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Tag: Guardianship

Money Draining Probate

Money Draining Probate System is Like a Plague

July 24, 2020
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How can legal professionals have such power over the life of a person, to the point that even family has no voice? It’s called probate court, which can open the door for high-priced professionals to swallow a person’s life savings and the family’s future inheritance. An investigation by the Southern California News Group reveals that conservators, guardians, fiduciaries, their attorneys and judges become almost cliquish in running people’s lives. “Often there is a little buddy-buddy system going on … sometimes a judge has friends who are attorneys,” said Thomas Coleman, a Palm Springs lawyer who specializes in representing the disabled….

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Conservator Stealing Money

Court Appointed Conservator Steals Over $1 Million

July 23, 2020
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Nashville attorney John E. Clemmons was sentence to 25 years in jail for stealing more than $1 million from wards entrusted to him in probate courts in Davidson and Rutherford counties in Tennessee. The Metro Nashville government will be paying $300,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of the estate of William Link, a man who was cheated out of nearly $800,000 by Clemmons. Clemmons was first apponted as Link’s conservator in 2003, and he was placed in charge of Link’s estate following his death in 2004.  The estate funds were earmarked for the benefit of Link’s disabled daughter….

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Oak County Probate, Michigan

Michigan Oakland County Probate Court Retaliates

July 22, 2020
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The Oakland County Probate Court in Michigan has a reputation that’s no secret to attorneys practicing Michigan estate and probate law. Attorneys claim that openly criticizing any of the four judges or Oakland County Public Administrators, whether in court or in public, can lead to sanctions placed against them; or the possible removal of their license by Michigan’s Attorney Discipline Board. Families claim there are very few Michigan attorneys who are willing to take their cases against an Oakland County Public Administrator, and that those who do charge retainers that are far out of a family’s reach. One attorney, who…

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Elderly Care Taker

Crooked Caretakers: ‘Easier than you think’ to steal from the vulnerable

July 20, 2020
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Scott Teter, head of the Michigan Attorney General’s Financial Crimes Division, said “it’s easier than you think for rogue guardians and conservators to steal from wards.  Spotting exploitation is often left up to family members, but most families don’t have the resources to do that.” Teter continued with, the system is set up to respond to complaints, not search for evidence of exploitation.   Michigan: Flaws In The Law In Michigan conservators have to file an annual financial report, but guardians don’t. Additionally, the financial report itself doesn’t require any receipts or backup documentation to account for the money. “It’s…

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Joann Bashinsky, heriss of Golden Flake

Friends and Employees Tried to Seize Money Using Guardianship

July 16, 2020
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The Supreme Court of Alabama on Thursday, July 2, 2020,  released a unanimous, scathing opinion outlining that the Jefferson County Probate Court “egregiously violated” the “basic due-process rights” of Joann Bashinsky, heiress to the Golden Flake fortune. Joann Bashinsky had been deprived of controlling her own assets, managing her own personal affairs and making her own legal decisions, since October due to orders issued then by recently retired Jefferson County Presiding Probate Judge Alan King. Judge Alan King order came after former allies and employees of Bashinsky, the wife of Golden Flake’s founder, allegedly moved to try seizing the fortune…

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Elder Exploitation

How Courts and Guardians Exploit the Elderly and their Estates

July 14, 2020
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A California man spent $50,000 in legal fees freeing his stepmother from the clutches of a so-called guardian in Las Cruces, New Mexico, who charged $140,000 for services over a year’s time. – – – – – – – – – – Prosecutors in Pinellas County, Florida, on Nov. 15 charged Traci S. Hudson, guardian and then-president of the Pinellas County Guardianship Association, with felony exploitation of an elderly person. She’s accused of stealing $541,541, via charges of $1,600 per day, from a 92-year-old man she persuaded to assign his power of attorney to her. Within 10 months, she allegedly…

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Probate Advocate

Probate Watch

June 30, 2020
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This Organization Wants to Improve the Probate System Probate Watch is made up of groups of people whose lives and loved ones have been impacted by probate court guardianship and conservatorship.  They are actively lobbying their legislatures and state organizations to drive change. If you have been impacted by the probate court’s guardianship or conservatorship, you can take their survey, which helps to collect data that will be used to drive change within the probate courts. Probate Watch focuses on Minnesota Probate; however, you can complete their Minnesota Survey or any other state. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Along with…

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