unnecessary guardianship stop?
A: No. There is no such thing as a “good attorney” who wants to end the nightmare that has been created for you and your loved one. All attorneys are paid out of the “ward’s” assets. This is like asking an oil company to stop drilling for oil. The only way an oil corporation will stop drilling for oil (in a particular area) is when they are certain that all the oil in that area has been depleted. Likewise, attorneys will stop the proceedings when all of your loved one’s money has been converted to attorneys’ fees.
Q. What government agency can I contact to make this unnecessary guardianship stop? It is so wrong!
A. There is no government agency who will listen to you. Your predecessors (i.e., fellow guardianship victims) have already called every government agency imaginable. Here’s a partial list of (government as well as non-government) agencies that have been already contacted on multiple occasions by a plethora of guardianship victims while your loved one is being held hostage in a marginal nursing home, overmedicated, and all of his or her money is being spent on attorneys’ fees:
--State Guardianship Offices
--National Guardianship Association
--Federal Bureau of Investigation
--State legislators
--Local Police
--Elder Abuse Hotline
--Agency for Health Care Administration
--Local Sheriffs Departments
--State Police
--Government Accountability Office
--State senators
--AARP
--ACTEC
--State attorneys offices
--Governors’ offices
--County attorneys offices
--Department of Children and Families
--Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Hotline
--Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation
--President Obama
--Government Accountability Office
--Judicial Qualification Commissions
--American Bar Association
--Local Bar Associations
--The Media (i.e., 20/20, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, local news channels, local news papers, national news papers, Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc., etc., etc.)
--Your congressman
(I, personally, can put a check mark next to each and all of the above. Most of us who are outspoken guardianship reform advocates have done the same—or even more.)
Q)But they accused me of things that are absolutely NOT TRUE!
A)Yes, I know that.
Q)When I prove that the allegations of financial exploitation are untrue, they’ll have to stop the guardianship, right?
A)No. They will continue asserting the false allegations and use it to continue the guardianship—even after you have proved your innocence. They will continue to say it is true—even if it’s not true.
Q)Well, I just don’t believe you. This is too preposterous to believe. I’m going to count on my attorney getting something done!
A)Okay. That’s fine. I’m sure I’ll be hearing back from you sometime in the near future—and thousands of dollars later.
Q)Then what should I do?
A)Join fellow/sister guardianship victims. Stop wasting your money on attorneys who are fighting the fight with local judges and courts of appeal. This is a NO WIN situation. The local judges and courts of appeal will gain you nothing except an empty bank account. There are three things we, as a group, are doing: (1) fighting for legislative reform, (2) speaking up and out—the more people you educate, the less likely the guardian and her attorneys will be able to do this, (the creation of websites are a good thing—expose the guardian, the judge, and the attorneys involved on the internet) (3) save what little money you have left and join us in a class action federal RICO lawsuit.
Q)But I really am innocent!
A)Yes, I know, and there’s a law enforcer who gives seminars to fellow police officers on “signs to look for” of people who are guilty of financial exploitation of the elderly. One of the “signs” is someone who says they are innocent. So, the more you say you are innocent to law enforcement, they will see this as a “red flag” of guilt. They are also taught in the seminar that elder exploiters always say, “But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!” By saying this, you are “proving” you are guilty!
Q)But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!
A)Yes! I believe you!!! But by the time the guardian and her attorneys are done with your loved one, he or she REALLY WILL BE “mentally incapacitated.” There are drugs that mimic dementia.
Q)But I was given a Power of Attorney!
A)Ah! More evidence of guilt! Anyone with a “power of attorney” is viewed as a manipulator and exploiter of the elderly!
Q)That makes no sense at all! What was my loved one supposed to do to protect herself and her assets if she didn’t give me such authority? She was trying to protect herself from the Bad Relatives!
A) Yes, I know that. But in the Guardianship Game, the Predatory Relatives become the Good Guys who team up with the Predatory Guardian and her attorneys, and, typically, the people who have been doing the most, (sacrificing their time and their life) are portrayed as the “Evil Ones.”
Q)So, when will this nightmare end??
A)I already answered that: When all the money has been spent/converted into
attorneys’ fees.*
*Exact quote of Attorney “Reverend” Anthony Nardella (attorney for “professional” “guardian” Rebecca “Fierle”) when we were leaving the courthouse after my mother was declared “100% mentally incompetent”—even though the video tapes we showed the judge showed just the opposite and the judge even stated, “I almost said the opposite” when asked if Louise A. Falvo is mentally incompetent.
As I passed “Reverend” Attorney Nardella, I said to him, “You are disgusting.”
He chuckled and replied, “We’re not finished with you yet.”
Angela Woodhull can be reached at :chachaangelina@yahoo.com
"
At least every couple of weeks, I receive a frantic call from a predatory guardianship victim—hoping, somehow, that I will have an answer for him or her.
Each time I receive one of these calls, I am torn up for hours afterwards.
I literally cry.
I have no answers for you. I am simply 100 yards down the road watching you walk the same path I/We have already walked.
Today was one such day. I spoke to the grandson of an 89-year-old woman who is being held hostage in a dungeon they call a nursing home.
She was removed from her grandson’s lovely home--based upon a false allegation. And even though he was cleared of all the allegations, a guardianship was commenced and continues.
That’s it. An allegation. I have stated before that these allegations need not be true.
The grandson wants only the best for his grandmother.
“Can I at least get the guardian to put her in a nicer nursing home?”
My answer to him: Probably not.
“Why not?”
Because the Guardianship Mafia is not about taking care of your grandmother. It’s about converting her money into attorneys’ fees.
“But I have a power of attorney! I’m the designated pre-need guardian! There’s Florida case law on this! I’m the one who’s supposed to be the guardian!! When will I be appointed the guardian so that my grandmother can come back home?”
My answer to him: When all of your grandmother’s money has been spent.
“But she has more than $400,000.00! They can’t spend all that!”
My answer to him: Yes, most of that $400,000.00 will be converted to
attorney’s fees—in less time than you can imagine.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! This can’t be real!!!”
My answer to him: [No answer. He is adjusting (or not adjusting) to the reality of the situation—something all guardianship victims have to go through.]
“What about the FBI! I’m going to call the FBI!!!”
My answer to him: Yes, we’ve all called the FBI.
“And what did they do?! This is so wrong! This is outrageous!”
Have you ever watched an accident in progress?
Seven years ago, I was part of an accident in progress. I came upon
black ice on the interstate and my brakes would not engage. As my vehicle
approached the accident scene, there was no way to stop the inevitable.
I was about to crash into Car Number Six and I was about to break my right leg in eight places.
There was no way to stop this reality.
The next time I receive a call from a victim, I will continue, as usual, to listen patiently.
I will empathize with you.
However, I cannot solve your situation.
I already know your questions, so here are the answers:
Q: Can you recommend a “good” attorney who will make this unnecessary guardianship stop?
A: No. There is no such thing as a “good attorney” who wants to end the nightmare that has been created for you and your loved one. All attorneys are paid out of the “ward’s” assets. This is like asking an oil company to stop drilling for oil. The only way an oil corporation will stop drilling for oil (in a particular area) is when they are certain that all the oil in that area has been depleted. Likewise, attorneys will stop the proceedings when all of your loved one’s money has been converted to attorneys’ fees.
Q. What government agency can I contact to make this unnecessary guardianship stop? It is so wrong!
A. There is no government agency who will listen to you. Your predecessors (i.e., fellow guardianship victims) have already called every government agency imaginable. Here’s a partial list of (government as well as non-government) agencies that have been already contacted on multiple occasions by a plethora of guardianship victims while your loved one is being held hostage in a marginal nursing home, overmedicated, and all of his or her money is being spent on attorneys’ fees:
--State Guardianship Offices
--National Guardianship Association
--Federal Bureau of Investigation
--State legislators
--Local Police
--Elder Abuse Hotline
--Agency for Health Care Administration
--Local Sheriffs Departments
--State Police
--Government Accountability Office
--State senators
--AARP
--ACTEC
--State attorneys offices
--Governors’ offices
--County attorneys offices
--Department of Children and Families
--Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Hotline
--Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation
--President Obama
--Government Accountability Office
--Judicial Qualification Commissions
--American Bar Association
--Local Bar Associations
--The Media (i.e., 20/20, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, local news channels, local news papers, national news papers, Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc., etc., etc.)
--Your congressman
(I, personally, can put a check mark next to each and all of the above. Most of us who are outspoken guardianship reform advocates have done the same—or even more.)
Q)But they accused me of things that are absolutely NOT TRUE!
A)Yes, I know that.
Q)When I prove that the allegations of financial exploitation are untrue, they’ll have to stop the guardianship, right?
A)No. They will continue asserting the false allegations and use it to continue the guardianship—even after you have proved your innocence. They will continue to say it is true—even if it’s not true.
Q)Well, I just don’t believe you. This is too preposterous to believe. I’m going to count on my attorney getting something done!
A)Okay. That’s fine. I’m sure I’ll be hearing back from you sometime in the near future—and thousands of dollars later.
Q)Then what should I do?
A)Join fellow/sister guardianship victims. Stop wasting your money on attorneys who are fighting the fight with local judges and courts of appeal. This is a NO WIN situation. The local judges and courts of appeal will gain you nothing except an empty bank account. There are three things we, as a group, are doing: (1) fighting for legislative reform, (2) speaking up and out—the more people you educate, the less likely the guardian and her attorneys will be able to do this, (the creation of websites are a good thing—expose the guardian, the judge, and the attorneys involved on the internet) (3) save what little money you have left and join us in a class action federal RICO lawsuit.
Q)But I really am innocent!
A)Yes, I know, and there’s a law enforcer who gives seminars to fellow police officers on “signs to look for” of people who are guilty of financial exploitation of the elderly. One of the “signs” is someone who says they are innocent. So, the more you say you are innocent to law enforcement, they will see this as a “red flag” of guilt. They are also taught in the seminar that elder exploiters always say, “But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!” By saying this, you are “proving” you are guilty!
Q)But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!
A)Yes! I believe you!!! But by the time the guardian and her attorneys are done with your loved one, he or she REALLY WILL BE “mentally incapacitated.” There are drugs that mimic dementia.
Q)But I was given a Power of Attorney!
A)Ah! More evidence of guilt! Anyone with a “power of attorney” is viewed as a manipulator and exploiter of the elderly!
Q)That makes no sense at all! What was my loved one supposed to do to protect herself and her assets if she didn’t give me such authority? She was trying to protect herself from the Bad Relatives!
A) Yes, I know that. But in the Guardianship Game, the Predatory Relatives become the Good Guys who team up with the Predatory Guardian and her attorneys, and, typically, the people who have been doing the most, (sacrificing their time and their life) are portrayed as the “Evil Ones.”
Q)So, when will this nightmare end??
A)I already answered that: When all the money has been spent/converted into
attorneys’ fees.*
*Exact quote of Attorney “Reverend” Anthony Nardella (attorney for “professional” “guardian” Rebecca “Fierle”) when we were leaving the courthouse after my mother was declared “100% mentally incompetent”—even though the video tapes we showed the judge showed just the opposite and the judge even stated, “I almost said the opposite” when asked if Louise A. Falvo is mentally incompetent.
As I passed “Reverend” Attorney Nardella, I said to him, “You are disgusting.”
He chuckled and replied, “We’re not finished with you yet.”
Angela Woodhull can be reached at :chachaangelina@yahoo.com
We Will Not Forget What We Witnessed: Part 6 Wade McNalley and his Father, Bruce McNalley
We Will Not Forget What We Witnessed: Part 6 Wade McNalley and his Father, Bruce McNalley: "-by-Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D. (Part 6)
Wade McNalley and his Father, Bruce McNalley*
Back at the probate court files in Seminole County, things were heating up. Rebecca “Fierle’s” attorney in my mother’s case (Reverend Attorney Anthony Nardella) actually began billing my mother’s estate every time I was observed reading the court files. Imagine that.
“Phone call from probate clerk stating that Woodhull is reading the probate files once again.” Charge: $58.”
The next file I began assessing was yet another veteran. By now, we clearly understood that Rebecca “Fierle” had quite an appetite for veterans, since she automatically receives five per cent of their monthly income—no matter what is done or not done during the course of a month.
Another veteran, Carlisle Bosworth, we noticed that $250,000.00 of his assets had been spent in a very short period of time.
What about Bruce McNalley, a veteran? First of all, becoming increasingly savvy at ascertaining the court records more quickly, we noticed that “Fierle” had placed McNalley in a regular nursing home, rather than a veteran’s nursing home. There is a “reason” for this. A veteran’s nursing home is free. Therefore, there would be nothing to bill for. However, if “Fierle” places a veteran in a non-veteran’s nursing home, not only can she bill, but she can also GENEROUSLY bill. I called the nursing home where McNalley was staying and posed as a concerned daughter looking to place my father somewhere in an upscale nursing home. The administrator told me that a top-of-the-line private room, with all the bells and whistles, would cost about $6,000.00 per month.
And what was “Fierle” claiming to the court? “Fierle” was claiming that she was spending $12,000.00 a month in McNalley’s care. We wondered: Where is the other $6,000.00 per month going?
Because of the exorbitant and completely unnecessary spending (to reiterate, McNalley is a veteran—between his monthly income and the fact that he could be placed in a veteran’s nursing home for free, McNalley should have had enough money to sustain himself indefinitely), “Fierle” had initiated a lawsuit against Wade McNalley, Bruce’s son. Wade was facing
being evicted from his homesteaded residence if he could not find the money to purchase his father’s half of a trailer home. The title was “joint tenancy with right of survivorship” but that hadn’t stopped Rebecca “Fierle” for attempting to make Bruce’s son homeless. It was time to visit Wade McNalley.
************************
How can I describe Wade McNalley? The words that come to mind are “fun” “vivacious” “opinionated” “strong willed” “straight shooter.” Wade likes to drink beer, kick back, tell a few jokes, and use a lot of colorful language, especially when describing his feelings toward Rebecca “Fierle.”
After introducing ourselves at his door, one of his first comments were, “Oh, don’t even get me started talking about that c---.” We knew we were in for an interesting evening.
Wade and his father had lived together quite amiably on several occasions. He described Dad as a “skirt chaser” and somehow he ended up in an expensive retirement center due to that fact where he could flirt with all the gals. There were some health problems and soon he had been transferred to a nursing home. Wade had been out of town when he learned, upon his return, that a woman named “Rebecca Fierle” was now his father’s guardian.
“What the hell was that sh-- all about!? You tell me. It’s gotta be about his money! The b---- just wants his money. Don’t even get me started talking on that subject. Then she moves Dad so far away that I can’t even get to go see him. I’m on a very limited budget and I suffer from arthritis.
How the hell am I supposed to go clear across town to visit my dad?
As far as that lawsuit against me, she can go f--- herself! I have an attorney on it and she ain’t gonna get a g—d---m dime outta me!”
Wade told us how his attorney had been very good to him. Wade had recently been released from a hospital and his attorney had actually been paying for groceries and delivering them to Wade’s door. “What a fantastic guy! I couldn’t ask for better.”
Truthfully, an attorney going out of his way THAT much for a client just didn’t sound right. We wondered what it all meant. We were soon to find out. Wade was in the middle of suing someone, a personal injury case.
The “nice” attorney was actually pre-spending the few dollars that Wade would end up with from the settlement. In the end, there wasn’t much left for Wade out of the settlement money, and at that time, “Fierle” just happened to want to “settle out” with Wade. She offered to let him stay in his homesteaded home if he would simply turn over $10,000.00 to her—the same, exact amount of money Wade was about to get in a settlement. (How ‘bout that there.)
We asked Wade, after he cooked us supper and gave us a few beers, if he would like to drive to the neighboring town and see his father. “Would you like to go see your dad this evening?”
“Hell, yeah, I’d love to go see my father! I’m going to get him the hell out of there once I get my settlement money and then I’m going bring him back home. I’m going to be the guardian! I mean, what the hell, I am his son! Who ever heard of some f------ c--- stranger being my dad’s guardian?! Who ever instituted this crazy f---ed up shit?! I was doing one hellofa job taking care of my dad and I know he was happy here. He needs to come home. There’s nothing mentally wrong with him. You’ll see.”
The three of us piled into my van and Wade directed us to the nursing home. It was late at night and we found his father laying in bed, this tall man who seemed very similar natured to his son. The hugs and tears between these two macho men brought tears to the eyes of both David and me. We were ecstatic to have brought them together. “Honey, let’s videotape this because I see no mental incompetence whatsoever.”
Bruce seemed a little startled at first that were videotaping him. “Don’t worry about it, Dad. These are my new friends. They’re here to help you.
I wanna get you back home, Dad, and this can help.”
Bruce was then all right with the videotaping. He stated on many occasions that he would like to come home, that he wanted his son to definitely stay in the trailer home and he was definitely upset to learn that Rebecca Fierle was in the process of trying to make his son homeless.
“When you bail me out of here, we’re going to sue the hell out of her.
Oh, yeah, just you wait and see,” Bruce declared adamantly.
Staff workers, not used to seeing visitors in Bruce’s half of the room, kept peeking into the room. We would hide the phone camera every time a staff worker appeared.
Soon, it was time to leave. “I don’t see any mental incompetence with your dad,” David stated. “Neither do I.”
“See? I told you so!” Wade responded. “We got to get him the hell out of there. I’ve never seen him in such bad physical shape. This place is killing him. I want my dad home.”
************************
The following day, Rebecca “Fierle” found out that Wade had managed to go see his father.
Her response? She had Bruce Baker- acted—put into a straight jacket and medicated on psychotropic drugs. She then contacted her attorney and they wrote a Petition to the court asking the judge to NOT permit Wade McNalley to see his father any more. “Fierle” claimed that it upset the father so much to see his son—and whom he “didn’t really want to see” according to “Fierle”—that she had to Baker Act him. Little did “Fierle” know that we have video footage of the father that is so contrary to these claims that it is rather surrealistic to even fathom that such a statement would be written in the court records.
Lo and behold, at the court hearing, Judge John D. Galluzzo actually decided he would not go along with “Fierle’s” petition. He denied the motion and stated that Wade was free to see his father any time he wanted.
However, Galluzzo’s decision did not stop Rebecca “Fierle” from wielding her unlimited authority. Her response? She simply moved Bruce McNalley to yet ANOTHER nursing home so far away that Wade would have to spend the entire day taking a series of buses just to get to the new location.
***********************
Wade never saw his father alive ever again.
**********************
The next time we saw Wade, he told us hold his attorney was planning on having “Fierle” removed as the guardian—a motion serious enough, that if awarded, “Fierle” could lose her license as a professional guardian.
“I thought we were moving ahead. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from one of ‘Fierle’s’ staff members. The b---- didn’t even have the nerve to call me herself. Fierle’s employee stated to me, ‘Where do you want us to drop off your father’s ashes?’”
“What!?! My father died?! When did my father die?”
“More than a month ago,” the staff member responded in a flat tone.
“You mean to tell me my father has been dead for more than a month and this is the first time you’re even telling me about it! What the f--- bull---sh-- is this!?”
This big, warm-hearted man, a true man’s man, stood there in front of us and wept. He broke down and he literally wept.
“Oh, there’s a special place in hell for people like Rebecca ‘Fierle,’ Wade stated. “I didn’t even get to say good-bye to my father. My dad had a pre-paid burial plot. He didn’t ever want to be cremated! What the f--- kind of sh—is that?!” “Oh, believe you me, there’s gonna be a payback time!”
Wade could not stop weeping.
************************
Shortly thereafter, Wade became seriously ill – to the point of almost dying. He was hospitalized on several occasions and needed extensive home health care. “I can’t focus on any of this Rebecca ‘Fierle’ bullsh—any further,” Wade told us. “It literally ruined my health. At least that b---- wasn’t able to get a f------ dime out of me. At least I have my home.”
************************
*Not their real names.
***********************
"
Wade McNalley and his Father, Bruce McNalley*
Back at the probate court files in Seminole County, things were heating up. Rebecca “Fierle’s” attorney in my mother’s case (Reverend Attorney Anthony Nardella) actually began billing my mother’s estate every time I was observed reading the court files. Imagine that.
“Phone call from probate clerk stating that Woodhull is reading the probate files once again.” Charge: $58.”
The next file I began assessing was yet another veteran. By now, we clearly understood that Rebecca “Fierle” had quite an appetite for veterans, since she automatically receives five per cent of their monthly income—no matter what is done or not done during the course of a month.
Another veteran, Carlisle Bosworth, we noticed that $250,000.00 of his assets had been spent in a very short period of time.
What about Bruce McNalley, a veteran? First of all, becoming increasingly savvy at ascertaining the court records more quickly, we noticed that “Fierle” had placed McNalley in a regular nursing home, rather than a veteran’s nursing home. There is a “reason” for this. A veteran’s nursing home is free. Therefore, there would be nothing to bill for. However, if “Fierle” places a veteran in a non-veteran’s nursing home, not only can she bill, but she can also GENEROUSLY bill. I called the nursing home where McNalley was staying and posed as a concerned daughter looking to place my father somewhere in an upscale nursing home. The administrator told me that a top-of-the-line private room, with all the bells and whistles, would cost about $6,000.00 per month.
And what was “Fierle” claiming to the court? “Fierle” was claiming that she was spending $12,000.00 a month in McNalley’s care. We wondered: Where is the other $6,000.00 per month going?
Because of the exorbitant and completely unnecessary spending (to reiterate, McNalley is a veteran—between his monthly income and the fact that he could be placed in a veteran’s nursing home for free, McNalley should have had enough money to sustain himself indefinitely), “Fierle” had initiated a lawsuit against Wade McNalley, Bruce’s son. Wade was facing
being evicted from his homesteaded residence if he could not find the money to purchase his father’s half of a trailer home. The title was “joint tenancy with right of survivorship” but that hadn’t stopped Rebecca “Fierle” for attempting to make Bruce’s son homeless. It was time to visit Wade McNalley.
************************
How can I describe Wade McNalley? The words that come to mind are “fun” “vivacious” “opinionated” “strong willed” “straight shooter.” Wade likes to drink beer, kick back, tell a few jokes, and use a lot of colorful language, especially when describing his feelings toward Rebecca “Fierle.”
After introducing ourselves at his door, one of his first comments were, “Oh, don’t even get me started talking about that c---.” We knew we were in for an interesting evening.
Wade and his father had lived together quite amiably on several occasions. He described Dad as a “skirt chaser” and somehow he ended up in an expensive retirement center due to that fact where he could flirt with all the gals. There were some health problems and soon he had been transferred to a nursing home. Wade had been out of town when he learned, upon his return, that a woman named “Rebecca Fierle” was now his father’s guardian.
“What the hell was that sh-- all about!? You tell me. It’s gotta be about his money! The b---- just wants his money. Don’t even get me started talking on that subject. Then she moves Dad so far away that I can’t even get to go see him. I’m on a very limited budget and I suffer from arthritis.
How the hell am I supposed to go clear across town to visit my dad?
As far as that lawsuit against me, she can go f--- herself! I have an attorney on it and she ain’t gonna get a g—d---m dime outta me!”
Wade told us how his attorney had been very good to him. Wade had recently been released from a hospital and his attorney had actually been paying for groceries and delivering them to Wade’s door. “What a fantastic guy! I couldn’t ask for better.”
Truthfully, an attorney going out of his way THAT much for a client just didn’t sound right. We wondered what it all meant. We were soon to find out. Wade was in the middle of suing someone, a personal injury case.
The “nice” attorney was actually pre-spending the few dollars that Wade would end up with from the settlement. In the end, there wasn’t much left for Wade out of the settlement money, and at that time, “Fierle” just happened to want to “settle out” with Wade. She offered to let him stay in his homesteaded home if he would simply turn over $10,000.00 to her—the same, exact amount of money Wade was about to get in a settlement. (How ‘bout that there.)
We asked Wade, after he cooked us supper and gave us a few beers, if he would like to drive to the neighboring town and see his father. “Would you like to go see your dad this evening?”
“Hell, yeah, I’d love to go see my father! I’m going to get him the hell out of there once I get my settlement money and then I’m going bring him back home. I’m going to be the guardian! I mean, what the hell, I am his son! Who ever heard of some f------ c--- stranger being my dad’s guardian?! Who ever instituted this crazy f---ed up shit?! I was doing one hellofa job taking care of my dad and I know he was happy here. He needs to come home. There’s nothing mentally wrong with him. You’ll see.”
The three of us piled into my van and Wade directed us to the nursing home. It was late at night and we found his father laying in bed, this tall man who seemed very similar natured to his son. The hugs and tears between these two macho men brought tears to the eyes of both David and me. We were ecstatic to have brought them together. “Honey, let’s videotape this because I see no mental incompetence whatsoever.”
Bruce seemed a little startled at first that were videotaping him. “Don’t worry about it, Dad. These are my new friends. They’re here to help you.
I wanna get you back home, Dad, and this can help.”
Bruce was then all right with the videotaping. He stated on many occasions that he would like to come home, that he wanted his son to definitely stay in the trailer home and he was definitely upset to learn that Rebecca Fierle was in the process of trying to make his son homeless.
“When you bail me out of here, we’re going to sue the hell out of her.
Oh, yeah, just you wait and see,” Bruce declared adamantly.
Staff workers, not used to seeing visitors in Bruce’s half of the room, kept peeking into the room. We would hide the phone camera every time a staff worker appeared.
Soon, it was time to leave. “I don’t see any mental incompetence with your dad,” David stated. “Neither do I.”
“See? I told you so!” Wade responded. “We got to get him the hell out of there. I’ve never seen him in such bad physical shape. This place is killing him. I want my dad home.”
************************
The following day, Rebecca “Fierle” found out that Wade had managed to go see his father.
Her response? She had Bruce Baker- acted—put into a straight jacket and medicated on psychotropic drugs. She then contacted her attorney and they wrote a Petition to the court asking the judge to NOT permit Wade McNalley to see his father any more. “Fierle” claimed that it upset the father so much to see his son—and whom he “didn’t really want to see” according to “Fierle”—that she had to Baker Act him. Little did “Fierle” know that we have video footage of the father that is so contrary to these claims that it is rather surrealistic to even fathom that such a statement would be written in the court records.
Lo and behold, at the court hearing, Judge John D. Galluzzo actually decided he would not go along with “Fierle’s” petition. He denied the motion and stated that Wade was free to see his father any time he wanted.
However, Galluzzo’s decision did not stop Rebecca “Fierle” from wielding her unlimited authority. Her response? She simply moved Bruce McNalley to yet ANOTHER nursing home so far away that Wade would have to spend the entire day taking a series of buses just to get to the new location.
***********************
Wade never saw his father alive ever again.
**********************
The next time we saw Wade, he told us hold his attorney was planning on having “Fierle” removed as the guardian—a motion serious enough, that if awarded, “Fierle” could lose her license as a professional guardian.
“I thought we were moving ahead. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from one of ‘Fierle’s’ staff members. The b---- didn’t even have the nerve to call me herself. Fierle’s employee stated to me, ‘Where do you want us to drop off your father’s ashes?’”
“What!?! My father died?! When did my father die?”
“More than a month ago,” the staff member responded in a flat tone.
“You mean to tell me my father has been dead for more than a month and this is the first time you’re even telling me about it! What the f--- bull---sh-- is this!?”
This big, warm-hearted man, a true man’s man, stood there in front of us and wept. He broke down and he literally wept.
“Oh, there’s a special place in hell for people like Rebecca ‘Fierle,’ Wade stated. “I didn’t even get to say good-bye to my father. My dad had a pre-paid burial plot. He didn’t ever want to be cremated! What the f--- kind of sh—is that?!” “Oh, believe you me, there’s gonna be a payback time!”
Wade could not stop weeping.
************************
Shortly thereafter, Wade became seriously ill – to the point of almost dying. He was hospitalized on several occasions and needed extensive home health care. “I can’t focus on any of this Rebecca ‘Fierle’ bullsh—any further,” Wade told us. “It literally ruined my health. At least that b---- wasn’t able to get a f------ dime out of me. At least I have my home.”
************************
*Not their real names.
***********************
*Note: Dr. Angela V. Woodhull, a licensed private investigator, spent more than two and a half years investigating court records in Seminole and Orange Counties, Florida and interviewing family members and victims in order to compose this story. All court records that verify the contents of this article were submitted as attachments to the editor of the F.B.I. journal as verification of accuracy. Woodhull can be reached at (352) 327-3665 or
(352) 682-9033.
Letter to the: Senate Special Committee on Aging
Letter to the: Senate Special Committee on Aging: "Written Testimony of Latifa S. Ring National Organization to End Guardianship Abuse (NOTEGA)
To the: Senate Special Committee on Aging for the hearing on Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation
March 15, 2011
Senate Special Committee on Aging
G31 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Attn: Senator Herb Kohl
Dear Chairman Kohl, Senator Corker and distinguished Committee members:
Thank you for holding the recent hearing “Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation” to address the crisis of elder abuse and financial exploitation of America’s elderly citizens and thank you for allowing Mickey Rooney to share his cry for an end to elder abuse with the committee and with the American Public.
Financial Exploitation and Abuse of the Elderly has become the crime of the 21st Century and has truly placed a black mark on our nation. Hubert Humphrey once said
“the moral test of a government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of their life, the children, those who are in the twilight of their lives, the elderly and those who are in the shadows of life, the disabled the weak and the vulnerable. “
How will we be judged as a nation and as a government if we do not take the steps necessary to end this crime against America’s most vulnerable citizens?
Elder abuse and financial exploitation of the elderly in our communities and when done by private citizens is being called a crime, yet quietly all across this nation elderly and disabled citizens are being abused and financially exploited under Adult Guardianships under the guise of protection and the color of law. In the courtrooms of our States, abuse and exploitation of vulnerable citizens is treated as if it is perfectly legal. Judges routinely rubber stamp exorbitant fees for services that do not benefit the wards resulting in financial exploitation of their estates. Family members and friends all over this country are crying out about the abuse and neglect of their loved ones in guardianship that they are powerless to protect yet it appears there is no one listening because there is a guardian and the court appointed them.
Under guardianships a person can lose all of their civil rights and their right to ask for protection under the law. Lives and assets can essentially be stolen. The perpetrators of financial exploitation and abuse in guardianships are getting bolder and often times elderly citizens with assets are targeted and adjudicated as incapacitated and placed under a guardianship or conservatorship just to give someone else control over an estate which they can then loot. Other times elderly citizens who are alleged to be incapacitated are placed into guardianships when they have family and friends who are willing and able to help them or when they only have a minor ailment; again only to give the perpetrators access to the estate. Many family members are tricked into believing that seeking guardianship will help to protect a loved one only to find themselves on the end of a never-ending onslaught of unproven allegations of wrong-doing deliberately launched to malign the family member and prevent them from being appointed as guardian. This tactic clears the list of available guardians and makes room for the perpetrators intent on looting the estate. When greed is the motivating factor in guardianships, the welfare of the ward takes a back seat and abuse of the wards is allowed by the guardians and other professionals more intent only on lining their pockets than caring for the vulnerable person. It seems that the “name of the game” in guardianships is to bill for as many services as possible as fast as possible knowing that the judge will routinely rubberstamp the fee applications. This routine approval occurs either because the judges are busy trying to clear an overloaded docket, they do not have time or resources to review the fee applications, they know the American Taxpayers will take care of the ward with Medicaid dollars or they want to make sure the guardians and attorneys (some of whom may have owe political favors to) get paid. It is just easier that way. Family members who complain may find themselves losing the right to visit their own loved ones or being told by the Court that they have no standing to speak on behalf of the ward that now has a guardian.
As I stated in my testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security, it is almost as if guardianships can be used as a form of identity theft. The guardian can execute any and all documents on behalf of the ward. This powerful position gives them unfettered access to the ward’s life and property. In the wrong hands this power can be and is enormously abused and can even be lethal to the vulnerable person. Without proper controls lives can be are being stolen.
When will our National Leaders finally address the Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation of the Elderly that is occurring in Guardianships?
We have been calling for National Reforms to address Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation in guardianships since 2008 when our group the “National Elder Abuse and Guardianship Victims Taskforce for Change” submitted a platform proposal to End Elder Abuse and Guardianship Abuse for the senior’s plank of the DNC platform. Many other groups and citizens have also been calling for reform and since 2008 and we have continued our call for National reforms with online petitions and letters to our State and National leaders.
I could fill reams of papers with examples of abuse and exploitation in guardianships but will limit this to the summaries I have attached to this testimony as appendix (A) and the comments made as part of the petition attached as appendix (B). I simply ask the following questions:
Why is it legal to abuse and rob the elderly in guardianships?
Why is it legal to force an “alleged” incapacitated person into guardianship with an emergency or some other hearing without due process of the law where the ward is not present and/or not represented by counsel? Why are our constitutional due process rights under the 14th amendment not protected in guardianships?
Why is it legal to isolate a ward, to over medicate, to chemically restrain, to sterilize and even authorize an early death through hospice in guardianships?
Why do the advance directives of these dear elderly citizens appear to mean nothing? The designation of a pre-need guardian, a power of attorney or health care surrogate are routine ignored in the incapacity process.
Why is it legal for one person (a judge) to give one human being to another private citizen (“the guardian”), then walk away, and let that person have their way with the incapacitated person and their estate?
Why are there no jury trials?
Why are these wards of the State in guardianships not being protected by the State… are they not wards of the State?
Why is it that when someone allegedly steals from an elderly or vulnerable person that the alleged victim can be sent into a guardianship instead of the crime being investigated by the criminal justice system and adult protective services? The victim is forced to pay for the crime in a probate court instead of it being handled by the criminal justice system where the victim doesn’t have to foot the bill to get justice? Furthermore, rarely are the allegations of wrong doing that create the need for guardianship ever proven in these guardianship cases. Instead, they are being used as an excuse to take over the life of the person and their property. Why do the American Rules of Civil Discovery not apply to Guardianship Proceeding?
Why do we need to have emergency hearings for guardianships when adult protective services should be able to do their job and protect the vulnerable alleged incapacitated person until they can be afforded due process?
Why is it legal to bill tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to a ward for services that do not benefit them in breach of any fiduciary duty and yet it is not called a crime, it is called protection of the ward ?
Why is it legal for a guardian to deny visitation to a ward, to allow them to be isolated from their community and their loved ones ?
All over this country, people are outraged by what they are seeing done to their loved ones in guardianships. Many families are torn apart and many are secondary victims who suffer from the horrific abuse of not being able to visit their loved ones, not being able to protect them and sometimes not even being notified of a loved one’s death so they can attend their funeral.
There is nothing new about guardianship abuse to report. It is the same broken system with the same crimes that have gone on for over 30 years since the Claude Pepper days when the late Congressman submitted the “1989 Guardianship Rights Act” that clearly stated that the 14th amendment rights of the elderly in guardianship were being violated. Three GAO reports have been issued since 2004 that all spell out the problems in guardianships. Numerous Media outlets have reported horrifying cases of abuse and exploitation. Agencies have reported the problem. This committee has held several hearing including one in 2006 and the record reflects the enormous problem our seniors are facing. In May 2010, I testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security about this problem. I stand by my stated belief that without real and meaningful reforms, guardianships can and will continue to be used to steal lives and assets under what I can only equate to a legalized form of identity theft. Attached to this written testimony is a petition signed by close to 1200 people calling for National Reforms to End Elder Abuse and Guardianship Abuse. This petition can also be viewed online at http://www.facebook.com/l/f742ckOISH6OKSm5kKz_NPTovuA/www.endguardianshipabuse.org . I respectfully request that this petition be put on the record with this written testimony.
Members of the committee, it is time for action on guardianship abuse and it is time to recognize that elder abuse and financial exploitation in and under a guardianship or conservatorship is no less a crime that it is when the perpetrator is a family member or nursing home in the community. In fact, elder abuse and exploitation of the incapacitated person is the worst form of abuse as it is perpetrated against the most vulnerable of our society, the victims who have had their voice stripped of them and who are powerless to report the crime.
The federal government and your Senate Special Committee on Aging should take an interest in ending the abuse and exploitation in guardianship. They should take an interest because of the cost to the taxpayers in State Medicaid and matching federal Medicaid dollars, because of the 14th amendment rights that are violated in guardianships and because elder abuse and financial exploitation is a crime even if done under the guise of protection and under the color of law.
I close by echoing the request made by Mickey Rooney that you PLEASE STOP ELDER ABUSE and STOP IT NOW … not only in the communities, not only in a private homes, not only in our nursing homes but also when it is perpetrated under guardianships and conservatorships through our courts.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to submit this testimony and I hope the committee will consider having a separate hearing on the problems with guardianships and respectfully request we be permitted to have a member of our organization testify and provide more additional information on this problem. I also ask that the committee please take a serious look at the problems raised in the GAO report issued in 2010 and invite victims and family members to come to Washington and share their stories so the committee can understand what is really happening on the ground. They can bring the perspective of the victims have been stripped of their voice to speak, they are the constituents of the members of this committee and they are the eyewitnesses to this terrible silent crime of elder abuse and exploitation that is being perpetrated under the guise of protection.
Respectfully submitted,
Latifa S. Ring
President
The National Organization to End Guardianship Abuse
Houston, Texas
stopelderabuse@ http://www.facebook.com/l/f742cSyyeKSjiEhi7szwfNFrfjg/stopelderabuse.net
endguardianshipabuse.org
www.endguardianshipabuse.org
"
To the: Senate Special Committee on Aging for the hearing on Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation
March 15, 2011
Senate Special Committee on Aging
G31 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Attn: Senator Herb Kohl
Dear Chairman Kohl, Senator Corker and distinguished Committee members:
Thank you for holding the recent hearing “Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation” to address the crisis of elder abuse and financial exploitation of America’s elderly citizens and thank you for allowing Mickey Rooney to share his cry for an end to elder abuse with the committee and with the American Public.
Financial Exploitation and Abuse of the Elderly has become the crime of the 21st Century and has truly placed a black mark on our nation. Hubert Humphrey once said
“the moral test of a government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of their life, the children, those who are in the twilight of their lives, the elderly and those who are in the shadows of life, the disabled the weak and the vulnerable. “
How will we be judged as a nation and as a government if we do not take the steps necessary to end this crime against America’s most vulnerable citizens?
Elder abuse and financial exploitation of the elderly in our communities and when done by private citizens is being called a crime, yet quietly all across this nation elderly and disabled citizens are being abused and financially exploited under Adult Guardianships under the guise of protection and the color of law. In the courtrooms of our States, abuse and exploitation of vulnerable citizens is treated as if it is perfectly legal. Judges routinely rubber stamp exorbitant fees for services that do not benefit the wards resulting in financial exploitation of their estates. Family members and friends all over this country are crying out about the abuse and neglect of their loved ones in guardianship that they are powerless to protect yet it appears there is no one listening because there is a guardian and the court appointed them.
Under guardianships a person can lose all of their civil rights and their right to ask for protection under the law. Lives and assets can essentially be stolen. The perpetrators of financial exploitation and abuse in guardianships are getting bolder and often times elderly citizens with assets are targeted and adjudicated as incapacitated and placed under a guardianship or conservatorship just to give someone else control over an estate which they can then loot. Other times elderly citizens who are alleged to be incapacitated are placed into guardianships when they have family and friends who are willing and able to help them or when they only have a minor ailment; again only to give the perpetrators access to the estate. Many family members are tricked into believing that seeking guardianship will help to protect a loved one only to find themselves on the end of a never-ending onslaught of unproven allegations of wrong-doing deliberately launched to malign the family member and prevent them from being appointed as guardian. This tactic clears the list of available guardians and makes room for the perpetrators intent on looting the estate. When greed is the motivating factor in guardianships, the welfare of the ward takes a back seat and abuse of the wards is allowed by the guardians and other professionals more intent only on lining their pockets than caring for the vulnerable person. It seems that the “name of the game” in guardianships is to bill for as many services as possible as fast as possible knowing that the judge will routinely rubberstamp the fee applications. This routine approval occurs either because the judges are busy trying to clear an overloaded docket, they do not have time or resources to review the fee applications, they know the American Taxpayers will take care of the ward with Medicaid dollars or they want to make sure the guardians and attorneys (some of whom may have owe political favors to) get paid. It is just easier that way. Family members who complain may find themselves losing the right to visit their own loved ones or being told by the Court that they have no standing to speak on behalf of the ward that now has a guardian.
As I stated in my testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security, it is almost as if guardianships can be used as a form of identity theft. The guardian can execute any and all documents on behalf of the ward. This powerful position gives them unfettered access to the ward’s life and property. In the wrong hands this power can be and is enormously abused and can even be lethal to the vulnerable person. Without proper controls lives can be are being stolen.
When will our National Leaders finally address the Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation of the Elderly that is occurring in Guardianships?
We have been calling for National Reforms to address Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation in guardianships since 2008 when our group the “National Elder Abuse and Guardianship Victims Taskforce for Change” submitted a platform proposal to End Elder Abuse and Guardianship Abuse for the senior’s plank of the DNC platform. Many other groups and citizens have also been calling for reform and since 2008 and we have continued our call for National reforms with online petitions and letters to our State and National leaders.
I could fill reams of papers with examples of abuse and exploitation in guardianships but will limit this to the summaries I have attached to this testimony as appendix (A) and the comments made as part of the petition attached as appendix (B). I simply ask the following questions:
Why is it legal to abuse and rob the elderly in guardianships?
Why is it legal to force an “alleged” incapacitated person into guardianship with an emergency or some other hearing without due process of the law where the ward is not present and/or not represented by counsel? Why are our constitutional due process rights under the 14th amendment not protected in guardianships?
Why is it legal to isolate a ward, to over medicate, to chemically restrain, to sterilize and even authorize an early death through hospice in guardianships?
Why do the advance directives of these dear elderly citizens appear to mean nothing? The designation of a pre-need guardian, a power of attorney or health care surrogate are routine ignored in the incapacity process.
Why is it legal for one person (a judge) to give one human being to another private citizen (“the guardian”), then walk away, and let that person have their way with the incapacitated person and their estate?
Why are there no jury trials?
Why are these wards of the State in guardianships not being protected by the State… are they not wards of the State?
Why is it that when someone allegedly steals from an elderly or vulnerable person that the alleged victim can be sent into a guardianship instead of the crime being investigated by the criminal justice system and adult protective services? The victim is forced to pay for the crime in a probate court instead of it being handled by the criminal justice system where the victim doesn’t have to foot the bill to get justice? Furthermore, rarely are the allegations of wrong doing that create the need for guardianship ever proven in these guardianship cases. Instead, they are being used as an excuse to take over the life of the person and their property. Why do the American Rules of Civil Discovery not apply to Guardianship Proceeding?
Why do we need to have emergency hearings for guardianships when adult protective services should be able to do their job and protect the vulnerable alleged incapacitated person until they can be afforded due process?
Why is it legal to bill tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to a ward for services that do not benefit them in breach of any fiduciary duty and yet it is not called a crime, it is called protection of the ward ?
Why is it legal for a guardian to deny visitation to a ward, to allow them to be isolated from their community and their loved ones ?
All over this country, people are outraged by what they are seeing done to their loved ones in guardianships. Many families are torn apart and many are secondary victims who suffer from the horrific abuse of not being able to visit their loved ones, not being able to protect them and sometimes not even being notified of a loved one’s death so they can attend their funeral.
There is nothing new about guardianship abuse to report. It is the same broken system with the same crimes that have gone on for over 30 years since the Claude Pepper days when the late Congressman submitted the “1989 Guardianship Rights Act” that clearly stated that the 14th amendment rights of the elderly in guardianship were being violated. Three GAO reports have been issued since 2004 that all spell out the problems in guardianships. Numerous Media outlets have reported horrifying cases of abuse and exploitation. Agencies have reported the problem. This committee has held several hearing including one in 2006 and the record reflects the enormous problem our seniors are facing. In May 2010, I testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security about this problem. I stand by my stated belief that without real and meaningful reforms, guardianships can and will continue to be used to steal lives and assets under what I can only equate to a legalized form of identity theft. Attached to this written testimony is a petition signed by close to 1200 people calling for National Reforms to End Elder Abuse and Guardianship Abuse. This petition can also be viewed online at http://www.facebook.com/l/f742ckOISH6OKSm5kKz_NPTovuA/www.endguardianshipabuse.org . I respectfully request that this petition be put on the record with this written testimony.
Members of the committee, it is time for action on guardianship abuse and it is time to recognize that elder abuse and financial exploitation in and under a guardianship or conservatorship is no less a crime that it is when the perpetrator is a family member or nursing home in the community. In fact, elder abuse and exploitation of the incapacitated person is the worst form of abuse as it is perpetrated against the most vulnerable of our society, the victims who have had their voice stripped of them and who are powerless to report the crime.
The federal government and your Senate Special Committee on Aging should take an interest in ending the abuse and exploitation in guardianship. They should take an interest because of the cost to the taxpayers in State Medicaid and matching federal Medicaid dollars, because of the 14th amendment rights that are violated in guardianships and because elder abuse and financial exploitation is a crime even if done under the guise of protection and under the color of law.
I close by echoing the request made by Mickey Rooney that you PLEASE STOP ELDER ABUSE and STOP IT NOW … not only in the communities, not only in a private homes, not only in our nursing homes but also when it is perpetrated under guardianships and conservatorships through our courts.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to submit this testimony and I hope the committee will consider having a separate hearing on the problems with guardianships and respectfully request we be permitted to have a member of our organization testify and provide more additional information on this problem. I also ask that the committee please take a serious look at the problems raised in the GAO report issued in 2010 and invite victims and family members to come to Washington and share their stories so the committee can understand what is really happening on the ground. They can bring the perspective of the victims have been stripped of their voice to speak, they are the constituents of the members of this committee and they are the eyewitnesses to this terrible silent crime of elder abuse and exploitation that is being perpetrated under the guise of protection.
Respectfully submitted,
Latifa S. Ring
President
The National Organization to End Guardianship Abuse
Houston, Texas
stopelderabuse@ http://www.facebook.com/l/f742cSyyeKSjiEhi7szwfNFrfjg/stopelderabuse.net
endguardianshipabuse.org
www.endguardianshipabuse.org
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