Happy Birthday Nono!

March 12th is my Grandfather's birthday.
Nono... I think of you every day and wish so
much that you were here.  I love and miss you.
Lori

gone yet not forgotten
although we are apart
your spirit lives within me
forever in my heart. -unknown

          

BEWARE!

Beware of these San Francisco Probate 
Fiduciaries, Conservators and Attorneys:

Elizabeth Adler
Professional Fiduciary and Conservator

Lawrence Siracusa
Witherspoon & Siracusa, Elizabeth Adler's Attorney

Herb Thomas
Professional Fiduciary and Conservator

Elvira Orly
Herb Thomas' Attorney

Bruce Feder
Court Appointed Attorney

Brian McCaffery
Elizabeth Adler's Litigation Attorney

Anne Marie Paolini-Mori
Attorney

Emilie Calhoun
Attorney

Charles K. Lewis
Attorney

For Sale - 1462 11th Avenue

Elizabeth Adler, Professional Conservator and Fiduciary  has decided that our family's house is UNRENTABLE!

More About the Conservatorship Crisis

Shocking But True...

On January 14, 2011, Elizabeth Adler, Professional Conservator, filed two Petitions in San Francisco Superior Court’s Probate Department.  The purpose of the Petitions was to obtain court approval for payment of conservatorship related fees for both Ms. Adler and her attorney, Lawrence Siracusa of Witherspoon&Siracusa in San Francisco.  The reporting period covered a period of 15 months and the total fees requested were:

$88,101.27

$88,101.27 for one of two conservators and one attorney.  There are additional “professionals” involved.  Some have already staked their claim…

Herb Thomas, Conservator:  He has submitted his Petition but I have not seen it yet.  My guess is that he just copied Adler’s Petition, and I expect his fee request to be somewhere around $40,000.

Elvira Orly, Herb Thomas’ attorney.  Again, have not seen the Petition but $20,000 is probably a conservative guess.

Bruce Feder, Court appointed attorney for my Grandmother.  No Petition.  I have no idea.  $75-100,000?

Brian McCaffery, Elizabeth Adler’s litigation attorney.  Mr. McCaffery was retained after my attorney told the Judge I wanted a jury trial.  What are they afraid of?  Has already been paid a $5000 retainer from the Trust.

Anne Marie Paolini-Mori, my Grandmother’s attorney for 4 weeks who has submitted a bill for approximately $10,000. 

Emilie Calhoun, my brother’s attorney who is requesting that the Trust pay her $80,000.  Ms. Calhoun filed a 150 page document in July of 2009 at the direction of my brother’s sociopath girlfriend who had been accused of killing her ex-husband’s aunt while caring for her under similar circumstances.  The document included a declaration that was supposedly signed by my Grandmother.  I later had it analyzed by TWO forensic handwriting specialists.  One of them works for the SFPD!  The declaration is a forgery.  Coincidentally, the now ex-girlfriend is a convicted felon.  Her crime….FORGERY!

Total fees that these vultures have requested that the Trust pay…nearly $350,000 in 15 months.  This is the best part of all.  We mediated a settlement of this case in October of 2009 and the case was dismissed!!!

The hearing regarding the Petitions for Fees is scheduled for March 30, 2011 at 9:00 am.

Believe It!

CALIFORNIA CONSERVATORSHIP LEGISLATION

On September 27, 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the “Omnibus Conservatorship and Guardianship Reform Act of 2006.”   The act is a package of four sets of legislation created to provide enhanced protections for conservatees; create a regulatory system for professional conservators and guardians; and mandate creation of standards for background and education for the court staff personnel, court investigators and attorneys who are appointed to represent conservatees, along with the judges themselves who are in charge of the conservatorship system in California’s 58 superior courts.

Fast forward to 2011, nearly 5 years after the legislation was signed by the Governor…

Based on my first hand experience, I know that the San Francisco Superior Court does not enforce these 5 year old laws.  Below you will find my real life examples.

Elizabeth Adler filed her first accounting on January 14, 2011, and the 2006 legislation requires that she follow the requirements mandated by the legislation:

1.    If the conservator is a professional or licensed conservator, the conservator shall file all ORIGINAL account statements showing the balance of all periods covered by the accounting.

2.    If the conservatee is in a residential care facility or a long term care facility, the filing shall include the original bill statements for the facility.

3.    If the accounting is the first accounting of the conservatorship, the conservator shall provide to the court all account statements showing the account balance immediately preceding the date the conservator was appointed and all account statements showing the account through the closing date of the first accounting.

4.   With each accounting, the conservator shall file supporting documents.

$9600.  $600 per month for 16 months that was supposedly given to my Grandmother who has severe Alzheimer’s dementia and sadly does not know the difference between $6 and $600.  No receipts.  No justification.  No proof that this money was used for my Grandmother’s benefit.  My guess is that it was used for the caretaker’s benefit!

$85,000.  Nine months of caretaker services paid to Senior Pro Services.  State law REQUIRES details.  None were provided.  The names of the caretakers were not provided and there was no accountability for hours.  Several times I requested information regarding the caretakers’ credentials, work status, insurance, etc.  I was flat out refused access to this information.  My guess is that they were not credentialed, did not have the right to work in the US, did not have valid drivers’ licenses, etc.  $85,000 represented by a couple of line items on a sheet of paper.  NO documentation in support of these charges.

$5250.  Over a 10 month period miscellaneous charges paid to the caregivers.  Mileage, lunches, haircuts and manicures.  NO receipts and no proof that these miscellaneous charges benefited my Grandmother in any way.

$750.  $150 per month for five months for household petty cash.  No receipts.  NOTHING!

$3000.  To the other conservator, Herb Thomas, for miscellaneous expenses.  NO RECEIPTS!

As stated previously, the 2006 legislation requires the conservator to file ORIGINAL bank and other financial related statements. 

BANK OF AMERICA, CHARLES SCHWAB & COMPANY, US BANK, WELLS FARGO, WASHINGTON MUTUAL, CITIBANK…

Not one original statement was included in the accounting.

The accounting also included a list of other expenses supposedly paid by Ms. Adler yet NO SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION was included:

Groceries, supplies, prescriptions, medical co-pays, hauling services, dental and medical fees, appraisals, replaced carpeting, etc.  NO documentation.

I filed my accounting with the court in January.  It contained OVER 1500 pages of supporting documentation, and I’m not even a “professional” like Ms. Adler!

 

Conservator Owned Probate Properties - Astounding!

THE TRUTH!
The conservator system in San Francisco is corrupt.  The conservator system across the United States is corrupt.  Below you will find two links.  Both links will provide you with information regarding the number of probate properties owned by the two conservators assigned to "PROTECT" my Grandmother...ELIZABETH ADLER AND HERB THOMAS!  These are properties that these two conservators have stolen from the people they are supposed to protect.  Keep in mind these are partial lists.


http://sf.blockshopper.com/search?f=seller&q=Elizabeth+Adler
http://sf.blockshopper.com/search?q=Herb+Thomas&classes%5B%5D=Sale

Family

FAMILY MEMORIES

Petition to Sell 1462 11th Avenue Filed By Elizabeth Adler

Lizzy Adler took an axe, gave her client 40 whacks,
When she saw what she had done, gave the family 41!

I am hurt, angry, speechless.

Just found out that Ms. Adler who is the "professional" conservator appointed by the Court to protect my Grandmother's estate filed a Petition with the San Francisco Superior Court today.  Ms. Adler is asking the Court to approve the sale of my Grandmother's house on 11th Avenue.  This is our family house!  The house both my Dad and Uncle grew up in.  The house my Grandmother wanted my Uncle to have when she passed.

My Grandmother has lived in the house for over 80 years.  I have been trying to convince the conservator to allow my Grandmother to go home for months now, however, if she went home, the conservators and their attorneys would not be able to collect as many fees from the estate. 

These people are truly evil and feel no remorse for their unspeakable actions and the decisions that they make "for the benefit of the conservatee."  They could care less about my Grandmother and have never once made a decision based on her best interests.  It is disgusting yet our court system condones it.

I am appalled and in shock right now.  My brother's greed, disloyalty and betrayal have destroyed our family.  I wonder if he gets it?  Once these vultures take all the money, they end the conservatorship and my Grandmother is sent to a medicaid supported nursing home!  Do you see what you have done, Tom?  When will you pay back the $200,000 you have already received from the Trust?  How about the money Krissy was paid to "take care" of Noni?  How about Krissy's unemployment claim?  You know, Krissy, the forgerer, convicted felon?  What a coincidence that 4 of Noni's estate planning documents were forged after you kidnapped her in February of 2009!  I never would have taken money to care for Noni yet you did.  You charged her room and board when she slept on a pull out couch in the front room of the house you were renting in Millbrae.  What about the $40,000 you took in a two week period?  Does everyone know you tried to put the house in your name?  You are more disgusting than they are, Tommy!  Karma is a bitch, brother!

I will never let my Grandmother go to a medicaid funded nursing home.  I will take care of her after these sickening excuses for human beings spend all the money and end the conservatorship.

Ironic!  I wanted to take care of her all along!

Ms. Adler claims that my Grandmother's home cannot be rented out because it is uninhabitable...this is a picture of the front room of her house.  Uninhabitable?  Unbelievable!!

An Article About Conservatorship Abuse

Guardianship, or conservatorship as it's called in some states, is the legal proceeding in a state court where a person, called the “Guardian” or “Conservator,” is appointed to exercise some or all of the legal rights of the incapacitated person, called the “Ward” or the "Conservatee."

I found a great resource on the subject on conservatorship abuse.  You can access the website at www.estateofdenial.com.


Below you will find a very interesting article found on Estate of Denial's website:

Is Guardianship Legalized Elder Abuse?


Legalized Elder Abuse: Guardianships And Conservatorships Assisted Living
December 29, 2009
Assisted Living Senior Housing

The American legal system has established “guardianships” for the specific purpose of protecting vulnerable individuals–called “wards”–when a judge or judicial officer determines that the ward’s decision making capability is so impaired that another person–the “guardian”—needs to be given the right to make these decisions. A guardianship is particularly appropriate for wards who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, as well as advanced alcoholism and similar afflictions that render the person unable to care for his or her health and other needs. A “conservatorship,” twin to the guardianship, is set up to conserve the ward’s assets; the conservator acts as a custodian.

The legal obligations of the guardian and conservator. As defined above, these legal vehicles seem completely sensible and necessary. After all, people who are so incapacitated that their decision making is unreliable obviously need professional assistance; left unprotected, their health and wealth are at risk. The law considers the connection between the guardian (or conservator) and the ward to be “fiduciary” in nature, a legal relationship of confidence or trust between two or more parties. Indeed, for legal purposes, a “fiduciary” duty requires the highest possible standard of care. It recognizes that the ward needs to have utmost confidence, reliance and trust in the guardian or conservator, whose aid or protection is essential. The fiduciary, therefore, is required to act at all times for the sole benefit and interests of the ward, with absolute loyalty to those interests.

The reality of guardianships and conservatorships. Unfortunately, vulnerable individuals are easy targets for the unscrupulous. Equally unfortunate is the fact that the legal system, having established these processes, frequently fails to supervise how they actually work. Not surprisingly, when there is a lack of oversight, as Elaine Renoire, a particularly experienced observer of guardianships and conservatorships, warns in her website http://www.StopGuardianAbuse.org, “(The system) operates to ensnare the most vulnerable people in a larger and larger trawling net, . . . a feeding trough for unethical lawyers and other ‘fiduciaries’ appointed by the courts to protect, but many of whom become nothing more than predators.”

Victims of guardianships and conservatorships. Ms. Renoire argues that wards are easily exploited by the system, frequently forfeiting their freedom, property, “and their very lives,” because, first, judges and court administrators fail to monitor these processes, and second, the state legislatures and the federal Congress fail to regulate legal practices. The result? According to Ms. Renoire, judges, who she claims are either “uncaring” or “corrupt,” fail to provide adequate due process to the wards, who in turn fail to get adequate notice of the proceedings that will result in the determination of their competence. Even when they are notified, Ms. Renoire reports that they are rarely defended by attorneys. And in those instances for which counsel is provided, these lawyers, again in her words, “(Are often) 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 (adjudicating incompetence), and frequently fail to obey the protective statutes..."

So, what’s the bottom line? According to http://www.StopGuardianAbuse.org,  “(Guardians and conservators) 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 (they’re) denied visitation, except under guard at their own expense!” Is the system abusive? Is it possible that the guardianship/conservatorship system is as flawed as is claimed? According to the February 15th, 2009 edition of the “Minneapolis Star-Tribune,” the process is at least as ineffective as Ms. Renoire believes, and can be negligent–and perhaps corrupt–in practice.

The front-page headline blares: “2 years and $672,808 gone,” with an accompanying picture of a now-smiling older lady. She’s identified as Peggy Greer, approaching her 86th birthday, four years after she and her family members battled the Minnesota judicial system to free her from a guardianship/conservatorship nightmare that cost two years of her life and drained her entire life savings–nearly $700,000.

Peggy Greer’s situation is fairly typical. In 2004, just after she turned 81, her life was in crisis. Her eldest son, a drug addict, was living with her. After suffering a back injury, she also became drug-dependent. That summer, her daughter, Judith, petitioned the local probate court to appoint her and her brother as Ms. Greer’s guardians and conservators, claiming that her mother was “suffering from dementia and chemical dependency,” rendering her “unable to arrange to her medical care,” and “unable to manager her estate (and) vulnerable to financial exploitation.” The latter claim was particularly relevant, because Peggy Greer was about to inherit a substantial amount of money.

Subsequently, a local firm was appointed as the guardian, and Wells Fargo was named as conservator. Despite the fact that her condition had improved–she was considered to be neither chemically dependent nor suffering from dementia–Ms. Greer was sent to live in a nursing home, at a cost of $5,700 per month. She complained that she wanted to return to her home, but her chemically-dependent son was still living there, and the guardian refused her request to go home.

The family, realizing that at least an interim solution was required to stem the outflow of funds from the inheritance, attempted to relocate her into a less expensive assisted living facility; the guardian declined the request, arguing that “It would cost a lot to get her discharged from one nursing home and admitted to a new one when we all anticipated she would be returned to her home pretty quickly.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, that didn’t happen. The family filed a petition to replace the guardian. Legal expenses consequently skyrocketed. After a year of the conservatorship, these fees totaled at least $45,000; adding in the other costs, including the nursing home rent, the $226,800 inheritance—which was one of the justifications for the conservatorship itself—was exhausted. Additional funds would be necessary.

The conservator, Wells Fargo, petitioned the court to sell Peggy Greer’s home, despite the fact that the guardian was trying to move her back into it. Nonetheless, Wells Fargo pursued the sale, claiming that “The protected person is not able to return to independent living.”

The probate judge finally agreed to a “reverse” mortgage, whereby a bank captures the equity in a home in exchange for making periodic payments that allow the homeowner to remain in the home. In the case of Ms. Greer—again, not particularly surprisingly—the bank that received the reverse mortgage was Wells Fargo.

At this point, Charles Heintz, the chemically-addicted son, died, which allowed Ms. Greer to return to her home.

Although she was able to take care of most of her own needs, she received constant, 24/7 care from a home health agency. The cost? $26,000 a month! Although her nursing home doctor recommended that this assistance be discontinued, the guardian refused.

Finally, in January, 2007, the guardian agreed that this care, now totaling more than $55,000, should be scaled back, a decision that neatly coincided with the liquidation of her funds. As her son described the situation, “Once the money ran out, almost to the day, suddenly the care was no longer needed.” Peggy Greer summed it up this way, “My money was all used up, was all gone, without my knowledge or OK or anything.”

The final tally, as of October, 2007, reported that the total spent on her behalf since March 2005 was $672,808. The guardian and the conservator each earned more than $11,000, with the conservator earning an additional fee from the reverse mortgage. The amount owed by Ms. Greer: $ 48,388. Total assets remaining: zero.

About the author: Laurence Harmon writes for Great Places. 

http://assistedlivingseniorhousing.com/2009/12/29/legalized-elder-abuse-guardianships-and-conservatorships.html