Probate judge order contradicts criminal charge against Spruce Head woman

January 29, 2018, 11:30 pm

≫ Next: Tonight on Marti Oakley's T. S. Radio: Exposing Medical Predators #4 With Carly Walden

≪ Previous: Attorney General launches new teams to protect seniors

St. George — Four months after being arrested -- and two weeks before indicted by a Knox County grand jury for endangering her bedridden husband by not providing him the care he needed -- a 67-year-old Spruce Head woman was declared to be a devoted care giver by a probate judge.

Lincoln County Probate Judge William Avantaggio signed an order Dec. 21 in response to a request by the children of the late Ralph Cline Jr. for custody and control of their father's body. The judge ruled that his wife Shirley Cline should be granted immediate and exclusive custody and control of his body.

"That he was unhealthy was simply the existing state of affairs, and clearly not the result of any lack of care by Mrs. Cline," Judge Avantaggio stated. "While Mrs. Cline could perhaps have made a call to find care for her husband during her absence, she was also dealing with a head injury and ambulance attendants."

"Far from indifferent, it is clear Mrs. Cline devoted her life to to the care of her husband," Avantaggio stated.

Ralph Cline Jr. died Dec. 6 at the age of 83 at Coastal Manor in Yarmouth. He had been married to Shirley Cline for nearly 10 years.

He suffered a stroke in October 2014, was hospitalized for several months followed by a stay at a rehabilitation center until returning home. In July 2015, he suffered a second stroke.

He was brought back to their home in January 2016. Shirley Cline "virtually exclusively" cared for her husband from that date until her arrest in August 2017, according to the probate judge.

On July 28, 2017, Shirley Cline slipped outside her home and struck her head. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital and later in the day returned to the home.

When she returned, she found Ralph Cline had been removed from the home. Law enforcement had found Cline alone in bed in a "poor state of health and cleanliness."

An affidavit filed by the Sheriff's Office in Knox County Unified Court in August reported that police were called when Shirley Cline had been taken to the hospital and Ralph Cline had been left alone. Police managed to enter the house and found he was covered in feces and needed medical care.

Ralph Cline was later returned to the home. Police returned to the house on Aug. 3 to talk with Shirley Cline and found the house and Ralph Cline clean, according to Probate Judge's Avantaggio's ruling.

But Shirley Cline was uncooperative with the Knox County Sheriff's Office detective, a home health care nurse and a representative of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, according to the judge's report.

She was then arrested by the Sheriff's Office detective and charged with endangering the welfare of an endangered person.

His children were then granted temporary guardianship and conservatorship of their father on Aug. 16 in the wake of Shirley Cline's arrest.

After his death in December, the children filed its motion to have custody of their father's body. Judge Avantaggio ruled on Dec. 22, however, that Shirley Cline had properly cared for her husband.

Shirley Cline was indicted Tuesday, Jan. 2, by a Knox County grand jury for endangering the welfare of a dependent person. The charge is a Class C felony.

The indictment alleges that between July 28 and Aug. 3, 2017, in Spruce Head, Cline "intentionally or knowingly endangered the health, safety or mental welfare of a dependent person, Ralph Cline, who was unable to perform self-care because of advanced age or physical or mental disease, disorder or defect."

Ralph Cline was a lumberman by trade and operated a family sawmill. He was a local historian and a civic leader. He served as a selectman and chairman of the select board for the town of St. George.

A 2015 story by The Courier-Gazette featured Shirley Cline as serving as the coordinator of the Midcoast Stroke Support Group. She talked about caring for her husband, who had suffered his second stroke in two years.

Full Article & Source:
Probate judge order contradicts criminal charge against Spruce Head woman

↧

Tonight on Marti Oakley's T. S. Radio: Exposing Medical Predators #4 With Carly Walden

January 30, 2018, 12:10 pm

≫ Next: House approves legislation to help advisers combat senior exploitation

≪ Previous: Probate judge order contradicts criminal charge against Spruce Head woman

5:00 pm PST … 6:00 pm MST … 7:00 pm CST … 8:00 pm EST

Hosted by CARLY WALDEN

Faith Daron reached out to me a year and a half ago regarding her mother Dorothy Daron. At this time I learned of Dorothy’s terrible injustices going from facility to facility; which began from a time frame of 2008- 2016 when her mother’s death was hastened in a hospice facility. We both tried hard to save Dorothy’s life even to the point where I, Carly Walden felt inclined as an elder advocate to call the authorities and request EMTS examine Dorothy for her sores and or neglect. These people were of no help at all and even laughed at Faith for having a elder advocate to help along with her brother laughing in the background. The bottom line with this case is Faith has other siblings that were living off of her mother’s estate adhering to their own agendas while Dorothy was on the decline. Faith fought very hard for her mother’s life and I know because I was with her through this period the best way I could be. With her mother’s estate drained by siblings and her unwavering will Faith is still giving her mother a voice today!

LISTEN to the show live or listen to the archive later

↧

House approves legislation to help advisers combat senior exploitation

January 30, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Fixing Minnesota elder abuse failures is new commissioner's first job

≪ Previous: Tonight on Marti Oakley's T. S. Radio: Exposing Medical Predators #4 With Carly Walden

The Senior Safe Act provides liability protection for financial professionals who report cases of suspected elder abuse to regulators or other authorities

Legislation that would help financial advisers combat financial exploitation of senior citizens gained House approval Monday night in a bill that could provide a vehicle to get it through the Senate.

House lawmakers passed on voice vote a larger bill that contained the Senior Safe Act, a measure that provides liability protection for investment advisers, brokers and other financial professionals who report cases of suspected elder abuse to regulators or other authorities.

The Senior Safe Act was also included in a larger bill approved by the Senate Banking Committee in December that would reform parts of the Dodd-Frank financial law.

But the bill the House passed on Monday may provide the smoothest pathway to full Senate approval for the elder-abuse legislation because the Senate Banking bill could get hung up in the House.

"This [House bill] that it is attached to seems the least controversial piece of legislation that contains Senior Safe Act provisions," said Paul Richman, vice president of government affairs at the Insured Retirement Institute. "That's why we're hopeful that this House bill will be taken up expeditiously in the Senate."

The Senior Safe Act, written by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Me., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., was approved by the House in a previous Congress but failed to make it through the Senate when one senator placed a hold on the bill. It had to be reintroduced in the current congressional session.

Another obstacle facing the bill is a difficult Senate agenda that includes approving a budget and tackling immigration legislation.

"This is still high on their list in the Senate, but until other issues are resolved, it will be difficult to move it forward," Mr. Richman said.

If the bill is approved by Congress, it would bring a federal law into the senior financial exploitation area.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. regulation goes into effect on Feb. 5 that gives brokers safe harbor to report exploitation and allows them to place temporary holds on disbursements from accounts of elderly clients who may have been victimized by scams.

Also, a number of states have approved a North American Securities Administrators model rule that is similar to the Finra regulation but that mandates incident reporting.

The Senior Safe Act has wide support among financial industry trade associations and other organizations, including IRI, NASAA, the American Council of Life Insurers and the Investment Company Institute.

Full Article & Source:
House approves legislation to help advisers combat senior exploitation

↧

Fixing Minnesota elder abuse failures is new commissioner's first job

January 30, 2018, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: David Silver: The power of Power of Attorneys

≪ Previous: House approves legislation to help advisers combat senior exploitation

ST. PAUL—A Minnesota woman is back for her second stint as state health commissioner with instructions to fix the state's failed nursing home abuse investigation process.

Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday, Jan. 30, appointed Jan Malcolm to lead the Health Department as it struggles to get through a backlog of complaints about mistreatment of Minnesota elderly in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Malcolm, who served in the job about 19 years ago for then-Gov. Jesse Ventura, said her first duty is to "learn more about the root causes" of the backlog, but promised to catch up on long-ignored complaints.

A report released by AARP says that complaints of elder maltreatment soared 600 percent since 2010, but the department only investigated 1 percent of 20,791 reports from health care providers and just 10 percent of 3,491 complaints from individuals.

Malcolm said the good news is that the department has triaged the complaints and that about 1,000 still "need more work." She said she is committed to investigating all backed-up cases by end end of 2018.

The cases began to pile up while Dr. Ed Ehlinger was commissioner; he resigned late last year.

While the Health Department should have done better, Dayton said, the initial care authority lies elsewhere. "The responsibility first and foremost begins with those facilities."

After the elder abuse topic arose last year, Dayton asked AARP to convene a working group to investigate. It released its report late Monday. The governor also brought in the state Human Services Department to help the Health Department fix its problems.

The report called for "far-reaching policy and agency practice changes to prevent and deter abuse. The recommendations reflect the experiences of our organizations and a belief that older and vulnerable adults and their families should be at the center of any reform."

The report indicates that it is important to fix the problem now because the elderly population will continue to grow.

Among the working group's recommendations are:

• Expand the rights of elderly and vulnerable adults and their families.

• Senior citizens and their families should have more access to abuse reports.

• Stronger laws against nursing home and assisted living retaliation against people who report abuse.

• More legal penalties against elderly abuse.

• State licenses should be required for assisted living and dementia care facilities, like many other states already do.

• Existing laws and rules need to be better enforced, including the use of fines.

"Minnesotans deserve a system that provides optimal care and services, and maximum protection against abuse," the report says. "Elder abuse is not an inevitable consequence of the system."

Malcolm said the state is developing a better program to deal with abuse complaints, one that will prevent a backlog such as was discovered last year.

Malcolm, who has been a nonprofit health care executive, also promised that the state would do a better job of communicating with families.

The Minneapolis-based Star Tribune reported last fall that hundreds of residents at elderly care facilities in all areas of the state are beaten, sexually abused or robbed every year. Even when reports were filed with the state, investigations often were not started.

"First and foremost, I am so sorry for the pain and trauma and difficulties that have been caused," Malcolm said Tuesday.

Sen. Karin Housley, the Minnesota Senate aging committee chairwoman, said she will introduce legislation to help fix the problem after the Legislature convenes Feb. 20. "My priority will be on creating a more transparent, accountable process for facility complaints, providing better access to data sharing for families and caregivers and working to change the culture of neglect and intimidation within the state bureaucracy."

Full Article & Source:
Fixing Minnesota elder abuse failures is new commissioner's first job

↧

David Silver: The power of Power of Attorneys

January 30, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Evaluators find problems in nursing home oversight

≪ Previous: Fixing Minnesota elder abuse failures is new commissioner's first job

By David Silver

As of Jan. 1, 2018, the new North Carolina Uniform Power of Attorney Act came into effect that significantly changes the authority, use, and treatment of Power of Attorneys in North Carolina. A Power of Attorney (“POA”) that was signed before 2018 is still valid and will be interpreted under the prior law, so if you already have an adequate POA you will probably not need to have that document re-drafted. However, if you sign a POA after 2017, it will be interpreted under the new law. Please don’t be the person who forces a judge to figure out how to interpret a POA designed for the old law but signed during the time period of the new law.

A POA is one of the most important tools to have in your estate plan. If you don’t have a Will, your wealth will still be distributed to your family (just maybe not in a way that you would prefer). However, if you don’t have a POA, you might not have much of an estate left at your death. A POA can allow your loved ones to take care of you during a time of diminished capacity without having to go through the formalized court process. It can also allow for some planning and asset preservation even after you become incapacitated.

A POA is a document wherein a person gives authority to make financial-type decisions to another person or other people.

By creating a POA, you are giving someone else power to act on your behalf but you are not giving up anything. You are still the boss. You can still act on your own behalf and you can fire the Agent whenever you want for any reason. Additionally, the Agent has a fiduciary duty to you, meaning that they can only exercise the powers granted in the POA if it is in your best interest.

Most POAs are effective on the day that they are signed, even though they are often put in a drawer/safe/etc. and not used until needed. However, a “Springing” POA is one that only becomes effective if/when the grantor becomes incapacitated.

A “Durable” POA means that the POA is still valid even after the grantor becomes incapacitated. While a non-durable POA might have been very useful to landowners in 15th Century England (a lowly tax collector could become the most powerful man in the earldom with the POA of an incapacitated earl), it doesn’t make much sense to have anything but a Durable POA in modern society.

There is a plain-vanilla POA within the North Carolina General Statutes (Section 32C-3) that anybody could simply cut-and-paste to create a workable POA, and a separate statutory POA limited to performing real estate transactions. This “Short Form POA” might be sufficient for some purposes, but it lacks some powers and provisions that are very important in estate planning. Whatever you do, do not sign the Short Form POA that existed under the old law since it is unknown how the courts will interpret these documents under the new law.

While it is not required for the Grantor to pass some IQ or memory test to effectively execute a POA, you must have the mental capacity sufficient to understand the nature of the document, its consequences, and its effect upon your rights and interests. If you don’t have a POA in place prior to that stroke, bus accident, loss of capacity as a result of Alzheimer’s, then your family members will have to file a petition with the Court to have you declared incompetent and have the Court create a guardianship for your estate. Compared to a POA, incompetency hearings and guardianships are expensive, unpleasant, cumbersome and inflexible.

A POA might be the last chance for you to preserve some of your hard-earned assets for the benefit of your loved ones. The problem with a POA is that, when you really need one, it is too late to sign one. While a full description of all POA requirements and options are beyond the scope of this article, I hope you now understand that you should have a POA as part of your estate plan and appreciate that not all POAs are the same.

David Silver teaches The Legal Environment of Business in ECU’s Department of Finance. Dave is also a Partner with The Graham.Nuckolls.Conner Law Firm in Greenville, NC, concentrating in Elder Law

Full Article & Source:
David Silver: The power of Power of Attorneys

↧

Evaluators find problems in nursing home oversight

January 31, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Eddy County judge facing discipline hearing retires

≪ Previous: David Silver: The power of Power of Attorneys

Mat Erpelding

BOISE — Staff from the Office of Performance Evaluations uncovered major human resources problems in a state agency charged with nursing home oversight as well as challenges with placing more individuals with complex conditions, even as Idaho’s elderly population grows rapidly.

Senior evaluators Ryan Langrill and Tony Grange told the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Monday that their investigators had uncovered “serious dysfunction” within the Bureau of Facilities Standards, a subsection of the Department of Health and Welfare which conducts surveys of nursing home residents. Surveyors who worked in the office had high turnover rates, and in both 2015 and 2017 only seven of 13 positions were filled. The current vacancy rate is more than 50 percent, according to OPE’s report.

“Nursing home surveyors described the workplace at the division as hostile and demeaning,” the report states. “Surveyors feel berated and belittled; they also believe the work environment explains the ongoing retention problems of the survey team.”

While the Office of Performance Evaluations staff didn’t find evidence that work environment had led to excess fines against nursing homes, they found nursing homes were felt intentionally targeted by bureau staff. Fewer than one in 10 nursing home administrators said they had a high or moderate level of confidence in the nursing home study team, compared to about 45 percent who expressed confidence in the assisted living team and nearly 80 percent in the children’s residential care survey team.

“Our interviews and results from a questionnaire revealed that providers fear and distrust the nursing home survey team,” the report states. “Surveyors reported that individuals on the team intentionally instill this fear.”

The bureau’s workplace issues were so severe that OPE investigators asked to be authorized to perform a follow-up investigation within three months, both to ensure that employees who had cooperated with evaluators didn’t face retaliation and to ensure that problems were quickly resolved.

“Correcting the workplace culture is the most pressing of our recommendations,” Langrill told the committee.

In an official response attached to the report, Department of Health and Welfare Director Russ Barron — who the report indicates began an investigation once informed of the problems in the workplace — said the department is committed to resolving the issues.

“We find it unacceptable that despite our efforts over the last two years, surveyors and nursing home providers feel the work environment and culture continue to be harsh,” he wrote in an attached letter.

“We are currently conducting a workplace assessment to determine strategies to address the work environment and culture.

“We will resolve these issues.”

The report also put focus on the diminishing number of facilities willing to accept patients with complex behavioral and medical conditions, given the lower and relatively flat reimbursement structure they receive from the state.

Idaho’s Medicaid program has a flatter reimbursement system than surrounding states, and OPE found this has had the effect of reducing the number of facilities willing to accept those with complicated behavioral issues.

“Hospitals, residential care providers, and advocates reported to us and to the Legislature that placement in residential facilities is more difficult for individuals with complex medical conditions or behavioral problems,” the report states. “They may remain in hospitals or move out of state to receive appropriate care.”

“Why do we have essentially a flat reimbursement rate, regardless of the complexity of the (patient’s condition)?” asked Chairman Mat Erpelding, a Boise Democrat.

“It’s just the fee structure that the states have chosen to use. Idaho has less variation,” Langrill said.

One issue that OPE found was problematic in the regulatory oversight of assisted living facilities is a secondary class of violations called “noncore violations.” There is no process to appeal a finding that a facility had violated those rules, evaluators pointed out.

Lawmakers and Barron lauded the report, and authorized the agency to follow up on the employment issues over the next three months. It will produce a follow-up reporton other issues in residential care regulation in a year.

Rep. Maxine Bell, a Jerome Republican and longtime chairwoman of the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee, said the report underlined the need to restore funding at the Department of Health and Welfare, which was cut during the Great Recession.

“You cannot sit back and assume that a state agency can do more with less all the time,” she said.

Full Article & Source:
Evaluators find problems in nursing home oversight

↧

Eddy County judge facing discipline hearing retires

January 31, 2018, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Attorney for Carl DeBrodie's family says "whole system failed him"

≪ Previous: Evaluators find problems in nursing home oversight

Eddy County Magistrate Judge Henry Castaneda

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Eddy County Magistrate Judge Henry Castañeda is retiring from the bench several weeks before he was to face a disciplinary hearing at the state Supreme Court.

The complaining petition filed by the Judicial Standards Commission against Castañeda details more than 100 emails, including dozens of raunchy, racist and sexist cartoons and jokes, along with personal emails and political emails sent to friends from his official judge email address.

The complaint against him says that despite one-on-one training sessions and access to IT experts, Castañeda claimed he just didn’t know how to delete or block emails and would just forward them to his personal email.

Castañeda, who has been a judge since 2003, submitted his letter of resignation in early January, and it was submitted to his official disciplinary file Tuesday with an effective date of Feb. 4.

Full Article & Source:
Eddy County judge facing discipline hearing retires

↧

Attorney for Carl DeBrodie's family says "whole system failed him"

January 31, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Make Caregiving Easier with a Caregiver Notebook Template

≪ Previous: Eddy County judge facing discipline hearing retires

Click to Watch Video

Attorneys for Carl DeBrodie's biological mother, Carolyn Summers, said Wednesday that they filed a wrongful death lawsuit on her behalf in order to find out what truly happened to DeBrodie and prevent what happened to him from happening to another vulnerable member of society.

"One of our desires is that it does not happen to other people, and that this be a wake up call," said attorney Rudolph Veit. "We see it all the time... individuals with mental conditions, they're so easy to take advantage of and to ignore."
The lawsuit claims those involved in DeBrodie's care failed to provide for his safety and attempted to cover up the circumstances of his death. The claims include wrongful death, negligence, civil rights violations and civil conspiracy.

On April 17, Fulton police received a missing person’s report from Second Chance Homes. They quickly realized DeBrodie had been missing a lot longer than the Second Chance workers had reported.

A week later, his body was found in a storage facility encased in a box of cement.

According to court documents, the wrongful death lawsuit was filed against 23 defendants, including Second Chance Homes, its' operator Rachael Rowden and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

The number of defendants could shrink based on the depositions.

"If they haven't done something wrong, we would like their names not to be part of it," said Veit. "We only want to get to those people who breached their duty in the care of Mr. DeBrodie."

Veit said that the investigation on the federal level with the U.S. Attorneys office was taking longer than they expected and they wanted to start getting answers. Veit and fellow Carson & Coil attorney Gabe Harris are working as a team on the case.

"We felt like if we filed now, most of their work will have been completed," said Veit. "We can start depositions and do thorough depositions and find out truly what happened in this case, putting people under oath."

Veit said they have a viable case, and right now, they just have to determine who was responsible for DeBrodie's death, and try to bring awareness to the whole system.

"While in a state-paid institution, because of the challenges in his life, he basically ended up in a concrete block," Veit said. "We know that's not supposed to happen, we know that his guardian should have checked on him and there are state regulations on how often his well-being was supposed to be checked and they were not."

The investigation continues but no criminal charges have been filed yet.

Full Article & Source:
Attorney for Carl DeBrodie's family says "whole system failed him"

See Also:
The Case of Carl DeBrodie: The Investigation

Man whose body was found encased in concrete may have been missing months

Advocates: Guardianship law should focus on well-being

↧

Make Caregiving Easier with a Caregiver Notebook Template

February 1, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: New guardianship office set to fight senior abuse

≪ Previous: Attorney for Carl DeBrodie's family says "whole system failed him"

Information at your fingertips reduces caregiver stress

A caregiver notebook is essential for keeping track of important information about your older adult. There are so many details involved in caregiving, nobody can remember them all.

That’s where a good caregiver notebook can help. Having everything you need to care for your older adult in one place saves time, reduces mental clutter, and decreases stress. Instead of searching for prescription details, dates of service, or policy numbers, you could take a break to rest and recharge.

We found an excellent, comprehensive, and free caregiver notebook template from Springwell. These notebook pages cover every aspect of your older adult’s life – medical, personal care, financial, and legal.

Find out how to get the most out of this caregiver notebook template and get a detailed walkthrough with our recommendations for the most useful pages.

Tips to get the most out of the caregiver notebook template

Springwell’s The Caregiver’s Notebook has 36 template pages to choose from. Start by printing a few pages that seem most useful (see our recommendations below). Don’t feel like you need to use every page or that you need to fill in all the info on a page.

After printing, keep the pages in a standard 3 ring binder dedicated to your caregiving notebook. Use dividers to keep each section separate so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for.

Springwell also shares tips for getting the most out of their templates. Here are the 5 we found most helpful:

Pace yourself by choosing the pages and sections that are most relevant now and start there.
Get creative. For example, the monthly calendar can be used for more than just medical appointments. You could create calendars for tracking calls to make, prescription refill dates, bills to pay, etc.
To make certain pages more portable, you could keep them in a separate “travel” binder.
Photocopy important papers to put into the binder for reference, but keep the originals in a safe place.
Gathering financial information can be overwhelming. One way to start is by collecting a month’s worth of mail. That gives you a snapshot of existing bills and monthly financial statements. The most recent tax return is another good source of financial information.

Recommendations for the most useful pages + walkthrough guide

We explain what each caregiver notebook template page is used for, what page it’s on, and how it could help you. Recommended sections are marked with ** and bold text.

Section 1 – At A Glance
● ** Critical Information– Page 5. An excellent brief summary of health information that’s essential for emergency situations.
● ** Emergency Room Checklist– Page 6. The list of items to bring to the hospital (top half) is the most helpful part. (For a more complete emergency checklist, click here)
● Person(s) able to make Legal, Financial & Medical decisions in Elder’s Stead – Page 7. This is helpful if several people are responsible for different aspects of your older adult’s care. Summarizing the roles, responsibilities, and key info into one document makes sure everyone has the same understanding of the situation.
● Home Emergency Information – Page 8. This list of contacts and information for home utilities and other emergency contacts is helpful, but not essential.
● Important Personal Contacts – Page 9. A list for your older adult’s personal contacts. If you need to get in touch with people in your older adult’s life who you may not know, this list is nice to have.
● Monthly Schedule Tracking Calendar – Page 10. Use this blank calendar if you’d like to create your own monthly caregiving calendar with key appointments, notes, meals, etc.

Section 2 – Care Providers
● Caregiver Information – Pages 11 – 12. Record detailed information about caregivers on your team and what they do to care for your older adult.
● Professional Service Providers – Pages 13 – 14. Record key information about services your older adult uses, like a care community, home care agency, or housekeeping.
● About the Elder Elder’s Self Care Abilities and Needs – Page 15-16. When introducing a new hired caregiver, this information helps them get to know your older adult’s likes, dislikes, and important facts about their life. It also covers their abilities and things they need help with.
● ** Daily Activity Log– Page 17. Take notes on what happens during your older adult’s day. This is especially helpful if you’re looking for patterns that might trigger difficult behavior, managing incontinence, watching for medication side effects, training a new caregiver, sharing info with family, and more. If your older adult has an in-home caregiver, this gives you a great summary.

Section 3 – Medical
● ** Medication and Pharmacy Information– Page 18. Keep an up-to-date list of all your older adult’s medications, vitamins, and supplements.
● ** Health Log– Page 19. This is a useful log if your older adult has a health condition that needs to be closely monitored. For example, if they’re diabetic, this helps you track their blood sugar. Or, use it to track blood pressure. Use only the columns that you need or re-label to suit your situation.
● ** Medical Information– Page 20. This is a useful way to quickly summarize major events in your older adult’s health history. It would be especially helpful when getting started with a new doctor or during an emergency.
● Important Medical Events – Page 21. More detailed tracking for medical events. This is helpful if your older adult is often in and out of health facilities like hospitals or skilled nursing/rehab facilities.
● ** Important Tests– Page 22. Complex health conditions mean lots of tests – X-ray, blood test, etc. Keep an overview of your older adult’s tests, results, and key info.
● ** Physicians and Specialists– Page 23 – 25. Very important info! Keep all your older adult’s doctor information in one place for easy access and so you can share it with family or emergency personnel as needed.

Section 4 – Call Log/Visit Notes
● Call Log – Page 26. If you’re dealing with something complex and ongoing, it helps to keep a log to remind you of who you spoke to and what was discussed. For example, this could help when you’re trying to straighten out a billing problem or an insurance claim issue.
● ** Upcoming Doctor Visit Notes– Page 27. The best part of this sheet is that it gets you prepared to get the most out of your older adult’s next doctor’s appointment. Start these notes a month ahead of time to give you plenty of time to notice issues and think of questions.

Section 5 – Legal, Financial and End of Life – Important Information
● Location of Key Documents and Important Papers – Page 28. Keep track of where important documents are located. For some, it might be easier to just gather all the important documents and store them together in one location.
● Legal, Investment and Accounting Contacts – Page 29. Pulling these key contacts together will make must them easier to find.
● Insurance (non-medical) Information and Contacts – Page 30. Keep track of necessary info like home, life, or auto insurance policies.
● Banking Information – Page 31. This is very sensitive information, so be careful who has access to these pages. Depending on the situation, you may not want to write everything down in one place. You could still use it to jot a few notes or key facts about the banking info.
● Income, Expenses and Net Worth – Page 32. This is also sensitive information. This summary can help you create a budget for your older adult and understand how much medical and personal care they can afford.
● Monthly and Quarterly Bills – Page 33. Managing finances can be overwhelming. This is a way to keep bills organized and make sure payments are made on time.
● End of Life Instructions – Page 34. This isn’t a legal document, but does help gather key info about end-of-life wishes. You might want to skip this form and use the Five Wishes living will instead.

Next Step Print or save the caregiver notebook template from Springwell(PDF)

Full Article & Source:
Make Caregiving Easier with a Caregiver Notebook Template

↧

New guardianship office set to fight senior abuse

February 1, 2018, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Big, small guardianship actions debated

≪ Previous: Make Caregiving Easier with a Caregiver Notebook Template

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) As baby boomers age, they may be in need of a guardianship. Mandated by a district court in Nevada, it means "a protected person" hands over finances, health decisions, even living arrangements over to someone agreed to by a judge. But here in Nevada the system has been rampant with abuse. Now a new investigative unit hopes to change that.

In March of 2017, former Las Vegas resident April Parks was brought to Nevada to face 270 counts of elder exploitation, racketeering and theft.

As a professional guardian, the Attorney General's office claims she bilked 150 elderly clients out of their life savings, dignity, and health. Until recently, there were some guardians in the state of Nevada who would exploit a senior or someone with mental health issues by receiving a court-ordered guardianship and take hold of that person's life, deciding how much the guardian himself would be paid out of the estate, taking homes, cars, and isolating the protected person from family and friends.

The 2017 Legislature changed much of that, including forming an investigative office located inside the state Supreme Court to help district courts find abuses.

"I'd like to see that we have been successful in identifying elder exploitation and abuses and that we have actually reduced that," says Kate McCloskey, the new Guardianship Compliance Manager for the state of Nevada

Nevada is one of only a handful of states to have a guardianship compliance program. Beside McCloskey, a forensic accountant will be hired, as well as an investigator.

They will be called in by the district court when a complaint is filed on a guardian or something isn't adding up.

"They don't have the resources to investigate it themselves, at that point we would go in, and investigate for the court," says McCloskey.

One of the first moves by the guardianship compliance office will be to set up a hot line and website where Nevada residents can file complaints. Both of those programs should be set up within the month.

Full Article & Source:
New guardianship office set to fight senior abuse

↧

Big, small guardianship actions debated

February 1, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Down syndrome advocates want Netflix to remove Tom Segura's comedy special

≪ Previous: New guardianship office set to fight senior abuse

Laurie Martinez of Santa Fe talks about a bill intended to correct problems with guardianship cases during a Senate Judiciary Committee

SANTA FE – Faced with an approaching deadline and a multimillion-dollar price tag, backers of legislation to overhaul the state’s troubled guardianship system presented dueling substitute measures late Wednesday in a hurried attempt to pass at least some significant changes this year to improve transparency and permit families more involvement with their protected, incapacitated loved ones.

Sen. James White, R-Albuquerque, offered to amend his mammoth bill that incorporates a new model guardianship law promulgated by the national Uniform Law Commission into two parts, delaying enactment for at least a year.

But a group of state district judges, mostly from Bernalillo County, helped devise a smaller substitute sponsored by Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque. That proposal, which is still evolving, would allow the judiciary to implement changes by July 1 that would open currently closed guardianship hearings to the public, expand the list of parties who would be notified, require bonding for conservators and rein in guardians’ authority to limit visitation of those deemed incapacitated.

“It’s a question of what can we do right now? What can we phase in? And what makes sense to ensure we’re going to have the funding (for the future)?” Ivey-Soto said.

No votes were taken after two hours of debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to continue the discussion Monday, if not sooner.

The 30-day legislative ends Feb. 15.

State District Judge Shannon Bacon of Albuquerque, who represented the judiciary at the hearing, told the committee that the courts favor improving the system, but that there are an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 existing guardianship/conservatorship cases that would have to come into compliance under the sweeping model guardianship act sponsored by White.

Under some cost estimates, up to $7 million would be required in each of the first two years if White’s version of the uniform guardianship act is adopted.

“A lot of the cost,” Ivey-Soto said, “is the cost of the dysfunctionality of the system that’s existed for many years.”

White said phasing in the uniform act over the next two years would give the courts time to overhaul the system and permit the Legislature to make amendments and finance the changes along the way.

“One million is what I’ve got to get this moving,” White said, in an apparent reference to funding he has secured to begin enacting the model law.

But Bacon countered, “One million dollars doesn’t even scratch the surface.” An expensive part of the model act requires judges to appoint lawyers to advocate for the wishes of the incapacitated person at the hearing, a cost that would be borne by the government,

As to the cost of the more immediate changes under Ivey-Soto’s proposal, Bacon said the judiciary would absorb the costs. “We will, I think the legal term is, suck it up.”

Full Article & Source:
Big, small guardianship actions debated

↧

Down syndrome advocates want Netflix to remove Tom Segura's comedy special

February 2, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Scammers bilk elderly out of cash with lies about grandkids in trouble

≪ Previous: Big, small guardianship actions debated

Click to Watch Videos

MADISON, Wis. - Local disability advocates are coming together to ask Netflix to remove comedian Tom Segura's "Disgraceful" standup show.

Representatives from the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County and the Madison Metropolitan School District gathered at Gigi's Playhouse on Wednesday to send a message that the word "retard" is not acceptable.

"You can't say retarded anymore," Segura said in the comedy special. "People get very upset. I don't really support the arguments against it."

"Now you can't say that. You gotta be like, that's not smart. Your idea has an extra 21st chromosome, if you ask me," he continued.

More than 85,000 people have signed a petition to ask Netflix to remove the sketch and issue an apology.

The Madison community is joining the cause, and encouraging others to get involved.

"The R word is not a joke, never has been. It's not meant to be a punchline," said Nicki Vander Meulen, a member of Madison's Board of Education.

"Letting people think it's okay to bully or target people with Down syndrome is completely unacceptable," said Nancy Gianni, the president at CEO of Gigi's Playhouse.

The nonprofit in Madison is one of 35 locations. The space is a Down syndrome achievement center providing free educational and therapeutic programming.

The founder's daughter Gigi created a video directed at Netflix.

At the press conference, Michael Johnson, the president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County, vowed to become an advocate and supporter of Gigi's Playhouse and to make sure each club is properly serving and supporting local families with Down syndrome.

"These are beautiful people. These are our people, these are smart young men and women that live in our community," said Johnson.

Parents said although they can't change Segura's way of thinking, they can stop Netflix from airing the program.

Speakers want the larger community to know that using the word is not okay and it is considered hate speech,

"When kids use it, when adults use it - please intervene. There are different words to use that can describe whatever is happening," said Danielle Kaiser, the mother of a 13-year-old with Down syndrome.

Full Article & Source:
Down syndrome advocates want Netflix to remove Tom Segura's comedy special

↧

Scammers bilk elderly out of cash with lies about grandkids in trouble

February 2, 2018, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: From Whistle-Blower To Elder Champion

≪ Previous: Down syndrome advocates want Netflix to remove Tom Segura's comedy special

If you believe a loved one needs you to authorize a cash payment or gift card purchase over the phone to keep a family member out of jail? It's a lie.

Erie County Comptroller Stefan I. Mychajliw and Sheriff Timothy Howard warned seniors of a Grandchild In Need scam targeting seniors – including the grandparent of a comptroller's office employee, who barely saw through the scam.

Scammers call a family member and pretend to be their grandchild or tell them a loved one, usually a grandchild, is in police custody and they must immediately send money to get them out of jail. Families should be aware that con artists use names, photos and other information on social media to make victims believe them.

"They are scum for targeting the elderly," Mychajliw said. "Unfortunately in some cases, they succeed."

A news release recounted a report from the City of Tonawanda, where a senior citizen was scammed out of $4,000. According to police reports, the victim received a call that his granddaughter was in a car accident. The caller told the victim the granddaughter had been on her cellphone when the accident occurred and the vehicle she struck was uninsured and she needed $4,000 to be released from police custody.

The victim was instructed to get four $1,000 gift cards from Sam’s Club and call back. The victim complied and called back, furnishing the card numbers and PIN.

If you or a loved one has received a call, complaints may be filed with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or 1-877-382-4357.

Full Article & Source:
Scammers bilk elderly out of cash with lies about grandkids in trouble

↧

From Whistle-Blower To Elder Champion

February 2, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: How to Help Your Older Loved One Feel Less Lonely

≪ Previous: Scammers bilk elderly out of cash with lies about grandkids in trouble

Brooke Astor, the New York philanthropist, socialite and writer, wanted to leave her family fortune to charity as her legacy. She did that. But she has also touched the lives of many elderly people through the work of her grandson, Philip Marshall.

Marshall is using his experience in protecting his grandmother from abuse to help lead a crusade to protect all older people from financial exploitation, abuse and neglect. To do that, Marshall first had to confront his own father, Anthony Marshall, Brooke Astor’s son.

Thanks to Philip, who prompted one of the most well-known court cases involving elder financial abuse in U.S. history, Brooke Astor will go down not only as a patron of the arts and a philanthropist, but as a lead player in the fight for elder justice. That fight, which began on a very personal level, now has Marshall spearheading a movement more national in scope as he fights to protect vulnerable elderly people. And he says financial advisors and institutions like banks have a crucial and lead role to play in that fight.

Patrick T. Harker, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, says financial exploitation of older Americans affects families, society and the overall economy. As the population ages and more retirees rely on their own personal savings and investments, elder fraud has the potential of becoming a full-blown national crisis.

Part of the problem with tackling elder financial abuse is that the size of the problem is not even known, Harker says. Also, many questions remain about how the brain ages and who is susceptible to cognitive decline. Estimates of the cost of financial abuse range from $3 billion a year to $36 billion, he says, and even those figures don’t take the social costs into account.

One of the major causes of cognitive decline is Alzheimer’s disease. Approximately 5 million Americans have the disease today, a figure that is expected to rise to 14 million by 2050, according to Patricia Boyle, a researcher at the Rush University Medical Center. Financial decision-making is often one of the first areas impacted by cognitive decline, she says.

Cognitive decline and elder financial exploitation and abuse are also issues that have to be addressed by financial regulators and the financial industry, as well as the medical, social and legal industries.

Philip Marshall, who is now 64 and lives in South Dartmouth, Mass., will relate his grandmother’s story to almost anyone if he thinks it will help the cause, and he recently told the story to Financial Advisor magazine.

He has been at it long enough that he talks in sound bites, but he is never glib. This is serious to him and to a growing number of other people. (Click to Continue)

Full Article & Source:
From Whistle-Blower To Elder Champion

See Also:
Too Sick for Court?

Brooke Astor heir Anthony Marshall leaves sons out of his will; millions will go to second wife and her children

Brooke Astor's Lasting Legacy

Settlement Reached in Brooke Astor Estate Battle

Astor's Son Found Guilty

↧

How to Help Your Older Loved One Feel Less Lonely

February 3, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Johnston lawyer arrested in court on fraud, conspiracy charges

≪ Previous: From Whistle-Blower To Elder Champion

Credit: Adobe Stock

(This article appeared previously on Caring.com.)

Here’s an all-too-common scenario: An older adult in your life is becoming increasingly isolated, and you worry that he or she is lonely, but you’re not sure what to do. It’s not the easiest subject to bring up, especially when family members or loved ones don’t want to admit they’re feeling alone.

But lack of contact with others is a serious issue among older adults, social services experts say.

Sometimes an older adult lacks a network of family and friends; other times he or she may withdraw into isolation as a result of health conditions, depression or mental illness. Physical limitations such as a fear of falling can keep an older adult isolated in her home, as can fatigue, chronic pain or shame over memory problems. Many older adults become nervous about driving long distances or can no longer drive after dark and may fear or resist using public transportation.

Fact: Loneliness Harms Your Brain

Interesting new research is showing that loneliness may speed the onset of dementia. In a recent Dutch study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, researchers followed more than 2,000 healthy, dementia-free older adults for three years and found that 13 percent who reported feeling lonely developed dementia by the end of that time, as compared with 6 percent with strong social support.

Fact: Loneliness Harms Your Heart

In 2012, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) compiled the results of numerous studies and concluded that there’s a link between loneliness and fatal heart disease. In one study cited, researchers at Harvard followed 44,000 people with heart disease and found that 8 percent of patients who lived alone died after four years, compared with 5.7 of those who lived with a spouse or others.

In research on the outcomes of coronary disease, Swedish researchers discovered that coronary bypass patients who checked the box “I feel lonely” had a mortality rate 2.5 times higher than other patients 30 days post-surgery, and that even five years later they were twice as likely to have died.

Fact: Loneliness Kills

When researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, followed a group of older adults for six years, they found that by the end of the study period, almost a quarter (22.8 percent) of all those who had reported feeling isolated or lonely had died. And another 25 percent had suffered significant health declines. By comparison, among those who said they were happy or satisfied with their social lives, only 12.5 percent had declining health, and only 14.2 percent had died.

And before you dismiss this type of isolation as common only among the very old, consider that the average age of the adults in the study was just 71. In other words, many baby boomers are reaching retirement age without strong social networks to support them.

Another study, this time from Brigham Young University, analyzed study data for more than 300,000 people and found that loneliness was as strong a marker for early death as alcoholism and heavy (more than 15 cigarettes a day) smoking.

4 Ways to Protect Your Older Loved Ones from Loneliness

What can you do if an older adult in your life is growing isolated or lonely? Here are four simple steps you can take to help your loved one reconnect:

1. Help your loved one become more social-media savvy. As younger folks know all too well, you don’t need to leave your house to catch up with friends, follow current events and find out about events in your area. Email and news sites are one way to do this, of course, but using a social media site like Facebook makes it even easier for an older adult to feel connected, simply by being able to see what others are posting.

Facebook also offers plenty of opportunities to participate in “watercooler” discussions of current goings-on and share recommendations for books, movies and music. Ask yourself: Don’t you feel more motivated to get out and see a movie if your friends are talking about it? The same is true for your parent or loved one.

2. Encourage your loved one not to live alone. It’s common for older adults to want to “age in place” in their own homes, and you may hear strong opinions on this topic from your parents and older loved ones. But this may not be such a good idea, experts say; studies show that those who live alone are prone to a host of health issues compared with those who are married or living in a group living situation.

A Dutch study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry showed that people who lived alone or who were no longer married were between 70 and 80 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who lived with others or were married. And a recent study conducted at University College London found that social isolation — even more than loneliness — can lead to early death, even for those as young as 52.

3. Set up transportation options.  Ask anyone who works with older adults living on their own: One of the biggest factors behind isolation is lack of transportation. Many older adults no longer drive, or they fear driving at night or on unfamiliar routes. Call your local Area Agency on Aging and get a list of all the transportation resources in your loved one’s area.

If, despite your encouragement, your loved one resists using group transportation, consider setting up a taxi fund so taking a taxi doesn’t feel like too much of a splurge. Another possibility: Find a taxi driver in your area whom your parent feels comfortable with and set up regular appointments for your loved one’s activities.

4. Help your loved one find support groups.  When older adults with health problems find support from others with the same condition, it helps with loneliness and depression. They may also get valuable information and motivation to seek help for their health condition.

University College London researchers noted that the early death rate for socially isolated people may be due to the fact that they don’t have anyone to encourage them to get help with health problems or to intervene in a health crisis.

When loved ones have physical impairments, an online support group may ease anxiety and inspire ideas for ways to help themselves. If your loved one is a widower or widow, a bereavement or grief support group offers a chance to share feelings as well as a place to meet others in the same situation.

By Melanie Haiken

Melanie Haiken has written about health and family-related issues for magazines such as Health, Real Simple, Woman's Day, Yoga Journal, and websites such as BabyCenter.com, WebMD, and the Blue Cross/Blue Shield websites. She was managing editor at San Francisco magazine and has cared for both parents during health challenges.

Full Article & Source:
How to Help Your Older Loved One Feel Less Lonely

↧

Johnston lawyer arrested in court on fraud, conspiracy charges

February 3, 2018, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: 91-year-old lesbian is America’s only remaining princess

≪ Previous: How to Help Your Older Loved One Feel Less Lonely

Robert F. McNelis

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — State police arrested a Johnston lawyer in court Wednesday on nine felony and two misdemeanor charges.

Robert McNelis, 38, of 13 Alma St., Providence, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in District Court, Providence, on multiple charges, including fraud, conspiracy and falsely reporting a crime, a news release from the Rhode Island State Police said.

The case began with a fraud complaint from a Pawtucket check-cashing service, Xtreme Computers, at 210 Lonsdale Ave.

An investigation by the state police Financial Crimes Unit found that numerous checks were cashed by Marcus Crook in January 2016, drawn on a lawyer trust account held by Robert F. McNelis.

Detectives visited his law office at 986 Hartford Ave., Johnston, where McNelis said the checkbook for his trust account at BankRI had been stolen. He said he had learned of the theft after a check to a chiropractor on behalf of a client was returned for insufficient funds. McNelis said he asked at the bank and found that several checks had been cashed at Xtreme Computers.

Saying he knew of Crook but had no personal or professional relationship with him, and that his contact was “limited at best,” McNelis said he wanted to prosecute.

After another check was cashed, this one on McNelis’ personal account, he told the detectives that his personal checkbook had been stolen.

Losses from the eight checks amounted to $7,705 from Xtreme Computers and $5,138 from McNelis.

Crook was arrested on a warrant in December. Detectives then determined that McNelis had asked Crook to cash the checks.

The two misdemeanor charges against McNelis are falsely reporting a crime and obstructing a police officer. The nine felony charges are unlawful appropriation, bank fraud, forgery and counterfeiting, as well as two counts of soliciting another to commit a crime and three counts of conspiracy.

McNelis was released on his own recognizance. His next court date is May 2.

Full Article & Source:
Johnston lawyer arrested in court on fraud, conspiracy charges

↧

91-year-old lesbian is America’s only remaining princess

February 3, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Scammers impersonating Social Security officials are out to steal identities: Gianaris

≪ Previous: Johnston lawyer arrested in court on fraud, conspiracy charges

The throne room of Iolani Palace in Honolulu, Hawaii

Move over, Britain, with your fancy royals and their tabloid-worthy scandals.

America has a princess, and she’s a multimillionaire nonagenarian Hawaiian lesbian with an unpronounceable name, a stable of racehorses, a new wife and an angry lawyer.

Meet Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa.

She’s 91, and beloved by Hawaiians as their “last princess” — the only surviving blood-related member of the former island nation’s royal family.

Princess Kawananakoa has lived a quiet, reclusive life of Chanel tweed dress suits and quiet philanthropy for decades, keeping out of the mainland press save for the occasional million-dollar purse won by one of her prized quarter horses.

But the elderly woman — whose ancestors once lived in a palace full of gilded koa-wood furniture and flashed 14-carat diamond pinky rings — has lately been thrust into a garish spotlight by some unsightly legal battles.

Abigail Kawananakoa (center) in 2010

First, there’s the princess’ new spouse, who may or may not be physically abusive.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

There were some questionable bruises. But even atop the finest and most prudent shoes, ladies in their 90s do take an occasional fall, the wife contends.

Then there’s the ex-lawyer, who has seized control of the princess’ $200 million fortune by having her declared mentally unfit. It’s a declaration her highness is now fighting strenuously.

To understand our princess’ claim to Hawaiians’ hearts and our country’s lone throne, a quick recap:

Hawaii was still an independent nation back in 1795, when its very first royal, King Kamehameha the Great, took over the beautiful, palm-fanned archipelago after subduing a tangle of warring chiefs.

Kamehameha and his successors had a dizzying time of it.

Europeans, the Chinese and eventually Americans descended in droves, bringing disease, missionaries, opium and sugar-cane magnates to the island paradise.

Even Hawaii’s most fun ruler, the hula-loving, ukulele-strumming King Kalakaua — known as the “Merrie Monarch” — proved no match for plotting American annexationists, who were not satisfied with merely taking over Pearl Harbor.

Upon his death in 1891, his sister, Queen Liliuokalani, tried to hold on to power, but was deposed and overthrown — with the help of several US Marines — within two years, with the United States officially annexing Hawaii in 1898.

Twenty-eight years later, in 1926, Abigail was born — the great-grandniece of Queen Liliuokalani and the only heir apparent in the very faint eventuality that Hawaii is somehow restored to monarchy.

She has no official title or duties. But many in Hawaii revere her as the last of the “alii,” the Hawaiian word for royalty.

“She epitomizes what Hawaiian royalty is, in all its dignity and intelligence and art,” says Kimo Alama Keaulana, assistant professor of Hawaiian language and studies at Honolulu Community College.

“Hawaiians hold dear to genealogy. And so, genealogically speaking, she is of high royal blood.”

Princess Kawananakoa also has wealth, piles of it.

A nearly 14-carat diamond that Hawaiian King Kalakaua wore as a pinky ring is displayed at Iolani Palace in Honolulu.

She is estimated to have inherited some $250 million from her great-grandfather, James Campbell, an Irish sugar magnate whose plantation holdings made him one of Hawaii’s largest landowners.

She was also bequeathed the Merrie Monarch’s nearly 14-carat diamond pinky ring, the same bauble that had twinkled during his ukulele-playing at many a royal luau.

She donated the ring for public display at Honolulu’s Iolani Palace, built by the Merrie Monarch and now the only royal palace on American soil.

The princess enjoyed her wealth, breeding champion quarter horses on her ranches in Hawaii, California and Washington state — and in 1993 won the $1 million purse in the New Mexico All American Futurity race.

Her many philanthropies included funding protesters who recently lost their fight against plans to build one of the world’s largest telescopes atop Mauna Kea, a mountain considered sacred by native Hawaiians.

She has also paid the electric bill for Iolani Palace for the past six years. This, despite her having been ousted as president of the Friends of Iolani Palace in 1995, after she sat on one of its thrones for a Life magazine photo shoot, damaging its fabric.

Kawananakoa’s fairy-tale life as America’s only princess began to unravel last year.

In June, she suffered a stroke — and her longtime lawyer, James Wright, quickly won control of her estate, arguing that she was “incapacitated.”

Then, in October, the princess shocked even those closest to her by suddenly marrying her partner of 20 years, Veronica Gail Worth, 64.

Worth now possesses health care power of attorney.

And the wife and the lawyer are locked in multiple ugly court battles over who controls the princess.

The lawyer is alleging in court papers that Worth is just out for the princess’ fortune.

Worth collects a $700,000 annual “allowance” and has sought tens of millions of dollars more in stock and cash, he told the Honolulu Civil Beat, an online news publication.

After the princess turned down these requests, Worth moved out — only to move back in and marry the princess after her stroke, the lawyer told the publication.

The Royal Hawaiian coat of arms hangs in the throne room at Iolani Palace.

“There has been a constant stream of demands for more money,” Wright said.

Worth has an interesting rap sheet, according to the publication.

In 1985, she and then-husband Earl Harbin were indicted by Honolulu prosecutors on charges of attempted theft — for allegedly trying to trade stolen electronics for money or drugs.

Both pleaded no contest; the husband went to prison and Worth went on probation, the publication reported.

Making matters worse, Worth may have physically beaten the princess, the lawyer alleges in court papers.

He has the “photographic evidence” of the resulting bruises to prove his claims and has given the pictures to the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office, he told the Civil Beat.

The wife, meanwhile, is countering that she has only her beloved princess’ best interest at heart — and that the elderly woman had merely fallen and “struck furniture, which caused the bruising, which is not uncommon for someone her age,” her court papers assert.

The princess, in turn, has hired new lawyers to regain control of her fortune, which remains in Wright’s hands, even though the princess has since fired him.

A court-appointed special master is investigating her mental capacity and the abuse allegations.

Given all the legal hubbub, the princess has been unable to continue funding her former favorite charities, including paying the palace electric bill.

The palace lights are now running on backup funds, officials said.

Full Article & Source:
91-year-old lesbian is America’s only remaining princess

↧

Scammers impersonating Social Security officials are out to steal identities: Gianaris

February 4, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: $100,000 Civil Penalty Filed Against Livingston Broker Who Defrauded Elderly Couple

≪ Previous: 91-year-old lesbian is America’s only remaining princess

State Sen. Michael Gianaris

State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) issued a warning to New York consumers Monday about a new scam recently uncovered by the Federal Trade Commission in which imposters are tricking people into sharing their Social Security numbers over the phone and through a website. Callers claiming to be representatives of the Social Security Administration are contacting consumers, claiming a computer glitch requires them to ask for their Social Security numbers.

The Social Security Administration does not contact people directly to confirm that information.

“These fraudsters are our to steal identities and wreak havoc on the lives of New Yorkers,” Gianaris said. “I urge everyone to follow common sense advice and never divulge a Social Security number or other personal information to strangers over the phone or Internet.”

Additionally, fake websites have been created to target people seeking new copies of their Social Security cards. New cards are only available by submitting paper documents to the Social Security Administration.

“These scams often target vulnerable New Yorkers, including seniors and new Americans,” Gianaris said. “Everyone should be vigilant about protecting their identities.”

Gianaris urges consumers who receive these calls to contact the Social Security Administration directly at 1(800) 772-1213 with any questions. Gianaris has taken steps to protect consumers from scams and fraud, voting for legislation which would treat financial exploitation of the elderly as larceny and another measure increasing the criminal penalty for identity theft.

Full Article & Source:
Scammers impersonating Social Security officials are out to steal identities: Gianaris

↧

$100,000 Civil Penalty Filed Against Livingston Broker Who Defrauded Elderly Couple

February 4, 2018, 10:30 pm

≫ Next: Woman's body has been at mortuary for more than a year

≪ Previous: Scammers impersonating Social Security officials are out to steal identities: Gianaris

NEWARK, NJ — A Livingston broker’s agent registration will be revoked and he will receive an imposition of $100,000 in civil monetary penalties against him and his company NJLI Advisors L.L.C. after defrauding an elderly couple of at least $280,000, according to Attorney General Gubrir Grewal and the New Jersey Bureau of Securities within the Division of Consumer Affairs.

According to their announcement, Michael Alan Siegel befriended the elderly couple, who were in their 80s, ingratiating himself to them while they were dealing with a significant health issue within the family. Siegel spent hours each week with the elderly husband discussing the stock market, according to the attorney general’s office.

Shortly after the death of a family member, the elderly couple was convinced to transfer their brokerage accounts to a broker-dealer with whom Siegel was associated. In the Summary Penalty and Revocation Order issued by the bureau on Feb. 1, the bureau chief found that Siegel convinced the couple to write him checks to invest in options contracts, which he never purchased. He pocketed the couple’s money and spent it on travel for him and his family members, high-end audio equipment and restaurants.

“The behavior outlined by the Bureau in this case is outrageous and infuriating,” said Grewal. “Taking advantage of an elderly couple during a time when they most need help and empathy is disgusting. The bureau did the right thing by making sure this agent never has the ability to con people again under the guise of being a securities agent.”

Sharon M. Joyce, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, said that registered securities agents are entrusted with hard-earned money of their clients. She added that violations like this “must be met with the strongest possible penalties”

According to the bureau chief, it was discovered that Siegel exploited his relationship with the couple between July 2013 and January 2016 by having them write personal checks to him for the purported options investments and commissions for the purported investments. Siegel also violated the policies of procedures of two broker-dealers that he was associated with by accepting checks, loans and gifts from the elderly couple who had accounts with the two firms, according to the bureau.

When the husband died, Siegel continued to direct the elderly widow to write him checks for purported options investments and commissions. According to the attorney general’s office, the widow relied on Siegel for financial decisions and entrusted him with access to her email account, bank accounts and passwords.

Full Article & Source:
$100,000 Civil Penalty Filed Against Livingston Broker Who Defrauded Elderly Couple

↧

Woman's body has been at mortuary for more than a year

February 4, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Tonight on Marti Oakley's T. S. Radio: Abolishing Probate #14: Citizen Oversight Committees

≪ Previous: $100,000 Civil Penalty Filed Against Livingston Broker Who Defrauded Elderly Couple

Nancy Jo Roberts

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) – The body of Nancy Jo Roberts has been at a mortuary for more than a year now.

How does something like this happen? Haphazardly, FOX19 NOW has learned. As it turns out, the state doesn't officially track cases like hers.

And as of right now, her family is still not being told what happened to their beloved sister and aunt, a developmentally disabled woman, who would have celebrated her 77th birthday just a few days ago.

Roberts had a happy upbringing. Despite her limitations since birth, her parents raised her to be strong and independent.

"My aunt was very capable. She was able to take care of her own hygiene, she was able to cook and clean, my grandmother really taught her well," said her nephew Dave Lord. "The one thing my aunt couldn't do -- she could never express to you her fears, her dreams, she couldn't speak clearly."

Lord claims that several years ago, while his aunt was in a Cleveland-area nursing home, she was raped by a worker there. That man went to jail.

"Justice was served in that case," said Lord.

Nancy was then transferred to the North Bend Group Home in Cincinnati where she lived for three years. Family routinely flew her to visit them during the holidays.

But with Roberts' declining health and no family living in Cincinnati to check on her regularly, Hamilton County Probate court assigned Joe Stenger as guardian.

"A social worker with the group home contacted Mr. Stenger who then, with his attorney, prepared and filed the papers with the court. An expert evaluation was filed. The court investigator went out, visited with her, served her notice, prepared his own report, a hearing was held and the magistrate determined that indeed Ms. Roberts needed to have a guardian at that particular point in time, " said Paul Rattermann, Chief Magistrate of the Hamilton County Probate Court.

The family says nobody reached out to them.

"On the application the guardian filed with the probate court, he listed there was no known next of kin," said Rattermann, who explained, under Ohio Revised Code 2111, next of kin who live out of state do not need to be notified.

Lord insists all they would have had to do was ask.

According to court documents, Stenger would visit Nancy monthly. FOX19 NOW stopped by Stenger's house to question him about how Roberts died. His wife said he was not home, and he never got back in touch with us.

Stenger had moved Roberts from North Bend to the Veranda Gardens nursing home. Her family, though, had no idea she'd been moved until her brother called North Bend one day to speak with her and was told she was no longer there.

"The guardian moved her from the facility where she was happy to this nursing home where, seven months later, she passed away," said Lord.

The family asked why no autopsy was done. The Hamilton County Coroner's office tells FOX19 NOW it was a non-coroner's case.

The coroner usually gets involved if there is anything unexpected or unnatural about a person's death. According to her medical records, it appears she died of natural causes related to heart failure. This was a non-coroner's case and she did not need an autopsy.

Roberts' body was brought to Premium Mortuary Services, the same mortuary FOX19 NOW has investigated twice in the past several months (after the state board fined them for multiple violations). It was actually Roberts' body that triggered a firestorm of controversy this past summer. Owner Casey Liston talked only to FOX19 NOW about what really happened there.

It was late Christmas Eve 2016, just after midnight, when Lord's family got the call from Veranda Gardens, the Hamilton County nursing home a court-appointed guardian had moved Roberts to several months earlier.

"Calling to inform you that your sister Nancy passed away tonight," Lord recounted. "And Joe Stenger got on the phone, said that he didn't have anything else to do with it, with my aunt now that she had passed away."

It's true that Stenger's role as guardian ended the minute Roberts died. But her journey into limbo was just beginning, with her body being taken first to a Colerain Township funeral home.

"Once they realized she was going to be an indigent case for Colerain Township, they did not want to handle that case anymore, so Colerain Township told them to send her to us," said Liston, the owner of Premium Mortuary Services in Carlisle.

When Lord saw FOX19 NOW's report detailing multiple violations at Premium Mortuary Services, he grew concerned.

"My heart just sank to the bottom of my gut," he said.

Meanwhile, it was a strong odor from Roberts' un-embalmed body that triggered the entire investigation of Liston's business.

"Anybody would ask, 'Why?' Why would you still have a body for a year?" said Poul Lemasters, a death care attorney who represented Liston throughout the investigation. "And until you know and understand that – legally because we have no other choice, there is nothing we can do."

So how does Premium Mortuary become the dumping ground for bodies that funeral homes don't want to deal with? Liston says becoming a holding facility has grown his business.

"They are limited by law as what they're allowed to do," said Lemasters. "All they can do is accept a body."

Premium Mortuary could not do a thing to the body. The only person who was in a position to help the family, Liston, had his hands tied.

"Can't cremate. Can't bury," Lemasters said, replying to questions asked by FOX19 NOW. "(When it comes to Roberts), you hold her and keep her in the most dignified way you can."

There is still no death certificate and no cause of death, Lord said.

"Had we done an autopsy last year, we would have a cause of death and a death certificate and my aunt would be at peace and the family would have closure on this," Lord said.

Again, the state does not officially track indigent cases such as these.

Liston has had long conversations with the family and hears their heartbreak. Premium Mortuary reached out to Lord this week, offering to bury Roberts and give her a proper funeral at their expense, to put the family and Roberts at peace.

To bury her, Liston would need a funeral home and funeral director to process a death certificate, for a doctor to sign the death certificate, permission from her family, and a few more pieces of information.

Lord and his family are considering their options for Roberts' burial now.

Though this is an extreme case, those who don't live near loved ones or check or them regularly could end up in a similar situation.

Full Article & Source:
Woman's body has been at mortuary for more than a year