An Attempt to Manipulate the San Francisco Probate Court - PLEASE READ!

If you only read one post on this Blog, please read this one.  It contains undisputable facts and proves what these attorneys and conservators are capable of doing and confirms all my previous claims and allegations against them.


The following blog post is a prime example of what these liars and thieves are capable of and how they attempt to manipulate the San Francisco Probate Court.  Larry Siracusa, Commissioner Sue Kaplan, Bruce Feder, Brian McCaffery, Elizabeth Adler, Herb Thomas, Emilie Calhoun, Anne Marie Paolini-Mori and Charles K. Lewis truly are liars and thieves.


FACT ONE:  Taken directly from the San Francisco Superior Court Website:

Hearing dates for all appearance matters are assigned by the filing clerk at the time the petition is filed.

Appearance Hearings for Probate Matters other than Appointment of Guardians and Conservators:  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 9:00 a.m. in Department 204. Order in which matters are heard: 

• Petitions for confirmation of sale
• All other matters are called sequentially by case number, lowest case numbers first.
• 10:30 a.m. - appearances by telephone (through CourtCall, 1.888.882.6878)

Petitions for Appointment of Guardian are heard on:  Tuesday 1:00 p.m. - Department 204 (These matters require an appearance.)

Petitions for Appointment of Conservator are heard on:  Thursday 9:00 a.m. - Department 204 (These matters require an appearance.)
Requests for Restraining Orders to Stop Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse are heard on:  Wednesday 1:30 p.m. – Dept. 204 (These matters require an appearance.)
Ex Parte matters:  Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Room 202.  To schedule Ex Parte matters, call 415.551.3650.

Law and Motion Calendar:  Thursday 1:30 p.m. - Department 204. To schedule a motion, call 415.551.3702.

• A Notice of Hearing must accompany every petition, including amended petitions.
• Tentative Rulings are available one to three days before the hearing at 415.551.4000 or online at: Probate Tentative Rulings
• Pre-Granted Orders will be available in Room 103, Windows 24, 25, and 26 after 9:30 a.m. the day of the hearing.

There are no hearings times sheduled for 3:00 pm on Thursdays!


FACT TWO:  A Petition to Rescind the changes made to my Grandmother's Trust when she was legally incapacitated which is confirmed by her physican of 20 years as well as a doctor chosen by Larry Siracusa is currently scheduled to be heard by Judge Mary Wiss. This hearing is in the process of being rescheduled due to the death of my Grandmother.  Tentative Hearing Date is May 10th.


SEVERAL FACTS THREE:  I have asked for a jury trial.  Judge Mary Wiss has scheduled a hearing regarding this matter for June 15, 2011.  It is on the Probate Court Calendar.  Brian McCaffery, who states on his website that 10% of his business is litigation was hired by Siracusa as the litigator in this case.  On March 16, 2011, Judge Wiss allowed 90 days for discovery purposes.  To date, Mr. McCaffery has not even noticed my deposition!!!  Mr. McCaffery's primary business is that of ambulance chaser!


FACT FOUR:  Commissioner Sue Kaplan is this group's go to person when they need ex-parte motions and back door petitions signed.


FACT FIVE:  Commissioner Sue Kaplan ruled against me in August of 2009 without a hearing on the matter.  There is a transcript of this hearing.


FACT SIX:  Sue Kaplan sent this case to pro-bono mediation in September of 2009 and approved the mediation settlement that was a result of the October 19, 2009 mediation.  THE CASE WAS DISMISSED!


FACT SEVEN:  On April 19, 2011, the day of my Grandmother's death, paperwork was filed that states there is a hearing on May 26, 2011 at 3:00pm to number one, argue I have no right to a jury trial and number two, ask for the court's ruling on recision of the Trust documents.


SEVERAL FACTS EIGHT:  This hearing on May 26, 2011 is scheduled outside of the court's published court schedule.  The hearing is being heard by Commissioner Sue Kaplan.  Sue Kaplan has not made a ruling on this case since November 2, 2009 when she approved the dismissal of the case that was submitted by Emilie Calhoun. The reasons for the hearing on May 26th were already scheduled to be heard by Judge Mary Wiss.  I cannot download the documents that have been filed with the court.  Judge Mary Wiss has been in control of this case, and as previously stated, is already scheduled to hear the petitions that have now been re-assigned to Commissioner Kaplan on a date and time that is not within the court's published schedule.


FACT NINE:   From the San Francisco Superior Court Website: 

14.10 Hearings Before Commissioner. The Commissioner may sit as a temporary judge (Judge Pro Tem) on stipulation of all parties litigant or their counsel. Should any party object to the Commissioner hearing the matter as Judge Pro Tem, the objection must be made at the time the matter is assigned or called for hearing. A failure to object shall be deemed a stipulation that the Commissioner may hear the matter as temporary judge.

My Opinion Based on the Facts:

Larry Siracusa and Brian McCaffery are attempting to circumvent Judge Wiss' authority and make a mockery of the San Francisco Probate Court.  They have scheduled hearings, which are not available for public view, for matters already scheduled to be heard by Judge Wiss.  There are dozens of published cases in San Francisco Probate Court records that establish a pattern of Commissioner Kaplan's approval of exparte motions and petitions outside the Court's published hearing schedule.  Siracusa and friends are attempting to once again break the law!!!!!!!!! 

The Rosary and Funeral

To Larry Siracusa and Friends,

Don't come to the rosary and/or funeral and then bill the trust for your attendance.  I have read that this is a common occurance for people like you.  If you choose to attend, do so because you cared about my Grandmother and not because it is another way to steal a few thousand dollars from the trust.

OOOPS!

Larry Siracusa copied me on an email by mistake and here is my response..

Hello Larry,

Thank you for sending me a copy of an email that obviously was not intended for me.  For the record, I copied all concerned based on the precedence you set.  Did not want anyone to be left out!

You are a joke, Larry.  Please refer to your email of August 21, 2009 in which you worked out a settlement agreement with Tom Huster based on my agreement to participate in mediation.  In your email, you stated that all litigation would stop if I agreed to mediation.  Remember?  If not, I would be so happy to forward you a copy.

I reviewed the Conservator's Handbook that is on the SF Superior Court website and could not find anything that suggested that you and your client should be involved in funeral preparations.  Once again, you have overstepped your boundaries for billable hours.

If I missed it, please point me to the section that addresses the Conservator of the Estate deciding who chooses burial clothes and keep in mind that my brother never had the time to visit with my Grandmother.

I believe that this is just another ploy to keep me out of the house.  I am sure you advised your client to do a complete inventory of the belongings in the house when she was appointed.  Being the ultimate professional you are, I am sure you advised her to take pictures as well as doing periodic walk throughs since there were unlicensed caregivers in the home.

If not, I did do a complete inventory and took pictures before I left.  Let me know if you need copies.

As far as dressing my Grandmother for burial, my brother, Tom, allowed his girlfriend, the felon, to dress my Grandmother in Ed Hardy and Billabong while she lived in Millbrae.  Hopefully, my 99 year old Grandmother will not be decked out in Ed Hardy at the funeral.  I really do not think that would be appropriate.  Do you?

As I mentioned previously, please take a look at your August 2009 email.

How do you live with yourself, Larry?

I will be purchasing a dress for my Grandmother's burial because I am certain that whatever Kristine Wright chooses will be unacceptable.  Did you know that she purchased clothes for her mother and billed them to the Trust?  She then gave my Grandmother her mother's hand me downs!

You do not scare me and you do not intimidate me.  I will do everything in my power to stop the abuse you and your colleagues call a living.

Finally, my brother has decided that he is not going to fly my nephew into San Francisco for the funeral.  I would like to request that the Trust pay for my nephew's plane ticket since this is what my Grandmother would have wanted!

P.S.  Did you get my email regarding scheduling the next hearing on the 11th rather than the 10th of May?  My Dad died on the 11th.

P.S.S.  You should never end a sentence with "that"!

Steal an Estate

I found this website by accident while I was looking for graphics for the blog.

Steal an Estate.com discloses the secrets, strategies and malicious manipulations skilled con artists use to steal elderly people’s estates from their rightful heirs. Sadly, many of their tactics are hard to prove.

My brother's "girlfriend", Krissy Wright must have taken this course because this is exactly what she did to our family and from what I understand, her ex-husband's family.  She was actually investigated by the SFPD for the murder of her ex-husband's Aunt Laura.

Krissy Wright is the reason the San Francisco Probate Court became involved to begin with.

  Funny, I didn't think Krissy knew how to read!

Elizabeth Adler, Conservator of the Estate

My Uncle and I made some of the funeral arrangements yesterday.  While at the funeral parlor, we learned that Herb Thomas was "done" with my Grandmother's case.  A direct quote from the man, Mr. Thomas, himself.

Pretty amazing.  Ruining families and charging outrageous fees one minute and "done" the next!

Unfortunately, there is another conservator assigned to my Grandmother. Elizabeth Adler, Conservator of the Estate.  Hard to imagine but like her counterpart Herb Thomas, Elizabeth "Liz" Adler has no heart and definitely no conscious.

I contacted Elizabeth Adler last night to let her know that arrangements for the burial are underway and that my daughter, Jamie, and I would like to go to my Grandmother's house tomorrow to pick out a dress for her to be buried in.  I suggested a 3 hour window tomorrow.

It's still early...9:50 am...but how long does it take to answer an email and confirm a meeting time.  She has to meet us since the doors are padlocked and all.

Not even an email with an "I'm sorry about your Grandmother.  Let me check my schedule and get back to you."  That just took me less than 30 seconds to type.

Liz and her attorney Larry are the two that are trying to obtain liens against my Grandmother's property for 12 months of fees and services totaling close to $100,000.  They have been involved for approximately 20 months.  We haven't seen their invoice for the other 8 months yet.  I am sure it will be a DOOOZY!

Call me crazy but I participated in a mediation that dismissed this case in October of 2009!

I am sitting here wondering if they resent my Grandmother's death because they were not able to totally drain the estate.

Quilts

Noni was a quilter.

One of the quilts she made was in memory of my Great Grandmother's passion for canning.  It contains 9 squares of beautiful jars made to resemble canning jars.  My Great Grandmother (Big Noni) made the best brandided cherries.  One was enough!

Two quilts hung by my Grandmother's bedside at the nursing home.  The canning quilt which my Grandmother wanted Jamie to have and an Amish quilt I purchased for Noni while I was in Pennsylvania several years ago.

After Noni's death today, I was told the conservator would not allow me to take the quilts.  As I was leaving, the head nurse was on the phone with the conservator's assistant.  I asked permission to speak with the conservator's assistant and proceeded to follow my attorney's advice and then left the nursing home with the two quilts.

Dying in a Nursing Home

For as long as I can remember, my Grandmother told me that she never wanted to die in a nursing home.  For the past few months, I have begged the conservator and his attorneys to allow her to go home.

I found out today that I could have been caring for her at home this whole time.

There is NO reason my Grandmother has to die in this place, and there is NO medical reason why she has be here.  Another LIE!

Just one of many, many lies the conservator has told me!! 

Your honor, the jury has reached a verdict!

Duties of Conservator of the Person

BOTTOM LINE...

The Conservator of the Person is obligated to do what is in the best interest of the conservatee.

Herb Thomas, Conservator of the Person, for Catherine DeMartini did not include Catherine's son, Paul DeMartini, on the family tree or list of friends and family that was filed with Hospice By the Bay.

Lori DeMartini was not included but that was to be expected since Mr. Thomas has tried to deny her existence for 18 months now.

Is it in my Grandmother's best interest to exclude the people she loved the most?

Paul, Lori, Jamie and Joey?

Can't wait to hear his justification for this decision at the Trial!

Hey Herb? I was just wondering...

Below you will find an email that I just sent to Mr. Herbert J. Thomas of Herb Thomas & Associates.  Mr. Thomas is the conservator of the person who kept me from my Grandmother for the past 18 months.

Dear Mr. Herb Thomas,

I have been wondering about something. Who are all those “family members” that you have been talking about for the past 18 months? You know, the “family members” who did not want me to visit my Grandmother, who did not want me to stay overnight with my Grandmother, who did not want me in their presence, etc.   I am most curious.

You see, not one “family member” has been here since mid-afternoon on Friday. I believe Aurelia Fraguglia called yesterday but that’s about it. One 2 hour visit on Thursday and no one on Wednesday. So, since Wednesday, there have been a total of three visits.

2 hours on Thursday from one family member
3 hours on Friday from one family member
1 hour on Friday from one family member

6 total hours from “family members” over a 96 hour period.

What do you think about that, Herb Thomas? Maybe you can answer this, why did these “family members” carry such weight in your decision making process? Why didn’t you consult with my Uncle?  Why were you going to allow my Grandmother to die alone?

I was just wondering.

Signed:  Lori Ann DeMartini