Ethel Hill's freedom was taken when a probate judge appointed a guardian to take over the elderly woman's financial affairs and other life decisions.
Now the guardian has lost her freedom, jailed after being charged with stealing the elderly woman's life savings, leaving Hill to die as a pauper at age 98.
Now prosecutors say they are investigating whether Wright took money from the 12 other elderly wards she was overseeing until a judge removed her from the guardianships last year.
Wright was appointed emergency guardian over Hill in July 1990. Just a month later, she was appointed plenary guardian, which gave her authority over every bank account and every decision in Hill's life, said Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Joe Roubicek, who investigated the case.
Although a court order prohibited Glendale Federal Bank in Fort Lauderdale from allowing the withdrawal of Hill's money without court approval, police say Wright withdrew Hill's money at will.
She was later allowed to spend $2,000 of Hill's money each month for the cost of Hill's care. Over the course of the guardianship, additional court orders allowed for the withdrawal of $104,949 from Hill's estate.
Still, that should have left the estate with more than $280,000 when Hill died. She had no family and always lived a frugal life, Roubicek said.
"There's no one to guard over the guardians," Roubicek said.
Although probate judges approve or deny guardian expenditures, there are too many expenditures crossing their desks for a judge to always know which ones are valid. And probate court has no criminal investigators, Roubicek said.
Full Article and Source;
Guardian Charged, Held in Thefts From Elderly Client
See Also:
Financial Abuse of the Elderly
