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Help your aging parents - May. 31, 2011

Help your aging parents - May. 31, 2011

Protecting your parents: Keep the sharks at bay - Aug. 10, 2011

Protecting your parents: Keep the sharks at bay - Aug. 10, 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. "

National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse: Northshore 'Live' - Cooper's Corner:

[C]ourt-appointed guardians have the authority to make judgments about medical care, property, living arrangements, lifestyle and potentiall...

THE FLEECING OF OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS BE STOPPED

THE FLEECING OF OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS BE STOPPED

“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:

“Dancing Around the Beast”

(Guardianship “Reform” Legislation is Failing to Address the “Beast”)

-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

Related articles

• Secrecy Hides Cozy Ties In Guardianship Cases (elder-abuse-cyberray.blogspot.com)
• We Will Not Forget:What We Witnessed - Bobbie Thompson- Part V (elder-abuse-cyberray.blogspot.com)
• What it Means to "Guard" & "Conserve" (larkkirkwood.blogspot.com)
• Guardianship FAQ's from ElderAbuse.org (ppjg.wordpress.com)

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!

Related articles

• The State of California and Failure to Protect (ppjg.wordpress.com)
• Police 'Involvement' in Conservatorship Issues? (ppjg.wordpress.com)

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

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