Be on the Lookout: Con Artists Stealing Guardianship of Senior Parents
When approaching a judge, these crooks don't have to do anything to prove that they are related to the individual they are trying to assume guardianship of. Courts are so busy and over-packed with cases that they just don't have the time or resources to make sure that the person making the claim is on the up and up. There's no easy way to find out when this occurs, so family members often have no idea that someone is stealing guardianship of their parents and simply have no recourse in the event that it happens. Usually the ruling happens quickly and the victims have no idea when it happens.
If you have any aging parents, you have to look out for them and make sure they are not victimized. It's extremely easily to steal the money from your ageing parents and almost impossible to get it back after it's stolen. If you have senior parents, there are several legal things you can do to protect your senior parents. You can get a durable power of attorney for health care which will enable you to make decisions for your senior parents if they cannot speak of make competent decisions upon their own behalf. If you already have a durable power of attorney for health care, their guardianship can't be taken away because you already have it, and in the event that they are no longer competent, you are the one that will be able to make their health care decisions.
You can also get a regular durable power of attorney, which requires the assistant of an attorney and is a bit more difficult to get. A durable power of attorney enables you to take care of your senior parent's finances, which would make it impossible for these types of criminals to steal your parents assets by claiming guardianship over them.
This scam was very prevalent in California and finally came to light after a series of stories by the Los Angeles Times, unfortunately it's still occurring all over the country. The only real way to protect the seniors in your life is a durable power of attorney, and having one in place is definitely a good idea if your parents are slowing down a bit and need a little bit of help here and there taking care of things.
Published by Matthew Paulson
I am a very busy undergraduate, I'm involved with nine different campus organizations and work five different jobs. Most notably, I am the editor-in-chief of DSU's Trojan Times. View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentThank you for posting this article. Everyone young and old should be made aware of this travesty that exists in our society. When family and loved ones are available and willing and able to help a loved one in need there should be absolutely no reason for a guardianship to be imposed. www.stopelderabuse.net
Please Petition to STOP ELDER ABUSE AND GUARDIANSHIP SYSTEM ABUSE
Calling for National Intervention in the travesty and Major Human Rights Problem
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/stop-elder-abuse-and-guardianship-abuse-in-our-courts
We must act now before we all become victims and our children suffer abuse in the Courts when they try to help us.
This is really scary. What's worse is the fact that we (my sisters and I) are in the middle of a guardianship/conservator hearing regarding my mom and her husband of 6 years (my mom is almost 80, and her creep of a husband is 68). She is in the early stages of Alzheimer's and her husband has already blown through ALL of her money. He was awarded "emergency temporary" guardianship and has completed isolated my mom from the outside world. He went so far as to disconnect her phone, and when we go over to see her, he calls the police on us claiming we are either harassing or threatening him. We've actually contacted Adult Protection... they are of NO help. If guardianship/conservator is awarded to the husband, we will NEVER be able to see our mother ever again! He is a fraud and thief!Something needs to be done about the laws governing our elderly!
Now, it so happened that outside the village, in a great damp swamp, lived an old basket-maker who was famed for the quality of his work. One day the old basket-maker heard a knock on his door. When he opened it, the ugly girl stood there. In her hand, she held six gold coins. The Wicker Husband.
Once upon a time, there was an ugly girl. She was short and dumpy, had one leg a bit shorter than the other, and her eyebrows met in the middle. The ugly girl gutted fish for a living, so her hands smelt funny and her dress was covered in scales. She had no mother or brother, no father, sister, or any friends. She lived in a ramshackle house on the outskirts of the village, and she never complained.
One by one, the village girls married the local lads, and up the path to the church they'd prance, smiling all the way. At the weddings, the ugly girl always stood at the back of the church, smelling slightly of brine. The village women gossiped about the ugly girl. They wondered what she did with the money she earns. The ugly girl never bought a new frock, never made repairs to the house, and never drank in the village tavern.
Now, it so happened that outside the village, in a great damp swamp, lived an old basket-maker who was famed for the quality of his work. One day the ol
The National Association to STOP Guardian Abuse is an organization of victims and families working together to expose and end unlawful and abusive guardianships/conservatorships.
We are facing a national epidemic -- if we don't stop them, then we may find ourselves victimized by these life pirates.
Yours,
Elaine Renoire
NASGA
My dad was 91 when he died may 8, 2005. He was forced into a country nursing home and my sister, brotehr and aunt had a local attorney tell the judge that he was incompetent and that is how she got awared temporary guardian. They kept my father imprisoned in anursing home the who time of this guardianship appointment. I became aware of this aand like a fool hired some local attorney a few miles away. The attroney collusion between these locals neaerly bankrupt me. I lost about $75,000 in cash to these crooked attorneys. But I also lost the guardisnhip case because these same folks poisoned him in the nursing home. And he died about a week later. Again small town and no investigation was commenced, even though the trial date was less than a week away. HMMM.
So my father died before I could free him from their illegal grasps. they not only did that to him and my mother as well, but they manufactured new wills to make sure I was eliminated from their inheritance and the land.
They p
Guardianship abuse is nothing new - it has been going on for years and years but many people have no clue about the abuse, neglect and exploitation taking place every day by abusive guardians. Guardianship IS the latest definition of Elder Abuse. Guardianships are not about protecting. Guardianships are about money. Guardians and the attorneys "legally" exploit the lifelong assets of the vulnerable and elderly, many times while neglecting their wards. Victims of guardianship abuse can lose everything - their freedom, their dignity, their property, their money, their health and many times their life. Shame on the guardian's, shame on the attorney's, and shame on the courts that knowingly allow the abuse to continue. Guardianship abuse is an epidemic practice, a criminal racket, and a gravy train for the vultures otherwise known as guardians and lawyers. Visit the National Association to STOP Guardian Abuse at www.stopguardianabuse.org and read the horror stories. Forced guard
I'll mention this to my parents. They did this with my Dada who had senile dementia, but I'm not sure what the situation is with my comparatively healthy grandmother. She'd kick the con artists butts right now, but she's getting older.